JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 15

WUtilizing the Pulp Market for

Northeastern Hardwood StandImprovement

When Danzer Forestland (DFL)purchased approximately 10,000acres in western New York andPennsylvania in 2005, we hadsome tough decisions to make.The majority of the acquisitioncontained extremely high-qualityAlleghany and NorthernHardwood stand types that wereloaded with high value cherry.Most of the properties had beenextremely well managed, butalong with the good came somebad. The biggest problem wasone large tract located in TiogaCounty, Pennsylvania, that hadnot been cared for in a long time.

—Troy Harris and Nick ParkerDanzer Forestland

Tract HistoryThe tract in Tioga County was fairly typ-ical to the timberland we usually see inthe area; there is a long history of coalmining and of paper company owner-ship, whose focus was on growing fiber,not saw logs. The entire property con-tained an understory of beech and birch,not a favored saw log species, which canimpede desirable regeneration.

We believed that the managementplan that the previous owner began 20years ago was to take the propertydown to a seed tree or shelterwood har-vest in order to allow new growth.However, after that harvest, no onecame back to remove the overstory,which left the stands with a lot of youngbirch and beech sprouts and some poor-looking seed trees. The previouslandowner was trying to do the rightthing, but due to poor implementation,he left a high-graded stand.

Management OptionsTimber stands in the condition like theones in Tioga County are difficult tomanage. Our first thought was to hire acontractor to perform a timber standimprovement cut on the property. Inthat case, we would have incurred a costin order to transform the property as wewanted. We would have to hire a loggerto put all the undesirable species andlow-quality trees on the ground. Thecost of performing that work was esti-mated at $120 to $160 per acre.Economically, that was an unattractiveoption, since we would have to wait 80years to see results.

Doing the Right ThingOur next best alternative was to clear-cut the property and sell the bare land tohigher-and-better-use land markets, likerecreational hunting properties.However, breaking up properties and

selling to retail markets is not somethingwe wanted to do when it came down toit. We bought the land and wanted tomake it work.

New OpportunitiesFaced with these unhappy prospects,one of our employees devised a cleversolution. He made a few phone calls andfound a logger who was deliveringwhole tree chips to a local mill makingpaper and particleboard. Having a pulpmarket opens up new doors for ourforests because it gives our previouslylow-value products value.

Now, instead of DFL paying the log-ger to perform the timber standimprovement, the logger is getting paidto deliver the chips to the mill. In fact,we actually made a little money. In thiscase, the pulp markets made practicinggood silviculture affordable.

We could not have done the timber

FOREST LANDOWNER www.forestlandowners.com16

Having a pulp market opens up new doors for our forests because it gives our previously low-value products value.

stand improvement without the loggerswho decided to give whole tree chip-ping a try. The logging operation isentirely mechanical and runs a trackfeller buncher, grapple skidders, and awhole tree chipper. This is not how log-ging typically is done in this part of thecountry. Not only are beech and birch“brush” being utilized, but tree topsfrom sawlogs as well. This is a win-winrelationship for DFL since both thelandowner and the logger are makingmoney.

The Future Looks BrightMaking money on this operation hasallowed DFL to make additional invest-

ments in these stands. Now that the har-vest is over, we will follow up withadditional treatments, such as herbicideapplications, to deal with fern and beechsprouts that will inevitably come afterthis harvest. This is the best way toestablish a desirable species mix fromnatural regeneration on this property.Once the foresters identify and deter-mine that the desired regeneration isestablished, overstory removals andclearcuts can begin in the next 10 years.

Whole tree chipping is not a miraclefor forestry. However, it is an effectivetool for dealing with an undesirableunderstory and has become an impor-tant strategy in the overall forest man-

agement on this property as well asother properties owned by DanzerForestland.

About Danzer ForestlandDanzer Forestland’s mission is toacquire and manage high-quality hard-wood properties in the northeasternUnited States. It manages these proper-ties using sustainable forestry practicesthat are friendly to the environment.DFL is a proud member and supporterof the Forest Landowners Association.For more information please visit theirwebsite at www.danzerforestland.com.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 17

Making money on this operation has allowed DFL to make additional investments in these stands.