A milestone has passed. Our 2-year Forest Practices permit expired yesterday. We sold exactly 0 board feet of timber.
I admit, I resent the amount of time and money that went into getting that permit, only to see it expire unused. We couldn't have known then what was coming.
Timber prices continue to fall, fuel prices rising, local sawmill closed. For our small parcel a commercial sale is practically impossible, even though we're logging it ourselves.
FROM THE WSU EXTENSION FORESTER: I'm responding to the FPA Expired posting. It is fairly common that landowners need to re-apply (and pay) the DNR for approval to harvest timber or implement other regulated forest practice activities. The DNR recognizes this issue, and has created a long-term application available up to 15 years. It is more involved than the 2-year permit, but it does empower the landowner to take advantage of favorable markets and avoid risks such as harmful insect epidemics.
ReplyDeleteSee DNR website
http://www.dnr.wa.gov/BusinessPermits/Topics/SmallForestLandownerOffice/Pages/fp_sflo_lta.aspx