Should I believe this guy or................?

[Gitman66]

hello, I own a small chunk of land in Michigan and was recently contacted by a man doing some logging on the property behind mine. He said he'd like to remove some of my maple trees. He looked them over and said he would only take 16" and bigger and it would be about $4500. I asked how many trees that was and he said there's eighty one (81). Should I believe this guy or should I do more research?...who do I ask...I realize a guy's got to make a profit, I just would like to know what the going price is. The trees are about 100+ yrs. Thanks for your time.
G

 

[clearance]

Do you really need the $4500? If not forget it. 81 trees at $4500 is like $55 a tree, you will be left the slash, stumps, why? Anyways, if you need the jake, of course look a little into it, then ask for more, of course.

 

[Newfie]

Doesn't sound like enough to me, especially since he approached you, so the quality is likely pretty high for him to be that interested. The maple market is up right now. Contact a forester to cruise the timber for you and give you a better idea of what your trees are worth and what is best for your land. Sounds like this logger might be interested in high grading your property and leaving you a residual stand of firewood trees.

 

[mike385]

Hello,
Just make sure that they didn't already cross the line. I know of a few crews around here in PA that have crossed the line and then ask to see if you want to sell your timber to cover their butts. I would def. check around.

 

[turnkey4099]

And if it isn't too late already, be sure your property line is clearly marked.

Harry K

 

[Husky288XP]

Its time to bite the bullet and hire a forester to come in and cruise your timber. The cruise will provide you with the total estimated volume, by species, of your stand. This volume, in board ft., can then be used to give you an estimated price of your trees. 16" and above sounds like he is high grading your stand, which is a big management no no. At least have a forester mark your property boundaries to prevent or stop timber theft.

 

[chaikwa]

Contact the MI Dept of Natural Resources. They have programs to help manage your timber stand correctly, and they will pay 1/2 the cost for a forester to come in and develop a Forest Stewardship Plan, (FSP). Mine cost me $200 after the cost share and made me aware and eligible for a couple of cost share grants. Essentially, they are paying me to maintain my woodlot.

chaikwa.

 

[Gitman66]

Thank You!

I've called the guy and let him know that I'm not interested at this time. I'm also going to pay more attention to my land and contact the MI Dept of Natural Resources. I'd like to thank all of you for your quick and helpful responses, you've made my decision easy and, more importantly, painless.
G

 

[Nickrosis]

Chaikwa has a really good point - be sure to look into that.

 

[Lumberjacked]

Get a forester

Thats called Hi-Grading and thats a big NO NO. Basically hes taking out the biggest and best trees your property has to offer, so what that boils down to is crappy genetics for the rest of your forest life. If you really want to log out your woods then either hire a forester or call a cooperative and have them send out a state forester to look at your land. But by no means ever hire some guy that comes and says he will give you $X for you trees, because 99 times out 100 it is too good to be true and you will get screwed without even knowing it. I would do a prescribed thinning to release some of the codominents and to encourage regeneration, you also want to take out some of the mature age class (16in +) to make the operation profitable. Your goal for timber production should be to create an uneven aged stand, this will not only allow you continuous harvest it will bring diversity to your stand.

 

[sheisonthemoon]

Here in Arkansas the department of forestry has consultants that will come to look at your property , and inform you of exactly if not close to what your timber is worth.I am not sure if there is a small fee but to speak to someone who is on your side would definately be worth it.

 

[MS-310]

Thats called Hi-Grading and thats a big NO NO. Basically hes taking out the biggest and best trees your property has to offer, so what that boils down to is crappy genetics for the rest of your forest life. If you really want to log out your woods then either hire a forester or call a cooperative and have them send out a state forester to look at your land. But by no means ever hire some guy that comes and says he will give you $X for you trees, because 99 times out 100 it is too good to be true and you will get screwed without even knowing it. I would do a prescribed thinning to release some of the codominents and to encourage regeneration, you also want to take out some of the mature age class (16in +) to make the operation profitable. Your goal for timber production should be to create an uneven aged stand, this will not only allow you continuous harvest it will bring diversity to your stand.

If every logger was like you (lumberjacked) we will have "some" nice lumber in the next 100 years. Lumber is going down the tubes (not the prices the grade of it)

 

[jockshift@peopl]

Maples

For what it is worth,when you dont know it
pays to find someone who does instead of
going with blind chance.Good show boys.:greenchainsaw:

 

[TipTop]

hard maple pays 5500 dollars per thousand for veneer one16 inch log 12 feet long will pay 400.00 dollars one log tri axle truck with 5000 feet will pay about 28000.00 for veneer WOW.

 

[Husky288XP]

Thats veneer, not F1, F2, F3, tie/timber, firewood, or pulp. Plus all four faces have to be clean, not an easy task for a tree.

 

[TipTop]

OK 81 trees 100 years old not all logs would be veneer some with 3 2 clear faces and some pallet . 81 but logs 16 inches would be a load 10 to 12 feet long not all veneer some with one defect. second cut logs 1 to 2 defects thats two MOORE loads. plus pallet now about 15 cord Larry The Logger :sword: :sword:

 

[doggonetrees]

stolen timber

Does anyone know the proper recourse that I should take on the following problem? Story goes- returning from a deployment last Feb, went to our incorporated tree farm to find my uncle having some pine thinning done. The trees were 25 year old crp trees. Per the contract that he had, no hardwoods were to be cut. When approached about why he was cutting the timber he told me it was none of my business. To cut timber entails having a meeting with all members - myself and brother, my grandmother and uncle. When the others were asked they had on knowledge of what was going on. He sold the timber and opened an account in the farms name( in a different bank) with himself as the only one that could write checks on it. The loggers didn't do a title search on the land-took his word that it was his alone. They also cut all the sellable hardwoods, and cut 60 feet outside our fenceline on another persons property 300 yards long swath. I have retained a law firm to try to get things right before I deploy again in July. Any input would be deeply appreciated, as I can present this to my lawyers. Also, my grandma is 98 yrs young and needs the partial income from the proceeds to stay where she is at. Thanks.

 

[TimberPig]

doggonetrees,

At that stage, you are pretty much left with legal recourse as your only means to get satisfaction over the flagrant violations. As you've already done, find a good law firm that has experience in similar cases if possible and take him to court. Since was the only one who stood to benefit from his actions, and he was acting along without the knowledge of any of the other partners, I would suspect that he is likely going to end up losing far more than he stood to gain from his actions.

You should also advise your neighbours of his tresspass and theft, so that they can seek legal redress as they see fit as well. Just make sure this is done with the advise of your lawyer, to ensure that his unlawful actions do not end with your neighbours trying to sue you and the other partners as well, as this could result in the loss of your land in a judgment for them. The biggest thing is to do everything by process of law and cover your ass on everything. Your lawyer will be your best resource in this process.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

This is criminal fraud. Hang him.

 

[doggonetrees]

The suits are in the works. Contacted the adjacent landowners, and they have gotten their own lawyers to start proceedings on both my uncle and the timber buyers- with no harm or foul toward our farm. My law firm is going for punitive damages against the purchaser for all hardwoods cut against contract- not sure price yet, but includes replacement seedlings of same type trees. I'll never get to see them at their grandure that the old ones were, but oh well. Uncle has to repay money stolen from farm and sign over all rights to future farm income, or face jail time. We have a livestock and timber theft bureau here, and that was the course they suggested. Thanks.