Select cut logging money??????????

Long story short I was given (yes to good to be true) some land in north Texas where trees are far and few between. As such it follows that logging companies are too. Didnt matter much at first, I thought this opportunity was great finally some land to do what I want, well it's a money pit. I just got out of the hospital for something that happened from the land, so here I am trying to think of something I can do to make some money. With all the trees that the property has I figure I can get it logged, but my problem is there's nobody I can find to do it, so here I am looking for anybody who can help me get the placed select cut. I called a few places, whos numbers where nearly impossible to find, and to no avail, I'm thinking because this area of Texas is naturally barren. But I know with all the 150-200 year old post oaks that theres money growing from that forest floor, which is why I'm so desprit to get it select cut, and get out.

No logging companies? No problem - Do-it-yourself. Make a real profit by selling lumber, not timber.

http://www.woodmizer.com/us/PortableEquipment/ManualSawmills.aspx
http://www.norwoodindustries.com/en/Home_Norwood_Sawmills.aspx
http://www.timberking.com/index.cfm
http://www.harborfreight.com/saw-mill-with-7-hp-gas-engine-67138.html

Not knowing where you are in North Texas it is hard to help search for companies.

Here are some listings, of course I don't know if any are close to you:

356 companies under Logging Companies in Texas: http://www.manta.com/mb_44_E019B_44/logging/texas

I live in DFW but the property is 10 miles outside fort worth.

As for cutting it myself I would in a new york minute if I had the capabilities. First off I'm not sure how anybody would every go about cutting down some of the 6 to 7 foot diameter giants out here, not to mention bad chainsaw experiences: one tree I was cutting thru ripped my chain off and it shot back out, lucky I jumped.

But more info on any spectrum would be much appreciated!

Go to Forestry Forum, ask there. One you will get great advice how to do this, but you will also get connected with honest people. Unfortunately there is a lot of ripping people off that happens with logging, since most people don't know anything about it.

Forestry Forum

Josh Terrice wrote:Long story short I was given (yes to good to be true) some land in north Texas where trees are far and few between. As such it follows that logging companies are too. Didnt matter much at first, I thought this opportunity was great finally some land to do what I want, well it's a money pit. I just got out of the hospital for something that happened from the land, so here I am trying to think of something I can do to make some money. With all the trees that the property has I figure I can get it logged, but my problem is there's nobody I can find to do it, so here I am looking for anybody who can help me get the placed select cut. I called a few places, whos numbers where nearly impossible to find, and to no avail, I'm thinking because this area of Texas is naturally barren. But I know with all the 150-200 year old post oaks that theres money growing from that forest floor, which is why I'm so desprit to get it select cut, and get out.

Josh,
Have you thought about NOT cutting down your trees and selling the place, as is, to make money? I'm asking because you said trees in your area are "far and few between"; which sounds like a parcel with trees on it might be a valuable piece of land. People who really like trees might want it for that reason alone. If you cut them down it becomes just like the rest of the area and has no more value than any other place there. The other reason I mention it is that you said "...I'm so desprit to get it select cut, and get out." If I'm reading this right, it sounds like you are only waiting for some cash to move elsewhere. So if cash is what you want, why not sell the place instead of cutting it? You are bound to get more for a well-treed parcel with timber value than merely for the trees by themselves.

It'd be great if I could sell it... but:

-the waters on a co-op and theirs a $4,000 bill that will roll over on any land sells

-the power lines been red tagged or whatever, so no electricity without another large sum of money

-there's an abandoned mobile home thats been destroyed, anybody that buys is gonna need/want that removed

-the place is surrounded with trailer trash, so any buyer who builds home will be a sore thumb with no property value

-theirs a decease attacking the trees, and the forest is incredibly over crowded

So I figure if I could find a logging company I'd both help the forest restart and rejuvenate, and also make some money. But I will repost in the forestry, because until a very good reason is presented other than money, logging won't give me the most money, but my inclination is that it will be easier.

Have you had any real estate people give you an estimate of value with and without trees? I could see grabbing a quick $20,000.00 in timber off of my land but not only would it leave it rather bare, this would drop the value by $50,000.00 or so. Mine aren't over crowded. The only way for you to get the top value for your trees is to use them on the land or close by. The amount recieved for raw logs in a marginal area is likely to be a small fraction of the lumber value.

This area of Texas is naturally bare, the reason their are trees at all is because of a stream that is steadily drying up, something is killing the trees, on the road frontage alone there are 15 dead standing trees. I only want to finish off the old trees to open up the canopy and start to turn the land back to a healthy forest. As for the property value IT IS AT ROCK BOTTOM. I can't imagine a property in worse condition, its natural aspects are destroyed by neglect, and the buildings have been torn up by vandals and littered across at least 3 acres of the property. Though I can understand that if someone says they wanna strip the bulk of the old growth trees off their land that this puts a bad image up, these trees are going to die soon, might as well plan the destruction and reap what I can. Selling it isnt gonna happen at least not for many years, sometimes thats just how it is, sad as it may be.

Josh Terrice wrote:This area of Texas is naturally bare, the reason their are trees at all is because of a stream that is steadily drying up, something is killing the trees, on the road frontage alone there are 15 dead standing trees. I only want to finish off the old trees to open up the canopy and start to turn the land back to a healthy forest. As for the property value IT IS AT ROCK BOTTOM. I can't imagine a property in worse condition, its natural aspects are destroyed by neglect, and the buildings have been torn up by vandals and littered across at least 3 acres of the property. Though I can understand that if someone says they wanna strip the bulk of the old growth trees off their land that this puts a bad image up, these trees are going to die soon, might as well plan the destruction and reap what I can. Selling it isnt gonna happen at least not for many years, sometimes thats just how it is, sad as it may be.

Sounds like you are between a rock and a hard place with all the debt and vandalism left behind. Not to mention dying trees. Having no money to work on the place or get all the expenses straightened out doesn't help much either. Also, I am not a forester but I do know that a lot of trees -- especially oaks -- have been dying off in various parts of the country lately due to insect infestation and diseases. Some of the problems with the trees can cause the timber that comes out of them to be unuseable or of low value. Not to add insult to innjury, but you may find that selling dead or dying trees is not going to be easy or result in much cash. A lot of mills won't touch diseased wood. (Plus it is really not a good idea, ecologically speaking, to transport wood that has the potential to infect healthy forests.) You should probably contact your local extension office or conservation department and see about getting a forester to come out and evaluate your timber stand. It could only be the severe droughts Texas has suffered for several years, but it would be good to know BEFORE you start calling around to get it cut whether the problem is something that may cause you problems down the road.


I have a few ideas for you. Some may be feasible, others not, but I don't know how much land you have, what your neighbors (if any) are like or what else you may have to work with.

#1 Call your conservation department, soil and water department or the State Department of Agriculture to see if there may be some cost-share programs available to help clean up the site and restore the woods and stream. Protecting streams -- especially in dry areas -- is a high priority these days. Given that your area is naturally barren of trees, protecting an oasis of stream and forest such as yours (however unhealthy and junked up it may look now) may be important enough to qualify you for a grant, loan or cost share to improve it. Go talk to someone. They will know where to refer you and help you find the resources you need. These links may help...

http://www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov/ (Texas Department of Natural Resources)
http://www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/docs/whip_2010_fs_508.pdf (About WHIP -- Wildlife Habitat Incentives Plan)
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=landing&topic=landing (USDA Farm Services Agency)
http://www.fs.fed.us/ (US Forest Service)
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/ (Texas Parks & Wildlife -- Landowner Assistance page) Especially check this out... http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/private/lip/

#2 Talk to your neighbors about getting help to clean up the stream and improve the area around it. Afterall, they need it too, so improving it will benefit everyone. You might also offer to exchange labor on their places if they help clean up yours. By improving the entire neighborhood, the value of all the land will go up. Besides, making friends with the neighbors is a good way to ensure against future vandalism.

#3 See about getting a small loan. Then pay off that land-associated debt and get electricity in. After that, start improving things by renting a construction dumpster for a couple of weeks to get the bulk of the garbage out of there so the land will at least be clean. THEN have it assessed by a realtor -- no matter what else you do afterward, at least you will have a clean place to start working AND a baseline property value to assess your progress.

I don't know if any of this will help, but it may at least give you some ideas for a starting point. Good luck!