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| The stump roots are trimmed and cleaned |
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| A mix of logs with stumps and logs works best. |
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In this day and age not all logs end up as lumber. Oregon's Fish and Wildlife Department spent 50 years 'cleaning streams on the theory that getting all the logs out of them would 'enhance' fish passage. They forbid the introduction of woody debris to the streams and hired contractors to bulldoze out the stream beds to make it easier for the fish to get up the streams.
More recently the same folks have decided that large woody debris are important for fish habitat, and are now enhancing fish habitat by hiring contractors to put wood back into the streams. How large is 'large' seems to be a matter of open discussion, but in the project shown here, the specifications called for logs 18" DBH (diameter breast high) and 30 feet long with about 1/3rd of the logs having root wads or stumps attached. The stumps are more difficult and expensive to handle but are though to be 'more natural' than logs and easier to secure so they won't wash away during floods.
The trees are dug up and handled with traditional logging equipment on the production end. They are then trucked with some difficulty to the site where they are commonly placed with an excavator with a thumb.