West Virginia Forestry Association

The decision to initiate a timber harvest can often be bewildering and even frightening.  As a forest landowner you are responsible for the activities that take place on your property.  however, there are educational and technical programs available to assist you in the selling of your forest products by calling the phone numbers listed in the resource directory.  A nine part educational video series is available at West Virginia public libraries or through these various organizations.

Woodland owners can benefit greatly by utilizing professional forestry assistance.  Assistance can be obtained from West Virginia Division of Forestry (WVDOF) service foresters, industrial landowner assistance program foresters, private consulting foresters, and industrial procurement foresters.  Services may vary so it is important to ask for and check references. All should be able to give you pertinent information regarding the timber on your property.

Like any other group of professionals, foresters have a wide variety of skills, experience, personalities, attitudes, and equipment.  As you talk with various foresters, try and match the forester's experience and expertise with your goals and objectives for your forest stand.  Talk to them and get an understanding of their character, reliability, sense of stewardship, and willingness to understand and meet your goals.  Request and follow up on references from the individuals you talk with.  The information they provide should include names and phone numbers of previous landowners they have worked with.

Before any planning can occur, it is very important to determine if the land is owned by one or several parties.  If more than on party is involved, all must agree to the sale arrangements.  Before beginning a timber sale, be certain that all parties are aware of the boundaries.  Once the boundaries are determined, they should be clearly marked and maintained.

Developing a forest management plan provides you, the landowner, a means of identifying what can be done to enhance and protect the values and aspects of your property that are most important to you.  Your professionally prepared plan should give a description of the property, a list of goals and objectives that you have for the property and a schedule of activities to be performed on the property to help realize these goals.

In 1992, the West Virginia Legislature passed the Logging Sediment Control Act (LSCA).  This law sets forth requirements that loggers are to follow to minimize sedimentation and soil erosion. The law also requires that all logging operations be registered and supervised by a person who has completed training with the West Virginia Division of Forestry (WVDOF).

Before a Logging Operation Begins, An Operator Must:

• Obtain a timbering license from the WVDOF
• Obtain logger certification by completing the WVDOF training Program
• File a timbering operation notification with the WVDOF
• Post the operation with a sign consisting of the logging company name
  and timbering license number

Stream quality and site productivity can be mainstreamed if roads and trials used during a timber harvest are well planned and properly constructed.  By following these five common sense principles of water conservation, you can assure erosion is minimized and water and soil productivity are protected:

• Plan the job to minimize soil disturbance as much as possible
• Stay away from streams
• Use care when crossing streams
• Control water in small amounts
• Retire roads after harvesting

All timber sales should be entered into with a written contract.  This contract should list in detail the responsibilities of each party.  Details such as: legal description of the property, description of the timber being sold, method of developments, restrictions, etc.

There is a wide variety of tax responsibilities that can result from the sale of timber or other forest products from your property.  You should become informed on current tax laws in addition to environmental laws.  Many problems can be avoided by contacting a forestry professional and a certified public accountant (CPA) prior to a timber sale.  Severance tax, property taxes and income taxes all can be affected by the sale of timber.  It is recommended that landowners understand the laws and regulations that exist and how they can be affected by them.

Selecting a professional logger to harvest your timber is an important decision and should be made thoughtfully.  The person you choose to perform the harvest can perpetuate the many values of your forest virtually forever, or could badly damage the land and impair its ability to produce financial rewards, as well as personal and aesthetic enjoyment.

Like any other group of professionals, loggers have a wide variety of skills, experience, personalities, attitudes, and equipment.  As you talk with candidates for your timber harvest, try and match the logger's operation with your forest stand and objectives.  Talk to them and get an understanding of their character, reliability, sense of stewardship, and willingness to understand and meet your goals.  Request reference from loggers.  Be sure to contact landowners they have previously worked with.