Advice available for hardwood woodland owners

Storm-damaged trees can provide small businesses with a valuable resource.

New guidance from the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers (ASHS) gives woodland owners advice on how to make best use of quality hardwoods that have been brought down in the recent storms.

Much of the hardwood, many of which will have been growing for hundreds of years, will provide small scale businesses with a valuable and beautiful resource.

To make the best use of the fallen hardwood, woodland owners need to recover it and store it in a way that preserves the hardwood for future use.

If stored correctly, good quality hardwoods such as Oak, Elm, Beech, Ash and Sycamore will be useable in the future.

The new guide covers issues such as identifying which hardwoods are most marketable, picking the best quality wood, storing the hardwoods and where to get help and advice on marketing them.

ASHS also produce further technical guidance on their website including grading, sawing, seasoning and selling of hardwood timber.

Ros Wardman, Scottish Forestry’s forest industries adviser, said: “The hardwood industry can use quality timber for their work so if owners follow the guidance it may still be possible to sell storm damaged trees for a good price.”