Russian olive is an agressive introduced species. If your trying to
manage native
habitat you make an effort to control and remove them. Much of the open
space around Denver is managed
prairie habitat. In managed habitat you try to control and remove
non-native plant and animal
speices.

The people that manage such land that I know are tickled at the sight of
a bowl made from russian olive.

The process usually goes like this....How can such a thing that they
spend so much of their time trying to
get rid of be made into such an attractive object? They had no idea.?
Then they tell me of the really
large russian olive trees they have taken down and sent to a trash
heap. Even people I work with
are astounded...they see the bowl then they tell me of the huge olive
tree in their yard they wish they
could get rid of.


George wrote:

Russian olive helps keep the wind from drying the fields, though.

BTW, aspen is in that group of woods which are bullet-proof at drying. If
you like, a cool, shaded spot will be all you need. If your spot is cool
and shaded enough, like the floor of my basement, it's all you need for
almost anything.

Short of steaming and forming in the microwave, which I've done with some
success, you can't control what the wood's going to do, any more than you
can control your spouse when she releases her stresses, though even there a
sauna helps....

"william kossack" wrote in message
news:n4%Sb.150968$Rc4.1202453@attbi_s54...


There are so many big russian olive trees out there that are being taken
down by open space managers around denver and they would gladly give you
the wood. I also know people that say they have groves of them and want
to get rid of them. The thorns are a really big problem and it is just
plain tough to cut. Many people that have large russian olive trees on
their land hate them.