AT YOUR SERVICE
by Rick A. Lucas Conservation District Forester

A LOOK AT LOGGING AESTHETICS

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
By Bill Cook MSU Extension Service Forester

BEYOND STUMPAGE

A request for the dollar value of timber is the most common question that I field over the course of a year. It is a very good question but not easily answered for a variety of reasons. Stumpage varies with species, tree size, tree quality, stand composition, stand volume, landowner objectives, site access, market access, geographical region, season, weather, and a host of other factors. There is no "blue book" of stumpage values and they range from zero to over 1000 dollars per thousand board feet. A single timber sale might net tens of thousands of dollars for a landowner.

The monetary value of standing timber is called stumpage. This is what the timber owner gets paid by the logging contractor. Trees are a source of raw wood material. The logger manufactures the trees into a product useable by a mill. The margin between stumpage and mill prices is where the logger makes a living, if possible.

Stumpage values are tracked by a couple of services. They provide ball park estimates for certain commercial tree species and products. For example, sugar maple veneer logs command high prices. Scrub oak and ironwood pulpwood may not be marketable at all. Small volumes of wood are the most difficult to move commercially, unless the trees have exceptional quality.

There are three basic products manufactured from trees, pulpwood, sawtimber, and veneer. Sawlogs and veneer have many sets of specifications, which can complicate pricing. Many sawlogs have grades, with somewhat regular price ranges. However, there are different scales for different species. Veneer specifications are often peculiar to a mill and quite market-sensitive.

Most commonly, timber is sold in volume units of either cords or 1000 board feet (mbf). A cord is a stack of 8-foot logs, usually pulpwood, which runs 4 feet high and 4 feet wide. A board foot is the equivalent of apiece of wood 1 inch thick and 12 by 12 inches. Board foot volume is an estimate of the lumber inside a log or tree. It does not include all of the wood in a log or tree. Lumber excludes wood volume that gets slabbed off at the mill or becomes dust as the saw blade cuts through the wood. So, how do landowners learn the value of their stumpage? Three basic ways will unveil stumpage values in a specific stand of timber. The recent sale of a similar stand close by might be a good indicator, especially if the timber sale was a fairly simple one, such as an aspen clearcut. Talk to your neighbors. Second, timber buyers offer free estimates and can often buy timber on the spot. The catch is that they work for a company, not for you. Also, one buyer may make an offer based on a different set of trees than another. This can be confusing to a landowner. Lastly, you can hire a professional forester to help guide you through the process.

People familiar with timber values, or who aren't overly concerned about obtaining top dollar, will often use one of the first two methods. They work fine and many landowners are satisfied with the resulting sale. Word about reputable loggers travels well by word of mouth.

However, most people are unfamiliar with forest ecology and timber values but want to receive top dollar and protect forest quality. A professional forester, often a consulting forester, fills this role. They work for the landowner and are familiar with area logging contractors and mills.

A consultant will work with your objectives and prepare a strategic plan to get there. Timber sales are often a key element of a forest management plan. The consultant will work with both you and logging contractors to make sure a harvest follows the approved forest prescriptions. Always use a contract and know what should be in the contract.

Most times, there are many facets to a timber sale. Which trees? What method of harvest? When? Why? What about roads and landings? Wildlife habitat impacts? Visual quality? Income tax implications? Keep in mind that the highest bid might not be the best option. Many times, a logger will make concessions that reduce the stumpage value, such as building a road or agreeing to a more challenging harvest practice. A timber sale can go a long way to achieving a wide range of management objectives.

For most people, a timber sale is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you're concerned about the future forest, then get the job done right. A timber sale is often a whole lot more than just cutting trees down.

Michigan State University programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status.

Bill Cook Forester & Biologist
MSU Extension, Upper Peninsula 6005 J Road
Escanaba, MI 49829
906-786-1575, voice •
906-786-9370, fax
Email: cookwi@msu.edu

EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
by Don Ingle

CHIPMUNK HOARDING SIGNALS COLDER TIMES COMING

Cooling nighttimes are reminding me that I have not gotten our winter wood supply ready. Another hint that I need to get going is being watched out the window by our wood pile stacks where I saw one of our neighbors hard at work.

A small chipmunk had been making numerous trips to a small niche in the foot of the stack, each time coming from somewhere around the yard with cheeks bulged full of something that was intended for his winter cache of food.

Well, once they hit the burrow and you don't see them out and about anymore you know one thing for certain. It's getting closer to winter, friends, and a long, cold time until spring brings scampering chipmunks back again. Don't say they never told you it was coming - the clues have been there with every pouch full of seeds and nuts they haul to their winter digs. If you didn't get the changing season hint it is not the chipmunk's fault.

Such increased activity is the small rodent's reaction to the changing season. As fall begins, so does this major hoarding of seeds, nuts, forbs and other edibles that the critter will stuff into his cache. Unlike his larger cousin the squirrel, the chipmunk will spend his time in a burrow or other shelter and only venture out occasionally during the winter. Mainly, it will sleep, wake to eat a little then sleep some more.

Chipmunks are fun to watch. They are also curious critters, and when watching one, you often find them watching you. Unless you make too much movement in their direction, they often will sit on the top of a stump, a woodpile, or from a tree limb (they are pretty good climbers) and give you a chipmunk once-over.

Chipmunks are somewhat easy to tame enough to take food from your hand, and generally they seem to enjoy setting up house near where people live (though not a good place to be if the homeowner has a cat). The chipmunk is a member of the family Sciuridae (squirrel family). There are several members of this family in the US. In the Eastern United States our local chipmunk is of the genus Tamias.

The body of the common Eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus, is about 5 to 6 in. (13- 15 cm) long; the upper parts are reddish brown or grayish brown with a median black stripe and two black stripes separated by a whitish band along each side. The tail, 4 to 5 inches (10-13 cm) long, is hairy and flattened.

Food is transported in their expandable cheek pouches to carry home - a rodent's version of `take out'.

Chipmunks make underground burrows, often with concealed entrances beneath stone walls or trees. Although chipmunks are usually found near the ground, they are excellent tree climbers.

In its northern range the chipmunk goes underground about the end of October but sleeps deeply only during the coldest period. Food for the winter is stored in the burrow. Chipmunks eat nuts, seeds, berries, and insects. Although they are numerous, these animals are not serious threats to crops.

Their typical life span is 5 years. The chipmunks of Western North America belong, like those of E Asia, to the genus Eutamias. Chipmunks are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Sciuridae. (Whew ... that's some mouthful! Try saying that ten times rapidly after happy hour.)

Well, this critter is mindful of the approaching colder times. Are you?