by Dan McCarty
Pittsboro, NC – Yes, you can get your trees selectively cut and not clear cut.
How much are your trees worth?
To answer that question you have to know the species of trees and how much volume in trees you own as a starting point. Current market prices would then give you a ball park estimate on the value of the trees.
To answer those questions it is best to have a timber agent selling your tree. The agent is just like a real estate agent and works on a commission. The agent cruises the woods to inventory your trees by species and volume. When our cruise was complete we had a list of how many trees we owned, at a given diameter and species as well as volume of wood. The agent can then sell the trees, in our case it was at an auction at dawn on our place, and then manage the logging operation itself.
There are tax implications for logging, the tree sale is taxable and the agent can help with this as well. There are property tax valuations that you might also be able to use.
As a next step, I would highly recommend talking with the county extension office. They have documentation and classes from time to time for wood lot management and timber sales. The extension office used to have a phone number that one could call that would give you timber prices for different regions of NC. I think they now have a website now.