5 Ways to Manage Woodlands and Your Property
Timber Management, Forest Management, Wetlands Management, Woodlands Management, Wildlife Management—these are some of the terms associated with companies like Acorn Outdoors.
Acorn Outdoors is a full-service land management and forestry company.
Businesses such as Acorn Outdoors help property owners with a range of land and forestry management-related services such as:
- timber sales
- timber marketing
- boundary line maintenance
- reforestation plans
- fire breaks
- prescribed burning
- invasive species control
- herbicide application
In addition, Acorn Outdoors works directly with property owners to develop a tax management plan that can help make their property investment worth even more.
Are you a landowner with a wooded property needing a management plan?
First, it’s important to determine what you want from natural resource management.
What are your goals and financial objectives for the property, both long and short-term?
These goals will be the focus of your timber management plan. In addition, these goals are carried out within the framework of balancing wildlife management while also capitalizing on timber production. It’s the best of all worlds: a healthy piece of land that’s also profitable.
1. Timber Management Plan
Each tract of timbered property is unique. Likewise, each property owner’s needs are specific to them. A timber management plan will find a balance that best suits you and your property.
Most timber plans have a ten-year outlook, with the possibility of revision every five years.
Your timber plan will take into account the long and short-term health of the land, as well as your unique financial goals.
Your timber management plan will also involve timber marking and timber valuation.
Timber marking is when a professional forester goes through the property and marks the trees to indicate which trees are to be cut and which are to be left to grow.
In order to get an idea of the value of a property’s timber, an experienced forester will evaluate the trees and make a determination of worth based on a number of factors, including height, amount, and whether disease is present.
Timber management plans are about more than just taking timber. They also take into account improving the property for wildlife as well as recreational purposes.
Managing land for recreational purposes, including everything from horseback riding to hunting game birds, can be a great way to capitalize on your land while also maintaining it.
2. Timber Sales
Logging and selling your timber is a complicated business. Experienced forestry management companies like Acorn Outdoors handle all the details, so you don’t have to.
Once your timber is ready to sell, the sale of your timber will be handled by the timber management company, who will act as the sales agent. This is beneficial from a financial standpoint as well as a managerial perspective.
The buyers will be vetted by experienced professionals to ensure they’re reputable. In addition, the forestry management company will oversee the timber harvest to make sure it’s handled professionally.
3. Boundary Line Maintenance
Boundary line maintenance is important for landowners for numerous reasons, especially if you and/or your neighbors are harvesting timber. Clearly marked lines help alleviate disputes over property boundaries.
Correct and established boundary lines should be measured and marked, which is where your forestry management company comes in.
A professional will mark out the boundaries, often with paint or another visible marker.
Boundary line maintenance is especially important if you decide to sell a piece of land so that prospective buyers know exactly where the property lines are. It can also prevent a logger from a neighboring property from cutting your timber.
4. Reforestation
Timber management plans also take into account the future of the property. Reforestation is an important part of that equation.
A reforestation plan is created by professional, experienced foresters who hold degrees in forestry management. They will take many things into consideration when it comes to reforesting, including government funding.
Reforesting your property after harvesting the timber allows your property to continue being both a healthy, growing ecosystem, as well as maintaining profitability in the long term.
5. Wildlife Management
Wildlife is a necessary and often enjoyable part of being a property owner. Contrary to how media often portrays wildlife and timber companies as being at odds, a wildlife management plan focuses on promoting the health of the property’s wildlife.
In addition, the plan can be tailored specifically to the landowner’s goals for the property, such as wanting to manage the land for hunting/game purposes. This can also be beneficial when it comes to taxes, as a wildlife management plan can have lower tax rates than if the property is being managed for timber.
Managing your woodlands property might seem complicated. But working with an experienced forestry company can make management simple and profitable and help you enjoy all the benefits of your property investment.