I want some big pines gone - Maine

A

Avery

Location
Coastal Maine
Hi all,

I live in the middle of several acres of large Eastern white pine and wonder what my options are for having them thinned in order to 1. let some sun shine in and 2. make some money.

I've had a couple of foresters come down to look them over, but no one really showed any interest in them despite their size (24-36" DBH, 80-100' tall). They said that no one would want to attempt to drop them and get them out of there without making an unholy mess.

There are probably two dozen of these big guys that I could take down and not very noticeably diminish the aesthetics of the property. The trees are, however, too big for my very modest skills (I'm working my way up to bigger drops, but right now 12" diameter, 50' tall seems to be the limit of my comfort zone) so I'd definitely need the pros (not to mention a boom truck to load the logs.)

The trees aren't all as close to the house as the ones in the attached photo.

Ideas?
 

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Where are you in Maine? Are you willing to pay for this because it doesnt sound worth it for anyone professional to do it for free? Most loggers need more trees than that to move all their equipment.
 
MasterBlaster,

Thanks -- Any idea what part of Maine? I've Googled him but can't come up with a phone number.

I seem to remember hearing someone in my area mention his name recently, though, and wonder if it's the guy I went to high school with...
 
allmark,

No, I'm not willing to spend money at this time. It's purely an optional project, and while I understand that it will take a professional's time and assets to do the job, I thought that I have enough wood to sell to make it worth everyone's while.

I guess what I'm unclear on is how it works--scenario 1: I pay a company to cut trees and transport to mill. Mill pays me for logs.

Scenario 2: Company cuts and transports logs to mill for free, keeps money from mill.

Scenario 3: You tell me?

How many trees (or board feet or lineal feet or truckloads or whatever) make it worthwhile, and are either of the two scenarios (above) realistic, or am I out of my...well, tree?
 
If I were in the lumber business, I would not be interested in going over there pulling one tree, then going way over there and cutting down that tree, then these 2 here...and maybe that one over there.

I'd want to come in draw a line, and cut every tree up to that line. Throw away/firewood what I didn't want for lumber, then sell the rest.

Don't expect to make money on the deal if you don't make it super easy for them.

I have a feeling your best bet is to just leave them.

love
nick
 
Thanks for the voice of reason here Nick

Avery, I also suggest letting the trees stand, it's not worth it. The sawmill WANTS your trees, but they're sure not willing to pay you much for them, especially after you pay the logger, trucker, etc. The profit you gain would be minimal compared to the value that those trees provide in wildlife habitat, Oxygen production, carbon sequestration, erosion control, etc. It's high time for us as a species to consider the bigger picture and not assume that everything was put here for us to manipulate for our own desires.

A great man once said: "The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth". It's true, not just a bunch of tree hugging blah blah blah, just look at Greenland.

You should get a tax break for not logging your woods, just as some farmers get paid for leaving their fields lie fallow. Oh, and yes, an unholy mess is definitely what you'll be left with if you do log, with the remaining trees damaged and the understory wiped out, you'll hate yourself.

Anyway, don't rely on advice from i-forums, get more professionals out to the site to evaluate, ask your kids/grandkids how they feel, and above all, follow your heart.
 
You should be able to get hold of a state forester to help you make a good decision. There are private foresters who do consulting too. Find out from other folks who have had logging done to find a good consultant. State foresters aren't biased towards logging and will give you the pros and cons of doing the job. If you decide to do a thinning they'll mark the trees to thin.

Managing small woodlots can be profitable. Since any given plot of land can only support so much tree volume you might be doing the right thing by thinning. On the other hand it would be likely that you will trash the woods doing the thinning like Raven said. Everything in dynamic equilibrium.
 
[ QUOTE ]
MasterBlaster,
I seem to remember hearing someone in my area mention his name recently, though, and wonder if it's the guy I went to high school with...

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya'll are about the same age, for sure.
 
As far as lumber goes, those are pretty big trees, not a lot of sawmills show interest in pine of that size due to processing costs,
One group of people you may not have considered is the log home builders. There are several new england companies that specialize in custom log home construction using eastern white pine. Try a google search for them, but I know that they are generally willing to pay top dollar for long, straight, eastern white pine logs wih little taper and defects...
good luck
 
Second that Chep,
look for specialty markets, saw mills are typically uninterested in so few logs, even if they are nice ones. May be able to sell them as electrical poles too, they usually go at a higher rate. If I where you, I would consider it good to break even, but then, I don't know anything about the timber market there or how the trees are on the property.
 
Thanks everybody.

Obviously the trees are are worth more in my own estimation than in practical reality (which would explain why no one is gagging to get their hands on 'em.) Looks like I may have a retirement project on my hands, which gives me about twenty years to develop my skills and gather equipment.

I'm not out to denude my property; just thought I could let some light in without visually impacting the area while coming out a little bit ahead (or at least a good store of planks to build a barn.)

As for CO2 and O2, I agree wholeheartedly but more sunlight on my shady little home equals less oil and propane burned. It's all a tradeoff.

Cheers.
 
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