Another Tree Growth question...

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"And if the state pulls out of the T/G business youre none the worse off."

That has to be the most optimistic statement I have seen on these pages. The reason there is no such thing as "paper company land" in Maine any more is because the legislature keeps changing the rules. With a 45 year crop cycle for spruce you can't manage your crop when the rules change every two years.

The legislature could simply declare that since your land is in tree growth that your land needs to be harvested to support wood fired power plants. Does that scare you? Good. The legislature has done much worse than that. I have been studying that bunch for the last 35 years. Oh, they would make sure you got fair market value based on the valuation of your land at about $85 an acre depending on what county you are in. Hey, you signed the contract.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

Yeah, youre right it will cost to get out. But that was the idea I think behind tree growth. To stop acreage from being cut up and cut down for subdivisions like they are in NJ and other places. The whole idea is to keep it in T/G and saved. Too many people want to carve it up and do a cookie cutter landscape job on everything. But you seem to be wanting to hold onto it and the woods make you money. You are all ready doing what our great legislature (sacrasm added) wants done. So you don't need the program. And if the state pulls out of the T/G business youre none the worse off.

I don't see that as optimistic. If your not in T/G and the the land is paying its way then you're not in bad shape if the state pulls the rug out from those that are in T/G. Your land is still paying off and you're not beholdin' to the state for squat.

These "programs" are good to those in them only as long as the state can afford to keep them going. And you're right NMLM, the leg. does not think before they do things. I've watched them too and they seem to me to have kneejerk reactions to things and slide legislation in under the radar. Like the shorebird habitats, and a state building code.

[Juneauboo]

I own some land (through inheritance) in Franklin county. I live far away and have never visited the land. Now I am getting letters from different people asking me to buy the trees. Can anyone tell me why?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

-WARNING-

This has happened many times in the past. Here's an actual case. A person from over 1,000 miles away received such a letter. She granted permission for a logger to harvest trees on her property. There was a simple contract which she signed. The land was destroyed and she got about 20% of what the trees were worth.

I am not a forester and I don't play one on TV. This is not self promotion. You need to hire a forester to give you advice on your land. You also need to take the time to visit your land. You can choose what and how the trees are harvested to meet your needs. You could manage the land for saw logs which means they would not be cut until they reach a certain size. You could manage it to provide suitable wildlife habitat. It's your land.

Times are tough in the logging industry. Most loggers are honest hard working family people. However, there are a few crooks. Before you even hire a forester, I recommend you contact your local Maine Forest Service ranger and ask him to keep an eye out on your land. They just love to catch timber thieves. Send me a PM and tell me where your land is. I'll put you in touch with your local forest ranger. You obviously own some valuable trees.

[Maineah]

My FIL got scammed by a logging outfit. They were only supposed to take out 10 loads of logs from his land and ended taking out about 50 loads. They tore the place all up and left it full of ruts with scarred trees everywhere. A lot of the scarred trees they left died from disease. They left little scrawny trees that were uprooted by the slightest wind. They refused to take out the slash they left behind and it cost him many thousands of dollars to have a cleanup crew go in and clean the place up. He sued them and lost in court because he could not prove they took out more than the contract stated. I SAW with my own eyes that they took out far more than 10 loads but it was my word against theirs. WATCH yourself with loggers . Like MNLM said most are honest but there are some that are not and could care less how the land looks when they're done ripping it up.

[seabeesmith]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Are you sure you want to do a commercial harvest on your 14 acres in the future? That is what you certify when you enter the tree growth program.

hi, i've been mostly a lurker trying to learn about this tree growth thing... is it a certainty that there must be a commercial harvest of timber on land in tree growth? if i understand correctly, within the first year of purchasing land in tree growth, one must get a new tree growth plan written. my questions are: what can be specified in such a plan? what are the requirements for such a plan? not that i expect to get those questions answered here (that's my homework, not yours!) but, could anyone help with where i should start looking for those answers?

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by seabeesmith

hi, i've been mostly a lurker trying to learn about this tree growth thing... is it a certainty that there must be a commercial harvest of timber on land in tree growth? if i understand correctly, within the first year of purchasing land in tree growth, one must get a new tree growth plan written. my questions are: what can be specified in such a plan? what are the requirements for such a plan? not that i expect to get those questions answered here (that's my homework, not yours!) but, could anyone help with where i should start looking for those answers?

Your Treegrowth plan could allow you to grow timber, or firewood, or Christmas trees, or Maple syrup, or a tree nursery, an orchard, ...

The real answer is 'trees'.

A state certified 'forester' makes the plan. Their fee is fairly low.

I have 150 acres in Treegrowth.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"if i understand correctly, within the first year of purchasing land in tree growth, one must get a new tree growth plan written. my questions are: what can be specified in such a plan? what are the requirements for such a plan? not that i expect to get those questions answered here (that's my homework, not yours!) but, could anyone help with where i should start looking for those answers?"

None of my land is in tree growth. You must have a whole lot of faith in politicians to put your land into the tree growth program. When you buy land in the program and you have more than 11 acres you can take out one acre to build a camp for example. You must inform the town or state (depending on where your land is) whether you want to continue with the existing tree growth plan or go with a different plan. For example, if your plan has 7 years to go you can just tell the town you want to continue. However, be absolutely sure you notify them within one year of your purchase. Some towns wait like vultures in the hopes you forget to notify them. They send you a big bill and have an office party on your penalty money.

CAUTION!

If your purchase is in tree growth, find out BEFORE closing when the expiration date is. You don't want to buy a land parcel and find out when you get the big bill that the old plan expired four days after you bought it. Oops.

If you must file a new plan, don't wait until the last minute. Talk to a few foresters about your goals. You can choose your own plan to meet your own goals long term. If you like the existing plan, try to contact the forester who prepared it and you can just have it updated for a lower cost than a whole new plan.

The state will reimburse you up to $300 for the new plan. You won't get the check in two weeks, but you will get it eventually.

[JLynn35]

My husband and I recently purchased about 15 acres. This property was in Tree Growth, the plan had expired. We chose to take it out of Tree Growth and we understand we won't get a break on taxes. We chose this option because although we have no plans for the land, we didn't want restrictions on our property. It cost us $978 to take it out of tree growth. Tried to negotiate that with the seller but were not successful...but that's ok, we are happy it is ours now!!