Remember to Look Up
A tree broken off and hanging high enough that it could be walked under without catching your attention unless you were looking up. Photo by Mike Powell
Every time you head into a forest, remember to look up. Why, you ask? Several reasons, but most importantly, it could save your life. Hopefully, I have your attention and now I will explain.
My primary purpose of this article is to keep you thinking about safety while enjoying your time underneath trees. Looking up might get you the opportunity to see an elusive raptor, woodpecker, songbird, or a roosting turkey or grouse. Other wildlife such as porcupines, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and bears can be seen just hanging out if you are looking around. Every time I see wildlife, I wonder how many I have missed as they just sit very quietly and watch as I pass below.
As a Penn State Extension Educator, one of my specialties is conducting chainsaw safety and operational training. I use this saying in every class: "Look up, down, and all around" every time you enter a wood lot. Look for the potential of overhead hazards, also known as widow-makers; ground hazards like debris or uneven terrain that can cause slips, trips, or falls; and all around is to look for wires, roads, buildings, and dead or leaning trees. Personal safety and avoiding a potential accident by not stopping directly beneath broken or dead limbs.
This is not information for just someone using a chainsaw in the woods. Last year during hunting season, I encountered a hunter who had entered the woods under the cover of darkness. They knew where they wanted to go because a family member placed a tree stand there. This individual had concerns about the height of the stand, so they decided to sit under a tree with their back against it.
Why was I there? Outside of my Extension position, I am a Deputy State Game Warden with the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC). The tree stand mentioned previously did not have the proper information attached to it to be left on game lands overnight (I will include the PGC regulation and information needed at the end of this article). I was checking the stand for an occupant and to issue a citation for failing to provide the required documentation on the stand. Instead, I made contact with a relative who showed me where they had been (leaves were all scrapped away from around the previously mentioned tree). As I looked up, a large broken limb was hanging directly above where this individual had been sitting.
I used this opportunity to educate the hunter about their choice of a tree with a very dangerous hazard hanging above them. They were certainly surprised because even after it became daylight, they never looked up. There is no way of knowing when this branch might fall, but why tempt fate? While I was still at this same location, I pointed out a dead tree leaning towards that same tree stand that was certainly within striking distance. I strongly suggested moving the stand to another location without the potential for dead trees falling towards it, and getting the proper information attached before using it.
Damaged branches and dead limbs can fall anytime. Windy conditions can aid this, and wet weather can cause dead, dry branches to act like a sponge and absorb so much moisture the limb can just fall off. This occurred to me just walking a trail. I just walked beneath this branch that did not appear damaged or dead, yet I only just cleared it when it broke and fell not more than two feet behind me. It would have hurt for sure, and depending on where it could have hit me, I would have required medical attention. Upon examination, the limb was extremely moisture-laden from the rain several hours earlier.
The next time you head outside to relax and enjoy a forest, take your time and look around for potential hazards from above or below. Whether you are hiking, setting up a campsite, eating lunch, or stopping to watch wildlife, check what is above you. Every time I stop while under the canopy of trees, I look up. A wood lot can change overnight from a storm, so do not assume that you have checked the area out once and it is safe, especially after a weather event. Always be looking for dead and or damaged trees. It could prevent you or someone with you from getting hit by falling limbs or trees.
Enjoy your time out and about. Remember to look up!
Tree Stands & Blinds (page 21) 2023-24 PA Hunting & Trapping Digest
It is unlawful while hunting or preparing to hunt to
- damage any tree on public or private property by constructing a tree stand or using a portable tree stand or device to climb a tree;
- use or occupy a tree stand that, when constructed, damages a tree. This does not apply to landowners constructing stands on their own property, or persons who have received written permission from a landowner to build or use a tree stand;
- tree stands and portable hunting blinds on state game lands can be placed out not more than two weeks before the first and must be removed no later than two weeks after the final deer season in that area.
Placing a tree stand or hunting blind does not reserve the area for its owner; other hunters can hunt there. Tree stands and portable hunting blinds left on state game lands and other Hunter Access properties under the Game Commission's management need to be conspicuously marked with a durable and legible identification tag that includes the owner's first and last name and legal home address, or bears the Customer Identification (CID) number that appears on the owner’s hunting license or a number issued by the Game Commission to the stand or blind owner.
