Official timber harvest/logging thread

pinetag

Well-Known Member
A discussion got kicked off in the Live From the Stand post so I figured we'd carry it over and make an official timber harvest thread. Post up anything related to timber harvests. Pics, questions, pros and cons, funny stories, results, etc.

These are some before pics of what I marked for the logger to take as well as the overall aerial view of what will be cut. I'm hoping the surrounding timber will make a really nice travel corridor between the cut, the river, and the creek
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And you do get surprises as this blocked a field as I walked to my stand today. A trail camera was on left side tree and I was hoping it caught video of this 20” dbh tree crashing ground but it did not. Logger will move this stuff soon. No concern for me as I just walked around. Makes a routine stroll much more interesting and I have enjoyed it. A surprise around every bend.
The only real stipulation I put in contract was no skidding or log trucks thru my fields. But this guy is so good I would renig on That if needed.

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The timber market must be super competitive near you dogghr.

It's hard to tell in these pics but I have some fairly mature stuff that is probably in the 20" range. Mostly poplar and river birch with an occasional red oak and willow oak. The sweet gum and sycamore tend to be a little leaner. I'm saving a couple of oaks for future regeneration as you can see one I marked in the first pic. Second pic is a big river birch that me and a buddy took down to create a bedding pocket. Third pic is what the general area looks like.
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Looks good Pinetag. RO prices are really depressed thanks to some unbalanced requirements of shipping treatment of timber in shipping containers between us and China which is where most RO goes. Industry is hoping some changes in upcoming election will rectify the problem. I’m not believing that. But I hope so.

I’m doing a heavy cut in three, 4 acre sections to improve bedding. Otherwise the cut is very selective with no standard size to cut. I’ll have a mixture of 20yo to 80 yo mast producing timber left standing yet opening up for sunlight to help nullify shade tolerant species. This should allow another prime cut for my children in future.

For those going to timber be careful in that a lot of loggers really do a high grade cut which is unnecessary and poor for a timber stand. And they will offer to cut , say anything 16 “. But they usually are speaking of stump inches not dbh. So that means taking a lot of young trees. And in my opinion it is important to maintain a balance of young and mature trees. Mature oaks of 30+ yo are prime acorn producers and typically more disease resistant. And a good logger does not need to place a access road every 60 ft. But that’s what most do especially in mountain country. Total abuse of land exposing poor soils that have very long term affects.


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Planning a shelterwood cut in the late spring/summer at our camp. It's going to be roughly 60 acres. We had a state forester write a forestry plan in the late 00's, and called for the shelterwood cut now. Our biggest challenge is dealing with ferns and a little stiltgrass. Roughly half of the property needs to be treated with herbicide to ensure good regeneration. The whole high side of the property has little to no understory, so hoping the regeneration creates much better habitat. The goal of the project is to break even.
 
Hard to see but couple deer bedded under trash within 30 yds of working skidder. They just watched me and ignored the trees thrashing. I’d upload some video but can’t get my YouTube to sign in.

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Following.

We have 61 acres in GA mixture of mature pines and hardwoods consisting of Popular, Walnut, Hickory and Oak.

Pines and Hardwoods are ready for harvest.
 
These are the documents from the last timber sale contract that I signed about a year ago:

TIMBER STAND EVALUATION
OWNER:
LOCATION:
ESTIMATED TIMBER STAND INFORMATION
November 2, 2021

HARVEST AREA: 60 acres.

MARKING: Trees to be harvested are marked with yellow paint.

TYPE OF HARVEST: Combination Single Tree and Group Selection Harvest.

GOALS: Increase health and growth of residual trees for future.

TREE SPECIES:
Promote regeneration of desirable tree species.
Clear sawlogs from future yard area and drainfield.
Yellow Poplar 421
Chestnut Oak 193
Red Oak 39
Black Oak 33
Red Maple 6
White Oak 4
Cherry 3
Sugar Maple 1
Hickory 1
Black Gum 1
Sassafras _1_
Total 703

CULL(X) TREES: 154 cut for safety, incidental to harvest and Timber Stand Improvement.
TIMBER VALUE: $----------
PAYMENT: $-------- after contract signing.
$------- at start of harvest. Buyer Initial:_________
$------- 2nd week of harvest. Seller Initial:_________

Page 1 of 1 Pages

TIMBER HARVEST MAP

LANDOWNER:--------- LOCATION:--------- DATE:---------

Timber Sale Area
Woods Edge
Improved Road
Unimproved Reed
Haul Road
Skid Road
Landing
Bridge
Culvert
Pond
Wetland
Perennial Stream
Dwelling
Non-Residential
Fence
Above Ground Utility
Below Ground Utility
Rock outcrop
Slope
lntermittent Stream
Page 1 of 1 Pages

LOGGING CHECKLIST-COMPANY
Must tree tops be lopped?
(Cut big limbs so treetops lay lower to the ground)
2. Can trees be dropped into fields?
3. Must treetops be pulled from fields?
4. Must existing roads be kept open?
5. Must fences be pre~erved?
6. May cull trees marked with an "X" be cut?
If YES may some be utilized for pulpwood?
7. Trees to be harvested are marked in what color?
B. Pipelines, Waterlines, etc.?
9. Wires, powerlines, etc.?
10. Are waterbars needed?(lf no, erosion and sedimentation
control becomes the responsibility of the seller.)
11. Must log ends be pushed Into the woods If log loading area is in a field?
12. How are property lines marked?
13. Must inner property lines be kept clear?
14. On what days and hours may logs be hauled?
15. Any geologic, ecologic, historijcal, cultural sites or invasive species to consider?
16. May logging crew camp on your property?
17. Other circumstances_____________________________________________

Signed Purchaser:______________ Seller:___________
Date:______________ Date:___________

Page 1 of 1 Pages

TIMBER SALE CONTRACT

(Company) hereinafter called the Seller(s), the designated trees described below.
I. Description of Sale Area: The woodland is located ------- County, Pennsylvania, along & -----------
II. Trees Designated for Harvest: A total of 703 saw timber trees and 0 cull(X) trees
marked with yellow tree marking paint.

III. Conditions of Sale:
A. The Purchaser agrees:
1. To pay the Seller{S) the sum of $-------- for the above mentioned trees on approximately
60 acres . Payments to be made as follows: 10 percent upon signing of contract, 45 percent at start of harvest, 45 percent at start of second week of harvest.
2. To waive all claims to the above designated trees unless they are harvested
with-in 24 months after all permits and authorizations are obtained.
3. To repair damage to existing ditches, fences, bridges, roads, trails, or other
improvements caused by harvesting beyond ordinary wear and tear. Haul roads
and skid trails to be returned in a manner that will help prevent erosion through
the use of Best Management Practices ( BMP's) to protect water quality.
4. To ensure that harvested material does not block streams, access roads, trails,
fire breaks and property lines.
5. To maintain liability and workers compensation insurance coverage for the
duration of the timber harvest operation.

Page 1 of 2 Pages

B. The Seller(s) agree(s):
1. To guarantee the Purchaser and assignees title to the timber covered by this
contract, and to defend it against all claims at his/her expense.
2. To grant freedom of entry and right-of-way to the Purchaser, his employees,
contractors and assignees on and across the areas to be covered by this
contract, and also privileges usually extended to Purchasers of timber which are
not specifically covered, provided they do not conflict with specific provisions of
this contract.
3. To guarantee property lines necessary for this harvest are clearly and correctly
marked.
4. To have a complete understanding that the harvesting involves the removal of a
natural resource with heavy equipment and that some minimal damage may
occur to residual trees, saplings and terrain.
IV. This contract is conditioned upon receiving any required rights-of-way and approval under all
applicable local, state and federal ordinances, regulations and laws pertaining to forestry and timber harvesting. In the event such approval of rights-of-way is not received or is deemed unreasonable, this contract becomes null and void and all funds given to the Seller(s) by the Purchaser are refundable.

Signed Purchaser:______________ Seller:___________
Date:______________ Date:___________

Release of Timber Sale Contract After Harvest
I (We), the Seller(s) have found everything satisfactory concerning the timber harvesting operation of
(Company) and agree to relieve the Purchaser of any obligations or liabilities.

MEMBER COMPANY SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE OF PENNSYLVANIA

Page 2 of 2 Pages Q:pAtimbercontract2018.wd
 
My situation was a bit different. 80 acres of hardwood. I walked property w state forestry agent which gave some options. Trees to cull were not marked prior to cut as everyone was swamped to do so.

I’ve done lots of business over the years and am a good judge of character. The logger I chose we were on the same page as a mix cutting of mature and lesser trees. I easily left a third of mature/50+ yo timber standing and he agreed to the philosophy I had.

We agreed field side to a percentage split. Contract he had was good and had a year to complete the job. Checks would be paid to me from the mills with total tally and my percentage w check attached each Thurs and Friday depending on pay day of scale.

Only stipulation that i included was no heavy equipment or skidding in my fields. We agreed to where his landing would be which was at edge of a field but a convenient spot w little issue of nosy eyes for theft.

Forestry dept is up on making sure certified loggers follow reclaim guidelines before freed from site.

He actually was more conservative in his cutting and I turned him more loose to be more aggressive.
I’m “ clear cutting “ three, 3-4 ac tracts for thick areas. When I say clear cut he is taking any that will pay decent at the mill but no small sapling crap.

I want him to make money as do I. I couldn’t have asked for a better and clean logger. Roads are minimal and the deer have loved the trash even if getting to my stands sometimes means a detour path.

Money wise he will prob finish doing 3-4 times original thinking. Good for me. Good for him.

Side note, the WO sales are awesome to a local mill that fab wine and liquor barrels. As said ROBis a bit screwed due to some China policies.

Finally while logging during hunting season wasn’t my first choice but in reality it’s been awesome. Good luck and as my logger says all the time , you can’t trust most loggers ,which is why he stays in such contact on the process, choices , sales, etc.

Final note. Make sure you understand if you doing a diameter cut that they are speaking dbh or stump cut. The latter can sound good but in reality could mean really cutting down to small stuff resulting in a high grade cut which is only good for immediate pockets and poor future timber management.


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The logger should be starting on my place tomorrow and be done by Wed or Thu, just before the much needed rain that is predicted to come on Fri. Since this is a small 8 acre cut of bottomland timber, he wants to knock it out while the ground is still dry and his equipment is close by. As he is working his way back toward the higher ground on my neighbor's place, the further his equipment gets from the property line and the more expensive it will be for him to cut/haul over long distances.

A forester buddy of mine said the regeneration should be fairly quick being as the water table is high, so there may be enough cover to actually hold deer by next hunting season.

Post harvest pics should be coming soon.

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Update: I snuck down the atv trail after my morning hunt yesterday to see what sort of progress had been made. The majority of the timber has been cut so it's mostly skidding it out now. Hopefully the link for the video works.


Edit: Removed link so I don't get in trouble

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Here's the best I got for a photo. Zoomed in and cropped.
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Your link says adult material !:eek: Naked deer ? :D

Yea I was confused w that also. My wife always says I’m checking on my deer porn when catching up with you guys.

Didn’t take down any of my dozen stands and have been lucky logger has dodged them but he did get close on this one where he’s doing some limited clearcutting.

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Yea I was confused w that also. My wife always says I’m checking on my deer porn when catching up with you guys.

Didn’t take down any of my dozen stands and have been lucky logger has dodged them but he did get close on this one where he’s doing some limited clearcutting.

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So weird. Maybe it's because the hosting site (Flickr) has bad content? I removed it just so I don't get flagged for anything.

Close call on the stand!

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