When things got too dicey for boots-on-the ground removal of hazardous dead trees from a popular state park in Colorado, officials opted to tackle the problem from the air.
A timber cutting-and-grabbing device slung under a helicopter works much like “the old crane (or claw) games in the arcades,” Kara Van Hoose, the northeast region spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) told Cowboy State Daily.
The airborne contraption saves ground personnel from having to take the risks of cutting trees in flooded or iced-over areas in Chatfield State Park, on the southwestern edge of Denver.
Video of the machine in action shows it attached to a long line slung under a helicopter. A saw inside the device cuts the tree, while pneumatic arms grasp the trunk. Once the tree is cut, it’s plucked up and flown away.
Retired forester and wildland firefighter Karl Brauneis of Lander told Cowboy State Daily that he saw helicopters used for logging during his career. Generally speaking, using choppers for tree-cutting and recovery is too expensive for wide application, he said.
And the helicopter pilots that do it must brave serious risks, he added.
“They have to be really good pilots, and I hope they have their life insurance paid up,” he said.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is using a contraption slung under a helicopter to pluck dead trees out of a state park, not unlike “claw machine” arcade games. (Colorado Adventure via Facebook) 
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is using a contraption slung under a helicopter to pluck dead trees out of a state park, not unlike “claw machine” arcade games. (Colorado Adventure via Facebook) 
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is using a contraption slung under a helicopter to pluck dead trees out of a state park, not unlike “claw machine” arcade games. (Colorado Adventure via Facebook)
Thousands Of Dead Trees Removed
Dead and dying cottonwood and willow trees in areas flooded by the park’s reservoir are hazardous for visitors, Van Hoose said.
There’s too much risk of trees toppling over, or heavy branches breaking off and tumbling down onto people boating or swimming nearby, she said.
CPW and the Chatfield Reservoir Mitigation Company began cutting trees last fall and into winter. About 2,700 were removed, she said.
Once the reservoir started freezing over, and the operation moved into areas that weren’t safe for ground crews, the chopper was brought in, she said.
Operations have ceased for now but are scheduled to begin again this fall, Van Hoose said. Crews will remove roughly 2,300 more trees, she said.
Meanwhile, about 100,000 seedling trees have been planted in safe areas along the reservoir’s shoreline, she added.
“These trees slated for removal by CRMC represent less than one percent of the overall number of trees living in Chatfield State Park, and they will be repurposed for stream stabilization work and mulch,” according to a statement from CPW.
Not everyone has been a fan of the Chatfield park tree removal. According to local news reports, some people who live near the park were irritated by the sound of the helicopter coming and going.
Flying Logging Generally Not Practical
Brauneis said he occasionally saw helicopters used in logging operations.
Mostly it was for moving already-cut tree trunks from areas with especially thick timber.
Helicopters are incredibly expensive to operate, so that method isn’t cost-effective for most timber operations, Brauneis said.
He said the contraption slung under the helicopter at Chatfield reminds him of what loggers call “forward harvesters.”
He couldn’t recall ever seeing one slung under a helicopter. But they were handy when attached to heavy equipment on the ground.
That’s because they can cut a tree, rip the limbs off and place the trunk in a pile quickly and efficiently, Brauneis said.
In addition to being expensive, helicopter logging is dangerous for pilots, he said.
That’s because they must hover the aircraft in what’s called the “dead man’s curve,” he said.
That means the helicopter is hovering at an altitude that’s usually too low for an emergency landing if something goes wrong with the engine.
With enough altitude, helicopter pilots can use air flow to “autorotate” the chopper’s rotor blades for a gliding emergency landing.
Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
