Mixed trees for small area?

[Sunbee]

My folks recently picked up a few acres with a water right adjoining their place, and they want to plant some trees on part of it, probably about two acres worth--some is creek bottom and already grown over, and a fair part is rock and steep hill, but probably about two acres of the land is easily usable. They're on the border of zone 3 and 4. The water right is a use it or loose it thing and adds a lot of value to the property.
What I'm looking for are some good resources, books or online, for what might grow there, what purposes it would serve, and how much room and what root depths different species need. Some Christmas trees, some food trees, some hardwoods for woodworking a hundred years from now is kind of what they're envisioning, and maybe some firewood trees if they wouldn't take too much space. (They don't use wood for heat, just for fireplace, but they do have a backup wood stove just in case.)

Also, if anyone knows how to locate a septic drain field that is 'somewhere over there' on a piece of land, that would be helpful too. We know where the tank is on the old land and we know the drain field stretches into the piece they just bought because it's in the legalize about the title or whatever that they have that easement? not sure that's the right term, anyway, that their drain field extends across into that land. But I'm sure the trees shouldn't overlap it--that just sounds like asking for trouble.

[lisa's garden]

You are correct about planting trees well away from the septic field. I am not sure about how to locate it, but I would think that a company that pumps and does work on septic fields would be able to find it for them. It might be a good idea to have it pumped and they could talk to the guys to get a better idea.

They especially do not want trees like willows and silver maples anywhere near the septic field because the roots are so aggressive. I am not very familiar with the trees that do well in your area, so I would recommend contacting the County Extension Office or maybe the Conservation District to see if they have suggestions or lists of trees for those purposes.

[rambler]

That easement for the neighbor's septic needs to be spelled out much, much better than 'somewhere over there'.

That ain't right.

Before dealing with trees, get that sorted out legal. It's funny how many times such a thing becomes a major headache. A very big negative to this property.

It really needs to be cleaned up and defined. Seriously. With water rights the big appeal of this property I can understand why they bought it, but that easement needs to be defined. It should state in the deed what property is covered; if not, clear up that mess sooner than later. Anything they do on the property can be called into question until that clause is defined.

--->Paul

[Sunbee]

Sorry, Paul, I wasn't clear enough. The easement was my parents' on their neighbor's land. They bought the land they had the easement on, now it's irrelevant. The septic system was last pumped in '86 (first?) when they bought it and the guy who pumped it said it was big enough for a hotel and hadn't needed it then.
Once upon a time one family owned the whole valley, then it got chopped up and sold, then chopped further and sold, then the residents passed a law that you couldn't subdivide smaller than five acres. Lots of places, like my folks and their neighbors (who with the modern septic laws couldn't build) were smaller than five acres. Now my folks are over five acres but not as much as ten so the two lots aren't going to ever be split apart again (barring a change in the laws).
Thanks for the info about the willows, Lisa, they grow wild along there and I bet they are already getting into it. I will try the conservation district.

[rambler]

Got it! Clear now. Good for your folks.

Leach fields are so differently constructed - some are 6 feet deep, some are a foot, some are one long tile, some are 3 or more lines....

If shallow enough - 3-4 feet or less - they can be probed, you know where the tank is, a rod with a Tee handle is pushed down until you hit the tile. Go 5-10 feet, and probe again. Mark with flags or sticks, and you can pretty soon get the whole deal laid out. Probably a good septic fella could do this real quick for you. But, once in a while, they can be pretty hard to figure out.

Many very old systems simpley drain into a field tile and on to a ditch, creek, or river, and you likely don't really want to 'know' that so it appears on any official papers.............

Again, sorry I'm off-topic.

Here in southern Minnesota, a good mix of hardwood trees is golden. We are having Oak wilt, Dutch Elm disease, now Emerald ash borer has come to the state.... _Everyone_ is planting maples, so when something kills them next, we will be back to prairie here! I like your mixed appoach, I probably don't know enough about your area to make suggestions but sounds like you have a good plan there.

--->Paul

[Old Vet]

Most every state has a forestry commission and part of their being is to help to improve the forest in that state. Call them and they will have more information than you wanted about trees that grow their and will have the area defined with a topographic map and the type of soil and can tell you exactly what to grow there.

[Sunbee]

Thanks so much everyone. I think their place was built in the forties, and the drain field must be at least six feet deep since it goes under their garage and gardens, more in some places (garage) since there's a small rise in there. It's already legally grandfathered in, whatever the deal is--way too close to the creek for any septic system nowadays.
It's a clay soil, very little organic matter and doesn't absorb water well: Sage, rabbit brush, cheatgrass, Russian napweed and junipers are most of what grows naturally there. Only reasons my folks have any garden soil worthy of the name is a decade of 4-H rabbit contributions when I was a kid!

The Conservation district sent me to one of the state universities' forestry departments, where I was lucky enough to get the guy who is retiring at the end of the month and got some good advice from him, mostly on Christmas trees that would grow there, he suggested Abies Concolor, a fir, as a low maintainance type, and a lead on another person to get in touch with at the university nursery, probably tomorrow.

[chamoisee]

What part of Idaho? I am up north, it sound like you are not.

Clay should absorb water...and hold it...but at any rate, the list of vegetation that is growing there naturally at this time suggests to me that the best idea would be to enrich the soil if you want to plant trees, and plan to drip irrigate, because it sounds very, very dry.

How could it be zone 3-4 and be so dry, with sage, etc? We are way up in the panhandle and are zone 5.

[lisa's garden]

Abies concolor (Concolor Fir) is a great tree...they appear similar to Blue spruce but are hardier in low moisture areas. The deer do like to eat them if they don't have enough browse in the winter, so watch out for that. One of the things that I like about this species of tree is that the needles smell just like orange peels when you crush them. Also nice in wreaths and as Christmas trees.

[Sunbee]

Helianthus, I am a neighbor of yours (within some distance, anyway), but my folks live down in s.e. They get about 11" of precipitation average annually, so maybe when it comes there isn't enough to soak in much? (My dad tracks it himself--he's a weather nut.)
Lisa, thanks for the info. They do have a deer problem there--hunting is too limited so the deer are overpopulated. They sound like great trees so I hope we can figure that out.