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  Plans and Mapping

From legal land description questions to species, special features, and/or habitat inventories, Timberline Forestry can provide you expertise and valuable insight into the attributes of your land.

Whether your land management intent  is no-action or intensive management, it is important to know the natural features of your lands. 

At Timberline Forestry, your needs are understood.  A variety of resource management plans have been designed for a variety of client needs.

Services listed on this page are:

Tract assessments

Michigan Qualified Forest Property (QFP) forest management plans

Michigan Commercial Forest Program (QFP) forest management plans

Forest management plans.

Mapping

Have other land management planning project needs?  Please contact me

Assistance Available

Anywhere

All quality land management efforts start with a map.  Whether you need a basic land map or a multilayer GIS map with a database and photos, Timberline Forestry can create a map that is based on your needs.

The sample maps shown below have been created using Timberline Forestry’s cartography software library.  Information that can be incorporated on maps is virtually unlimited.

To inquire about mapping projects, please click here.

Confidentiality, if requested, will be
honored with the highest integrity.

Tract assessment

A tract assessment addresses the basic management issues most small forest landowners face.  Such a plan is recommended for private parcels between 3-160 acres in size where the land is 100% privately managed.
This document includes the following:

1. An initial discussion defining the assessment process and terminology.
2. A map showing stand delineation by acreage and forest type.
3. Information about the tree species and Silviculture of each stand present
4. A tract overview assessment discussion including management options
5. Captioned photos showing and discussing special attributes of the tract.

If this sounds like something that you might be interested in, for further information please click here.

This simple map above was designed to “georeference” trees that were important for a landowner to retain during timber harvest operations.  Each tree was identified by a series of painted marks on the trunk. Then the location was taken with a GPS and recorded. The precision of this location was 15 feet, which allows easy relocation of the trees. Special language in the timber harvesting contract would define values for the trees should they be damaged during operations. The trees could have any sort of attributes. They might be favorite trees or wildlife den trees.  In this instance they were particularly well-formed crop trees that could potentially bring much higher prices in the future than at the current time if retained unscathed during the harvest..

Michigan Qualified Forest Property (QFP) forest management plan:

In September 2006, the state of Michigan adjusted the tax code to allow forest landowners an opportunity to reduce some of their property tax if the land is enrolled in the Qualified Forest Property program through the State of Michigan. Timberline Forestry supports this tax advantage for forest landowners, but landowners should understand the advantages and disadvantages before enrolling lands into the program. Note: As of January 2011, changes to the law are currently being proposed in the Michigan legislature (most of them positive).

Enrollment for the program is conducted through the cooperative efforts of the Michigan DNR, your local tax assessor, and the Michigan Department of Treasury. The first step of enrollment requires a management plan written by a qualified professional, such as a Registered Forester.

Timberline Forestry has successfully authored several of these plans and would be happy to produce a QFP Forest management plan for you so you can enjoy the tax benefits of the program on your land.

Currently as of January, 2011 the program stipulates that lands must fit the following criteria:

-20 acres or larger of contiguous forest land
-80% or more of the land in forest cover
-No permanent structures on parcel.
-No more than 320 acres can be enrolled per taxing unit (this typically means township).

Plans must be filed with the DNR by October 1st of the year prior to the year in which the tax benefits will be realized.

If you are interested in enrolling your land into the QFP program, please contact me for more information.

 

Michigan Commercial Forest Program Forest Management plan

The Michigan Commercial Forest Program (CF), (formerly the Commercial Forest Act) enrolls private forest land into a significant tax advantage (currently $1.20/acre/year total tax liability), but in order to enter into the advantage, the landowner must allow daily public access to their lands. This is a wonderful tax advantage for absentee landowners who solely hold the property as timber investment. Enrollment requires a Forest Management plan to enter or re-enter a parcel into the program.

Timberline Forestry has successfully published approved plans for the commercial forest program and will be happy to help you with your plan. Like the QFP program above, it is recommended that the landowner carefully consider enrollment in the plan, as changes to the law are currently being proposed in the Michigan legislature (most of them positive).

For information about authoring you a CFP Forest management plan, please contact me.

The following is a map that was published as part of a State of Michigan Commercial Forest Program forest management plan, only the original title and locations have been changed to keep the landowner’s information private.  This is an example of the most popular type of forest management maps, showing the property boundary lines and having the natural and man made features delineated with a legend that is clear and easy to read for anyone. The original size of these maps have been reduced to conserve internet bandwidth.  To inquire about mapping projects, please click here.

Forest management plans

A management plan is an outline of what the landowner(s) would like to see the land become over time.  It expIains the land in detail and the actions designed over time to reach and sustain those goals.

A comprehensive 7-part plan is offered that addresses the practical aspects of land management on larger tracts (160+ acres) that are 100% privately managed. 
The 7 parts are:

1. Name and location of the tract.
2. Ownership and stake holders contact information.
3. Owners and stake holder goals and objectives and order of importance.
4. An accurate map of the tract including stand delineation by acreage and forest type, man-made structures,
     and special natural attributes of the tract based on aerial or satellite imagery, field reconnaissance and
     inventory data.
5. A current inventory of the quantitative resource attributes of each stand within the tract1.
6. A tract overview assessment discussion.
7. Recommended management actions that will most efficiently accomplish the owners objectives, leading to
     reaching listed goals.

1Each plan contains unique information based on client needs.
 

Timberline Forestry’s forest management plans can range from small documents with simple maps to complex files that include a GIS database and financial analysis of the aggregate of individual stands and even individual trees.
 

To inquire about mapping and/or plans please click here.

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