The shelter wood harvest in the Sockum Ridge managed woodland area in northern Washington County is set to move forward.

Washington County Conservation Board Executive Director Zach Rozmus says they have awarded a contract bid of about $42,000 to R.J. Lumber of Drakesville to selectively cut and remove the canopy of taller oak trees to allow small oak saplings on the forest floor to grow and flourish.  He says the harvest could start soon, “In talking with the contractors, they essentially have two years in order to complete it, you never know what the variance will be for environmental (projects) and as far as the weather, anything along those lines. But as soon as the contractor receives the contract, that we’re going to start yet this winter.”

Rozmus says they have worked with R.J. Lumber previously and once they start harvesting the trees, it should take two to four weeks to complete.