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Good Timber Sales, Good Forest Management

Started by Phorester, December 21, 2004, 11:30:11 AM

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Phorester


We always talk about badly handled timber sales, there's good ones too;

In 1984 a  landowner asked me for management advice.  Lo and behold he took my advice and hired a consulting forester to handle a selective harvest timber sale on his 50 acres of mixed eastern hardwoods.  Nice, clean logging job.

In 2004, the original owner's son had inherited the property and wanted another timber sale.  He contacted the same consulting forester, who marked the same 50 acres of timber.  It was sold and cut last summer. Another nice, clean logging job. Volumes are International 1/4" scale.

1984:  438 trees, average vol. per tree of 214 bd. ft. total vol. 94,000.                      

2004:  453 trees, average vol. per tree of 329 bd. ft., total vol. 149,000.

Same consulting forester, same acreage, almost the same number of trees. But a volume increase of 55,000 thousand bd. ft. (MBF).  Plus, this 55,000 bd. feet of increase in tree size was put onto high quality trees left in the 1984 harvest by the forester.

As foresters know, prices in timber sales are subject to many, many variables.  It's also hard to compare timber prices 20 years apart because markets change, different buyers are in the mix, etc.  (But there were better quality trees in the 2004 sale than the 1984 sale.)  With that, the 1984 sale grossed $229/MBF, or $21,500.  The 2004 sale sold for $715/MBF, or $106,400.

A good comparison of almost duplicate timber sales on the same acreage 20 years apart. And there is even better quality trees left this time for the next harvest. Shows what a landowner can accomplish by following the advice of a professional forester working for him.


leweee

Phorester...THANKS....I thought in the other thread I was going to have to defend my profession. :o  Now don't get me started ::) :-X
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

Jeff

Jeez. leweee, I was hoping somebody would jump in and help...
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

leweee

Jeff....just a simple logger (typing ain't my strong suite)usetta keepen a low profile and not sayen too much.  You could say I was a "cut & run "   type of guy. ;D
just another beaver with a chainsaw &  it's never so bad that it couldn't get worse.

Phorester


Results from another timber sale in my area a couple weeks ago.  Handled by a consulting forester who will also supervise the logging for the landowner:

290 acres of mixed eastern hardwood, mostly yellow poplar.  A little less than 3,000 trees, average tree size about 480 bf.

Close to 1,400,000 bf (International 1/4") total in the sale.  6 bids.  The highest bid was $351,000, or about $251 per thousand board feet.  Buyer has 2 years to remove the timber.

A good price for the landowner.  A good logging job will result.


Cedarman

Why will people spend 2 weeks researching for the best car deal to save 500 bucks and won't spend an hour researching the best way to sell their timber?  Do they go to court without a lawyer?  Do they get a medical diagnosis from a doctor?  Do they hire an architect do design their house? Do they hire a real estate agent to represent them when selling their house?  Why in the world wouldn't they seek professional help when selling megathousands of dollars worth of trees?

There are ethical loggers and there are unethical loggers. By looking I can't tell the difference.  With research I can get a good idea.  The consulting forester should know.

Yesterday I saw a myrtle tree that I would have TSI'd in a heartbeat. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen.  Jim Marten of Marwood said they gave $12,000 for that tree.  It came from the west coast, but if I owned timberland out west, I would not have a clue that tree had any value.
But a professional would have saved my bacon, by knowing the value and getting it for me.

I vote for using consulting foresters.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

jrdwyer

Good post. It's always nice to hear about the continuation of good forest management over time on the same property.

Last year I selectively marked and sold a beautiful stand of upland red oak/yellow poplar timber that was selectively marked by another consultant back in 1984 (now retired). He did a nice job and I did my best to continue the tradition. The landowners had TSI done following the sale in '84 and they plan to do so again after this harvest.  I hope my knees are strong enough to allow me to do another selective mark in 2024.

Doc

Now how do I go about finding a consulting forester? I am a bit new to some of this (as if this question didn't make that fact evident).

Doc


Ron Scott

See www.acf-foresters.com for a forester in your area. Also contact your local Conservation District Forester or State DNR Service Forester for information.
~Ron

Doc


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