Dead ash trees pose added threat to hunters using treestands
Falls from treestands are the leading cause of hunting-related accidents, but now there is a new threat.
Over the past five years, the emerald ash borer has killed almost every ash tree in Pennsylvania. These dead and dying trees pose a significant danger to those who hunt both on, and particularly above, the ground.
“I hunted out of a treestand attached to a white ash for many years and harvested some of the nicest bucks there,” Larry Kuhns of Centre Hall said. “When I approached my stand prior to last hunting season, I noticed that much of the bark had fallen off of the tree it was attached to.”
The tree was dead — one of likely over a million victimized by the invasive insect. Kuhns climbed up to the stand and looked around for about five minutes, but did not like the situation and abandoned it.
“In the spring, the tree was lying on the ground, and the portable stand was just a piece of twisted, broken steel,” Kuhns said. “If I had been in the stand when it went down, I would have been killed.”
Dead ash trees are not like oaks, which might stand like bleached skeletons for many years after they die. Ash trees begin to decay rapidly, with some large branches or even the entire tree coming down within just a few years.
According to National Grid senior arborist Brian Skinner, dead ash trees become weak and brittle quickly, in as little as one or two years. Large limbs, or even entire trees, can snap off from the force of small loads or wind. Skinner described the situation as highly unpredictable.
Ash trees can be so unpredictable that Davey Tree Service does not allow its workers to climb any ash that appears to be even 20 percent dead.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ website notes that these dead trees pose a real threat: “It is not uncommon for standing, dead ashes to break off along their trunks, leaving massive, crownless snags. Adding to the hazard, ash carries much of its mass in the heavy main stems.”
DCNR has removed thousands of hazardous dead ash trees from state parks, such as Bald Eagle and Canoe Creek, and along state forest trails.
“During my walks in the woods, I’m seeing more and more big ash trees fallen down. Some get hung up in other trees, which creates a totally different set of hazardous circumstances,” Kuhns said. “Maybe I’m being paranoid, but as I walk around the woods now, I am on red alert almost constantly.”
“Experienced,” instead of paranoid, would be a better word to describe Kuhns. He and his wife Marianne own Kuhns Tree Farm along Route 322, between Boalsburg and Potters Mills. Kuhns was a professor of ornamental horticulture at Penn State for three decades. He has been an expert witness providing testimony for several lawsuits over people killed or seriously injured by fallen trees.
Skinner and Kuhns advise hunters, anglers and hikers to look up when they are afield or astream. Hunters should avoid placing a treestand on a dead ash tree or within the potential fall zone of one. To stay safe, everyone should maintain vigilance while out and about in the woods.
“Hunting has a whole new set of safety threats,” Skinner said. “Hanging a deerstand in or near an ash tree may be suicidal.”
Mark Nale, who lives in the Bald Eagle Valley, is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and can be reached at MarkAngler@aol.com
Treestand safety tips
▪ Inspect homemade and manufactured treestands before each use.
▪ Read and follow stand manufacturer’s instructions.
▪ Use a full-body safety harness when hunting from, or climbing into or out of, a treestand.
▪ Check for dead trees and overhanging dead branches.
▪ Use a haul line to raise and lower equipment.
▪ Never carry or raise a loaded gun into a treestand.
▪ Do not use a stand when the platform and/or steps are covered with ice.
▪ Have an alternative ground stand if your treestand is unsafe.
▪ Carry a cell phone if there is reception where you hunt.
▪ Let someone know where you are hunting and about when you expect to return.
This story was originally published October 14, 2017 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Dead ash trees pose added threat to hunters using treestands."