Preserving Forests and Wildlife

The U.S. Forest Service is saving money with Bobcat compact equipment.

Benefiting wildlife and maintaining the health of the forest — that is what wildlife biologist Kreig Rasmussen says Bobcat^® equipment is doing on several thousand acres on the Fishlake National Forest in central Utah.

Rasmussen is responsible for wildlife habitat restoration at Fishlake National Forest. This includes pinyon juniper restoration that was previously performed with much larger equipment that is no longer permitted. Now, Bobcat compact equipment is effectively replacing former methods to preserve the forest and its wildlife. The forest restoration process includes selectively removing invasive pinyon juniper trees that, according to Rasmussen, “take as much as five to seven times more water than a healthy rangeland of sage and grass.”

Rasmussen was sold on the Bobcat compact track loader and brush saw attachment after a demonstration by Intermountain Bobcat. “I saw the brush saw attachment and immediately knew we needed it to do the work that we had ahead of us,” Rasmussen says. “It exceeded my expectations; it was very quick and effective.”

Work completed by the Bobcat equipment replaces costly and less effective labor. “One big advantage of using the track loaders and brush saws is cost,” Rasmussen says. “We’ve paid hand crews to go out with chain saws and cut down pinyon junipers. It’s very labor-intensive and costs $100 to $130 an acre. We figure our cost with the Bobcat loader is $50 to $70 an acre. Plus, a crew can’t go day after day and through all months of the year like our Bobcat equipment.”

The likelihood of tree regrowth is much higher when the work is performed by hand. “If someone cuts off a pinyon juniper tree with a chain saw and leaves one branch because they can’t get low enough to take the bottom branch, in 15 years, that’s a new tree,” Rasmussen says. “The Bobcat brush saw allows us to get at ground level and cut the tree down for complete removal of the tree and future growth.”

Speed Management a Must-Have for Tree Removal
Another critical difference between Bobcat and other machines that Rasmussen tried is the Speed Management feature. Speed Management is included with the Selectable Joystick Control (SJC) option on Bobcat skid-steer and compact track loaders, and also with the joystick controls on all-wheel steer loaders. It provides operators with precise machine and attachment control.

Bobcat compact track loaders and brush saws efficiently remove invasive trees at the Fishlake National Forest.

“Other machines we looked at didn’t have the Speed Management feature that we have with the Bobcat loaders,” Rasmussen says. “It’s a great advantage for us because as you head into a tree to cut it, you need to maintain hydraulic flow but cut back on the speed so that you don’t lock up the saw when cutting.”

By combining the Bobcat compact track loader’s agility with the brush saw’s precise cutting, the U.S. Forest Service is maintaining a natural habitat for many years to come.

Bobcat Company is ready to meet the needs of federal and state agencies with a government sales department. Bobcat government sales employees can provide federal and state employees with equipment demonstrations, facilitate a factory-direct order and arrange equipment deliveries
through one of more than 900 Bobcat dealerships in 98 countries. To speak to the Bobcat government sales team about contracts in your area, call 800-965-4232.