Photos from do-it-yourself logging operation

Here's my helper holding one end of the tape while I measure a 50-foot house log. We have to keep an inventory so we know when to stop cutting down our big trees. This is our house log deck, where we keep the prime-quality logs for building. Other decks, for firewood and pine logs, aren't so neatly stacked.

This is a hillside where we've cut trees and now are in the process of yarding them out of the forest. The near end of the 120' cable is attached to a 4WD tractor on a road. The other end is attached to the log that is pointing at the camera. Other logs are staged here to be bundled and skidded to the deck.

In the background are many acres of trees yet to be thinned. You can see the leaning firs, indicating root system instability -- usually a form of butt rot, which travels from fir to fir. We have 3 major pockets of laminated root rot, which is unfortunate. The only remedy is to cut all fir in the pockets, then replant with pine. In our case, each pocket will become part of a fire/fuel break to help protect our home.

Forest Land Stewardship Plan coached writing classes

Small forest landowners in the Northwest are holding off on their timber harvests for a while as they wait for the timber market to improve. Some foresters say to be prepared to wait as long as 10 years.

It's a good time to focus more on planning future management activities. We have a Forest Land Stewardship Plan that outlines our goals for this property, and our plans for managing our forest in a safe, healthy, sustainable way. It takes time to write, and lots of research.

Last year I took an 8-week class offered by WSU Extension and WA DNR. The class is called "Coached Planning" because each week it focuses on a different chapter of the Forest Management Plan. Owner/participants wrote a chapter a week and presented plans at the end. The instructors are available to help with individual plans, and they sign off on the plans when they're done.

The class was a terrific education -- in forest health, fire, harvesting and sale, even cultural considerations -- for me as a small forest landowner. Getting so much help in one place, and a plan written in 2 months, is a great opportunity. If something like it is offered in your region, I strongly urge you to sign up.

Having a Plan has helped us to qualify for government cost-sharing programs that have been worth thousands of dollars to us, so far. The Plan helped us get the land into a much lower property tax class. It also helped our property qualify for American Tree Farm System (our local FSC equivalent) status as a sustainably managed forest.

WA Class Info:

Washington DNR and Washington State University Extension are offering Forest Stewardship Coached Planning Courses around the state in fall and winter 2008-09. These coached planning events are hands-on, practical classes that help landowners to prepare their own forest stewardship plan with guidance from natural resource professionals. Regardless of your ownership size, large or small, this 6 to 9 week course will equip you with tools to feel confident in managing your forestland. The plan you create may help you to qualify for cost-share programs and reduce your property tax rates. Below is a list of scheduled courses, and this list is certain to grow before the fall arrives. Please visit http://ext.nrs.wsu.edu/newsevents/forststewardship.htm for further information and to learn about other courses as they are scheduled.

September 9 – October 23, 2008, Colville, WA, contact Janean Creighton, e-mail jcreighton (a) spokanecounty * org

September 17 – November 5, 2008, Mercer Island, WA, contact Amy Grotta, amy.grotta ( a) kingcounty *gov

February 24 – April 21, 2009, Everett, WA, contact Kevin Zobrist, kzobrist (a ) wsu* edu

Long-Term Forest Practices Applications (15-year logging permit)

We took out a permit two years ago in anticipation of a commercial thinning operation on our parcel. The commercial operation never came to be, for various reasons, so the permit isn't actually being used. However, its 2-year maximum term and impending expiration pressured us to make certain decisions when we would rather have waited.

Effective 2008, Washington now offers a Long-Term Forest Practices Application to small forest owners. Long-Term permits are valid for 3 to 15 years once they’re approved, and the landowner chooses the timeframe.

The main benefit for forests is that small landowners are encouraged to do some longer-term planning. With short-term permits, landowners tended to harvest once per generation, and they over-harvest as a result. I've watched my neighbors do it, and I understand the pressure they're under.

A long-term permit doesn't reduce the overhead costs of logging, but it allows small-scale harvesting or an ongoing operation if the landowner is in a position to do it that way. If a severe winter leaves loads of blow-down or snags, an owner can respond -- without the paperwork and waiting period of a short-term application. If pulp markets rise, an owner can quickly harvest poles. Than he can wait several years if necessary for the saw log or house log market to improve, before cutting larger timber. It makes sense.

What we need now are more options for getting small-scale logging done. Loggers won't return calls if you have fewer than 40 acres, or if you don't want to cut for the maximum allowable immediate yield. Their financial model requires (a) cutting large, profitable, Fir saw logs, and (b) hauling out enough timber to leave a profit after the cost of move-in and move-out. We need some loggers who are set up to do small harvests profitably.

Completing a Long-Term Application can be more work than filing a standard application, but once you have one, you’re able to go out and implement your plan whenever the timing is right for you. Currently, the Small Forest Landowner Office has Jeff Galleher (program manager) and Jenni Dykstra (Fish and Wildlife Biologist) available to assist landowners and DNR field foresters with Long-Term Applications. To get started, call your local DNR stewardship forester.