Article 1 of 7: Timber Management
The Tribal Forestry and Land Services Department consists of the Tribal Forest Manager, Al Murray; Tribal Forester, Kevin Makuck; Community Forest Coordinator/Service and Contract Supervisor, Scott Cleereman; and the Wildfire and Fuels Manager/ Forestry Technician, Jim Gumm. The department is located in the FCP Natural Resources Building at 5320 Wensaut Lane, Crandon, Wis.
The forestry department is focused on seven separate priorities. These program priorities include: timber management, forest development, forest inventory, forest protection and monitoring, the Tribal Assistance Program, the Northeast Wisconsin Forest Improvement Collaborative, and the Forest Resource Coordinating Committee. Over the next several issues of the Potawatomi Traveling Times, Forestry will present information about accomplishments for fiscal year 2014. This first article focuses on the timber management portion of the Forestry Department.
Tribal forest lands are a valuable tribal asset with a standing timber value of over $28,000,000. Management of the timber assets to maintain productivity, quality and growth is a primary duty of the forestry department. Forest management protects the productivity and quality of timber assets for future generations. Management of growth provides for a steady increase in forest quality and growth which increases the value of standing timber on the tribe’s lands. Management is based on what is retained for future.
Under the timber management priority in FY14, a total of three separate timber sale areas were completed with selective harvesting to improve hardwoods on 281 acres and clear cutting on 55 acres to benefit aspen and birch regeneration. The timber assets in these areas are expected to double in value in the next 10 years with movement of standing timber from 50 percent of standing pulpwood moving into bolt wood classes, and 50 percent of standing bolt wood to high quality saw log classes in the next entry. This timber harvesting is expected to increase growth rates within this area from two to five percent for the first 10 years following timber harvesting. These timber sales generated $216,640 stumpage revenue paid to the tribe over the life of the contracts, and this amount is expected to increase dramatically in the next harvest which will be 10-15 years into the future.
In addition to the sales completed, one additional timber sale was sold in FY14 including 164 acres of selective harvesting to improve hardwoods. The estimated stumpage value of this timber sale is $192,920.87, which will be paid to the tribe as the harvest commences. This timber sale area is expected to be harvested in the winter 2014 – spring of 2015. The timber assets in these areas are expected to double in value in the next 10 years with movement of standing timber from 50 percent of standing pulpwood moving into bolt wood classes and 50 percent of standing bolt wood to high quality saw log classes in the next entry. This timber harvesting is expected to increase growth rates within this area from two to five percent for the first 10 years following timber harvesting.
Nine timber sale areas are currently in some stage of completion. Work priority for Tribal Forester Kevin Makuck is timber sale preparation. In FY 2014, 597 acres have been selectively marked for hardwood management; 50 acres have been prepared for clearcutting to promote aspen and white birch; 15 acres have been marked for harvest liquidation in preparation for commercial development; 662 acres of timber volume and value calculation have been completed; 955 acres of timber sale property boundaries and cutting prescription boundaries have been completed; and 293 acres of timber sale areas are in the beginning stages of timber sale completion.
Throughout the 2014 fiscal year, the forestry department completed timber sale administration on four separate timber sale contracts with 17 weeks of active sale inspection and administration, 30 days of product scaling including 1745.02 cords of pulpwood and bolt wood, and 166,520 board feet of saw logs scaled. Completion of this timber sale administration included billing and collection of $136,644.93, which was paid directly to the tribe for wood removed from tribal lands.
In FY14, the timeline for offering timber for sale increased dramatically by requirements to comply with the Tribal Environmental Protection Policy and the need for completion of Environmental Assessments for each area. This resulted in less timber offered for sale in FY14; however, it improved input from non-forestry professions into the process. As the review system evolves, the forestry department expects timber for sale to increase with completion of the new EA requirements in multiple areas.
If you have any questions pertaining to the Tribal Forestry and Land Services Program, please contact Al Murray, forest manager, at (715) 478-4973 or by e-mail at al.
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