Educate the ignorant.

freesouled · November 07, 2006, 06:58:27 PM

I have a few quick questions with more to follow.

What does stumpage price mean to the lamen...like me?...and

Does anyone have any info about the pine beetle invasion following Katrina? Is it the Southern Pine Beetle or another species?

Jeff · November 07, 2006, 07:28:18 PM

I can't help with the beetle question but stumpage is the value for a volume of a tree or group of trees as they stand uncut in the woods. The value that these trees represent to the landowners after all other harvesting costs are considered.

freesouled · November 07, 2006, 07:59:45 PM

So if stumpage prices were about 240 Mbf, that would be about the value of green lumber cut from the logs?

Consider a private land owner who has about 15 Mbf worth of timber and stumpage prices are around 240 Mbf. A price of 220 per Mbf of processed lumber would be high if the landowner paid someone seperatly to fell the trees and centrally locate the logs for processing. Am I thinking in the right frame of mind?

Phorester · November 07, 2006, 09:56:41 PM

As Jeff said, stumpage is the value of standing trees. So your stumpage price of 240/MBF is the value of the trees as they stand in the woods. It is not the value of green lumber, but the value of standing trees. Think "on the stump" as what stumpage means.

Lumber cut from a tree will have more value than that tree had when it was standing. At least that's what the sawmiller who bought it hopes for. ;D

As a greatly simplified example, A timber buyer buys standing trees. He makes his profit by selling them to a sawmill. The sawmill makes its profit by sawing the trees into boards and selling them. So the lumber sawn from a tree has more value than the tree when it was standing in the woods.

freesouled · November 07, 2006, 10:01:19 PM

That makes sense. Thanks.

I love this forum!!! 8)

Nora · November 09, 2006, 04:52:38 PM

I don't know about those specific beetles, but the FS has a new beetle publication:
Beetle publication

They also have a site with a mug shot line up of bark beetles:
Pictures of bark beetles

They sure aren't winning any beauty contests!