Characterizing draft animal logging operations in the southeastern United States

Conventional forest management has become largely inaccessible for most family forest landowners in the southeastern United States because of growing incongruencies between the small tract sizes of family forests and the tract size requirements of mechanized logging firms. Compared to conventional mechanized logging, draft animal logging has relatively minimal costs and ecological impacts, making it an appealing candidate to fill the small-parcel ecological forest management niche. However, little is known about the current status of the practice in the southeastern US. We investigated the prevalence of draft animal logging in eight Southeastern states and elucidated demographic and operational characteristics of its practitioners with a survey, evaluating the ability of the current network of draft animal loggers to meet forest management needs. Findings indicate that the practice has potential as a small-parcel forest management option, but current opportunities are limited by the small number of draft animal loggers operating in the region.