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Forestry FAQs
The following is a list of questions landowners commonly ask regarding forestry plans. If you have a question that is not answered here, e-mail it to us at forestry@mcn.org.
Forest Management Plans
Your Management Objectives
Silviculture
Is a Plan Right for Me?
How Much Will it Cost?
How Long Will it Take?
Loggers? Mills?
In California, all plans for forest management are formal documents that must comply with the Forest Practice Rules. There are two basic types of plans for the small landowner, the Timber Harvest Plan (THP) and the Non-industrial Timberland Management Plan (NTMP). Both require a broad range of concerns to be formally addressed, including: forestry (silviculture and logging), archaeology, endangered plant and wildlife species, wildlife habitat, soil erosion potential, water resources, forest pests and diseases, road construction and maintenance, and various notifications.
A THP is valid for three years and may be extended twice for an additional year, bringing the life of the plan to a maximum of five years. An NTMP, once approved, is valid in perpetuity. After an RPF files with the state a Notice of Operations that conforms to the approved NTMP, logging operations may begin immediately.
What a landowner would like to see happen with his or her land is termed a management objective. Management objectives are as diverse and individualized as the landowner. Here are some examples of values or resources for which land may be managed.
- Timber -- a resource managed in a planned way to earn current and/or future revenue;
- Fire - reducing the risk of catastrophic fires;
- Aesthetics -- maintenance of a scenic view, often for a resident landowner;
- Recreation - maintaining quality camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, etc.;
- Water -- management to protect water resources such as creeks, rivers, springs, and wet areas;
- Wildlife -- management for the habitat requirements of desired wildlife species;
- Landscape ecology -- managing land to provide habitat diversity in a planning landscape.
Silviculture is the art of producing, tending and harvesting a forest. The Forest Practice Rules allow two basic silvicultural methods, described below. The silvicultural system is selected based on the type and condition of your forestlands as well as your management objectives.
- Even-aged management. Under this method, the trees are managed as one age class. Types of management include seed tree, shelterwood, thinnings and clear cuts. Units generally cannot exceed 20 acres, and often planting is required.
- Uneven-aged management. This includes selection methods in which either individual trees or small groups of trees (under 2.5 acres) are harvested. This type of silviculture is mandated for NTMPs.
Any commercial harvest, including firewood operations, must be done under an approved plan. In order to determine whether or not a plan is feasible for you, we usually estimate (very informally) the volume you are likely to recover and balance that against the costs.
Our policy it to offer to our prospective clients in Mendocino County one free initial consultation, which is typically a day walking around on your property, often with you. This helps us determine timber type, volume, and costs involved in your particular case. Costs we think about when considering project feasibility include costs of plan writing, tree marking, administration, logging, trucking, yield taxes, and planting.
Many factors determine the final cost of a THP or NTMP-acreage involved, steepness of slope, accessibility, presence of listed species, etc.
For small holdings (under 100 acres), you might expect THP costs of $6,000-$10,000. NTMPs require a more intensive cruise and more information, so they are more expensive. They generally run $12,000 and up.
Costs for Modified THPs, Emergency Notices, and Exemptions are lower. Use of these is highly restricted, however, and for the majority of landowners is not appropriate.
For most THPs, preparation time is typically 2-3 months, though plans begun in the winter may require more time. NTMPs require more data collection and analysis, so the preparation time for NTMPs is longer, running 3-6 months. For either a THP or an NTMP, after the plan is submitted to the state, various reviews are conducted. These reviews generally take a minimum of 6 weeks and may take longer. Because of restrictions on logging in the winter period, often plans begun in the late spring or summer cannot be operated on until the next year.
If you are unfamiliar with the industry, questions of what logger and what mill to use may be somewhat daunting. As your foresters, we have a fiduciary responsibility to you and must act in your best interest. We may tell you about Licensed Timber Operators (LTOs) or mills with which we are familiar and may even contact them on your behalf, but you make the final decisions regarding which logger to use and to which mill(s) to ship logs. We also may provide you with information such as current log prices at various mills, a service for which we typically do not charge unless considerable time is involved.
For more information, contact the Webmaster at: c@nunamaker.com
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