Late last night I received a call from a local cattle rancher wanting me to come get some 36" X 120' pine trees off of his land. ;D I asked him how many he had and he said that he could fill up my 15 acres really fast and still have plenty left over. ;D ;D I will be driving up Friday to look at the stand. His family has owned this land for over 150 years and these trees have never been cut. My question to everyone is where do I start. Because he is a good friend and these trees are probably worth a pretty good sum, I would prefer to find a forester to give him an assey of the value and then have them commercially harvested. I don't worry about myself because he will make sure I am not cut out. The stand is located in the coastal range of Ca. way back in. :P Where do I find anyone who could assey the lot and arrange for the removal. Thanks for the HELP 8) LC Rich.
Go to acf-foresters.com and click "Find a Forester." You should find several in your area. Best of Luck.
member tillaway should be able to give info assist
Sure can, where specifically is this timber located. I can probably put you in touch with someone dependable both for the required Timber Harvest Plan and maybe even an exceptional logger.
Fair warning, Timber Harvest Plans are required by the state and only Registered Professional Foresters (RPF) can sign them. They cost big big bucks to produce and usually take several months to get written and approved. You will have to hire a Licensed Timber Operator (LTO) to do the harvest. For the landowner to harvest his own timber requires them to get a "C" license. It is the same as the "A" license the regular loggers have without the insurance requirement. A "B" license is for salvage and minor forest products only and requires insurance.
Usually the RPF's deal with all these details including the threatened and endangered surveys (spotted owl) that will need to be completed. They really like to make it costly and cumbersome down there.
if it is possibly to purchase some of those beautys, please let me know:)
ill personally come get em:)
AS USUAL YOU GUYS ARE GREAT 8) 8)
Thank you for the info. As stated I will be looking tomorrow or Sat at the area. Thanks tillaway for your expertise, it kind of reminds me of the gov saving us from ourselves. Big hoss 550 if I can get some snaked out of the herd I will give you a call about the price but it is a long way from home.. Jeff and jr thanks again for keepig the fat out of the fire. I heard that the spotted owl is almost as good as the bald eagle when put in a stew... :D :D :D LC Rich.
thanks....and good luck with all the paperwork there in the great state of CA:):D
LC Rich, what kind of pine are they?
They will be Ponderosa/ Jeffery, Sugar or Digger (Grey) Pine. Depending on location they could be worth good money or worthless. Digger Pine is basically worthless, the others depend on hauling costs. There are no coastal mills that cut pine so everything has to be trucked inland. One property I worked on had some nice Sugar pine, no mills would cut it so it was always left.
Ok, stupid ?, but why are they considered worthless?
To much cost involved?
Digger Pine have allot of tension and twist. A board cut from a log will practically jump of the mill. I know someone that specialized in cutting rail road ties out of them. Very few logs will produce boards, ties though are possible.
I know nothing about digger pine Pinus sabiniana . But I have done a little research and what Tillaway suggests, its of little value commercially. It is costly to log because its open grown, long distance to market and crooked form. Rail road ties would be the biggest option, with some value for its heptane resin for terpentine. Also, its seeds are good eaten as a nut.
Click here for a closer look (http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_1/pinus/sabiniana.htm)
Sugar pine , on the other hand, is in a whole other category as its the largest pine and similar to white pine. It is fast growing and can reach 30 inch dbh and 130 feet in 100 years. Its also susceptible to pine beetle and white pine blister rust.
cheers
I can't believe all the hoops one has to jump through out west. Makes me glad I live where I do. Should I consider it to be a warning of what is to come?
As to your last sentence, Dana, Yes! Even in Oregon the whoops are tightening around some of our necks to the point that we can't even get our heads back out. :'(