OK, It's felling season again soon....need advice on softwoods

[turn_n_burn]

OK, I'm about to drag the old Homelite out of the shop when the snow melts here in SW Idaho. I have 3 different trees I'm considering going after, and everyone seems to have a different opinion on which is the best. I have 3 decent choices. North of me, I have a good spot to cut doug fir or tamarack, and down south in the Owyhees I can get western juniper (shagbark) from the BLM for a dollar a cord (and can occasionally find deadfall mountain mahogany with a specific density twice that of red oak). I've sampled all 3 kinds, and the damn juniper seems to be the densest, then tammy and doug coming in second and last. Anybody have an opinion? Every wood BTU chart seems to say something different, and they change ranking in every different one. I don't mind having to chop down several of the smaller junipers, but I'm a bit torn here. I think I'm gonna head south, somebody change my mind.

 

[spudman99]

Go south young Padawan.... the force is strong in you.

 

[lost in the woods]

get it all!

 

[Enplater]

I thought Jan/Feb were the best months to take them down due to the sap being more in the roots?

 

[billb3]

I thought Jan/Feb were the best months to take them down due to the sap being more in the roots?

Sap/moisture content level stays constant throughout the year. There are no water tanks in the roots. "Dryer trees" in Winter is a myth. There is only a small layer of live tree in a tree and it has to stay hydrated year round or it dies. There is more flow of water during growth season to support growth and photosynthesis. Think of it as the water pipe feeding your faucet. Is there more or less water in the pipe whether the faucet is open or closed or is the volume in the pipe the same in both states ? Remember that you can't compress water.

 

[maple1]

I would start with what is easier to get.