Stump sprouting of mountain maple, paper birch and pin cherry was studied in relation to residual stump height. The three-year-old stems were cut at stump heights of 0, 15, 45 and 75 cm in a completely randomized plot design. Two growing seasons after cutting, the percent of stumps with live sprouts was lower for the low stump heights. Two years after cutting, the mean number of sprouts per stump of the three species significantly increased with stump height but the effect was no more significant after 10 years. Initially, total height of the sprouts was significantly greater for the higher stump heights of the three species, which is explained by the point of origin of the sprouts along the stump. After 10 years, this effect was no more significant. Except for pin cherry after the first growing season, the three species produced sprouts of similar vigor during the first 10 years, expressed in terms of both diameter and height growth, among the four stump heights. In view of the increasing stump mortality of these three species after manual or mechanical release treatments of a conifer regeneration, a cut height of 15 cm is recommended. Conversely, increasing stump height will likely favor sprout production, which could be advantageous in wildlife habitat management for browse consumption. Key words: stump height, vegetation management, sprout production, vegetative reproduction, wildlife habitat