By Allyson Muth,
Penn State Center for Private Forests
The recent warm, wet weather is making for poor logging conditions;
however, it appears that timber buyers are busy looking for standing timber.
Based on the calls we’ve been getting from landowners wanting to know the
dollar value of their trees, owners are looking at trees in a different way
than usual. Unsolicited knocks on the door from someone offering to buy a
landowner’s trees always raises red flags. Yes, it may be an efficiency of scale
– people are working in the area and wouldn’t have to move equipment far – but
it also means you have something of economic value. Moreover, if you’ve never
thought of your trees with dollar symbols in your eyes, it can be a surprise.
You must use care that any activities you undertake don’t compromise the
reasons you own and care for your land.
Jim Stiehler,
now passed but formerly with the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, used to say, “A timber
harvest represents the best time to make a positive change on your woodland;
but it’s also the time when the most damage can be done.” As with many things
forestry, there are many myths associated with timber harvesting that can lead
to bad outcomes. Let’s address some in hopes of getting to a more positive
outcome.
Those trees
need to be cut. Unless
they present a risk to life or property, or an insect or disease is in the
area, no tree ever needs to be cut immediately. Sure, trees have economic and
biological maturity, but in a resource with a lifespan many decades beyond our
own, the time frame for decision-making is correspondingly longer. You have
time to make decisions that do well by your land.
Get those big
trees out of the way so those little trees can grow get bigger. Unless you’ve taken action to get the
next generation of young trees growing in the forest, for the most part across Pennsylvania, those big
trees and little trees are the same age. They are likely different species
even, which would account for different growth rates (for example oaks and maples),
or they may be the winners within a species due to micro-site or genetic
superiority. By the same rules that a farmer keeps his prize bull around for
breeding, why would you want to cut the best growing trees without ensuring
that their progeny are there to replace them? And, as with most of Pennsylvania’s
trees of an average age between 80 and 120 years old, we know at that age
many trees lose their ability to respond well to increased light. They aren’t
going to grow quickly and recapture a site – instead the light can cause stress
and you’ll lose more trees in the process.
We are just
going to do a “select cut.”
As with the knock on the door, anytime the phrase “select cut” enters the
conversation, red flags and warning lights should go off. The first question
you should ask is what are your going to “select” or better yet, what are you
going to leave me? In the manner in which it has come to be used, a “select
cut” typically means the best trees are removed and the worst are left – take the best
and leave the rest. Diameter limit cuts fall in the same red flag area –
cutting all trees above a certain diameter. Within a species, this could remove
the best growing trees of that group. Across species, because different tree
species have different growth rates, this could remove an entire species from
your forest. We hear about this happening a lot in oak and cherry stands.
With our forest’s past history and these species growth rates, oaks and cherries are often the largest trees. And if you love wildlife or hunting, it makes little sense
to remove one of the largest food sources for insects (feed the birds) and
wildlife. The maples and birch left aren’t going to fill that void.
Forestry’s
not complicated. I can do this on my own. It’s been said that forestry is not rocket science; it’s a
lot harder (I will admit, some forester probably said this). The reality is
that a forest is a complex system. There are
professional service providers who can help, called consulting foresters. If
ever a timber harvest is considered, we strongly encourage landowners to have
someone to advocate for you, your values, and your long-term goals for the
woodland. Consulting foresters can prescribe management activities that will
best mesh with your woods and what you value. They can mark timber for sale to help
carry out that activity. They can bid out the sale. And they can monitor the
harvest to ensure good work is done. Yes, trees can bring dollars to your
pockets, but they also bring you (and the rest of us) so much more. Having a
professional who can interpret the story of your forest, help you understand
what you have on your land, and help guide you in the process to move the
forest to a place you hope it can go is an asset to you. As with other
professionals, there are costs involved. But more often than not, these
professionals ensure a more positive outcome. As with all professions, there
are scrupulous and unscrupulous players in forestry. Get recommendations; ask
for references.
There is always
time to make well-informed decisions about the long-term care of your woods.
Purchase of standing timber may be picking up right now, but make sure you
understand the actions and potential outcomes before you make the decision to
sell trees. Ask for help. Educate yourself. The trees and forest will be better
for it.
