Forest management on my property

[Willemjm]

This is probably more a forestry question, but would appreciate some input.

I live on acreage here in the Sandhills and except for the house and the shop, I have left my land with pretty dense forest untouched.

The forest is mostly pine, it appears as if the land was cleared about 20 years back and what came back is a pretty dense forest with mostly Pine trees, tall and then a lot of small trees situated in-between the Pines. I'm not sure how this was done, as they don't seem to have been planted, the positioning of the Pines are totally random. To give an idea of the density, to build the house and shop, I cleared a little less than 2 acres and removed approximately 1,500 trees.

In-between the pines, there are lots of small trees. Holly, various different varieties of Oak, Ceder, Persimmons, Hickory, Maple, Red Maple, Sassafras, Dogwood, Black Cherry, Black Tupelo, etc.

So the question is whether there is any merit in working the forest part, or just leave it to nature? I thought about clearing some of the Pines around a few of the healthiest hardwoods, to give them a better chance, but not sure if it is worth the effort.

 

[Wiley's Woodworks]

I speak from experience. I inherited 40 acres of timberland back in the 80s. Before me nothing had been done on the property for over 50 years. It had just grown as Mother Nature saw fit. The land is similar to the Sandhills in that its highest and best use is growing pulpwood pine trees and harvesting a crop every 12 years or so.

The first thing I did was harvest and clear out all the hardwoods. They were big and so shady nothing was growing under them. Got a nice payoff. I let things grow for a couple of years, and then thinned out and cleared out much of the scrub brush and most of the weak and deformed trees. This was a break even project. After 3 years I had a good crop of pulpwood pine and some lumber quality southern yellow pine trees. I clear cut everything, got a pretty good payoff, and paid to replant seedlings. Since then I have harvested and replanted twice; both times the payoff was less than the first clear cut.

The fact that you look at your property, and it raises the question of whether or not something needs to be done means something needs to be done. You get to decide what, and to me the key concern is what will the land surrounding your home look like after the work. The last thing I would want to do is harvest and clear cut everything and replant. From your description the undergrowth and weaker trees should be cleared out, and the timber should be inspected and thinned for maximum growth in the future. Clear it to the point you can drive an ATV just about anywhere on the land. As a general rule softwoods and hardwoods don't grow together well, but extra thinning will allow both of them to coexist.

There are so many species on your land that I would pay a professional forester (in the old days they were called timber spotters) to walk the property and map what species are growing where on the land. He can give you good guidance on thinning or eliminating certain species, and which species will thrive or starve next to each other. If you decide to emphasize the hardwoods, you probably won't live long enough to realize any income from them; you will just enjoy their beauty and pass it along to the next owner.

My property was just sitting in the middle of nowhere surrounded by other pulpwood land, so I maximized its income potential. If you go this route, after the first clear cut and replanting, think of your land as a savings account that pays an interest rate of 8% per year compounded. That's how fast pulpwood pine grows.

 

[Willemjm]

^^^^
Many thanks, that is great information!!!

 

[Mike Davis]

Excellent.

I will add pines shelter and protect small hardwoods. At some point you have to decide to cut the pines and release the hardwoods for better growth or to cut the hardwoods to let the pines grow. This can also be considered as long term vs. shorter term harvest planning. Pines give a quicker turn around with a smaller profit more often. Hardwoods are a longer growth cycle with a higher profit per harvest plus potential for nut or fruit harvest. Where you are the pine may be the better bet.

 

[junquecol]

If you haven't, get land classified as forrest land with tax office. You may have to hire a professional forrester to help you, but tax saving will more than pay the cost. As an example, the land next to me is taxed at the rate of $3000 per acre, while my land which is no different, other than my trees are almost 70 years old, is taxed at the rate of over $55K per acre.

 

[patlaw]

We have 100 acres of pine (and other) trees that were clear cut more than 20 years ago. We recently had a lumber company give us an assessment of when we could cut it again. He said it wasn't ready yet and that it could be another 10 years. The hardwoods aren't big enough yet to make harvesting them worthwhile. He says there is plenty of pine to meet the current demand. That came as a surprise.

 

[smallboat]

40+ yrs back I read an article that described managing a plot of woodland ot support a boat building business. I can’t find the article but three things have stuck with me (and maybe been misremembered). (1) It was a selective harvest system, not clear cutting. (2) Managed for a mix of specific species. (3) introduced me to the term “silviculture”.

A possible 4th, if I trust my memory. Based on his starting point it took 5 years to get to a sustainable long term harvest. I have no recollection of where this was located, the original conditions, or size of the woodland.
Still, interesting enough to take up brain space for all these years!

 

[Ray Morgan]

Have you contacted your local county extension agent. They should have experience with timber management and be able to guide you on tax breaks available to you as a landowner.

 

[gfernandez]

You don't mention how many acres you have, but if it's over 20 you may want to consider putting it in a timber management program for several reasons, the biggest one being the tax break you get on the property.

 

[Mike Davis]

If I can find the manual from the timber management class I took 20 years ago, I would be happy to send it to you.

 

[iclark]

At least in VA, if you do a major harvesting of trees, you have a choice of clear-cutting and planting seedlings (of a certain size and number per acre) or leaving a few seed trees in place (I don't recall the number per acre) and let nature provide the seedlings.

Planting seedlings is the better option if you are going to farm the trees. Seed trees are probably the better option if you are just going to let the acreage return to wild.

IIRC, when we sold 30acres of pines (a long time ago) in King & Queen County, my uncle opted for the seed tree route because that patch of trees was mainly a wind break for the acreage under plow. The first summer or 2 after the tree harvest, my uncle planted watermelons and pumpkins there and did a worthwhile roadside business when they got ripe. Seems like he just sold on the honor system.

The recommendation to talk to a county extension agent is a good one. Among other things, they can help you get a soil test done (soil, not just the accumulation on the soil). The current ph, for example, can help you decide between different tree species for seedlings that will likely flourish on your land.