The purpose of this program is to provide good forest management on private land for owners who are absent from the area, or are present but may not have the time required to tend to their woodlot. The goal is to increase the amount of sustained yield forest management on private land which may not occur without this program. The Association will provide aid to the owner and act as a manager of their land base working with the owner to ensure their goals and objectives are being met.

 

We will assist the owner in contacting logging and silviculture contractors in order to carry out the specific treatments, and provide on site supervision to ensure the treatments are being carried out according to proper specifications. This will also ensure that the land owner receives the correct dollar value (based on the stumpage agreement) from the actual amount of wood harvested.

The program will require the land owner to have a detailed management plan along with a timber cruise of the property.  This will be carried out by the Association and approved by the landowner.  The plan will then become the core element in the management agreement.  An annual report will be provided to the land owner detailing: the area treated, summary of volumes harvested, statement of revenues and expenses, and a statement of planned activities for the following year (which is to be approved).  Roads, trails, buffers, and culverts will be constructed and maintained as required, always abiding by the Department of Natural Resources and Energy and the Department of Environment guidelines (Appendix 1&2).

The location of boundary lines will be necessary along with their maintenance.  These lines must be located and flagged before any work begins on the woodlot.  The maximum acceptable distance between evidence of the old existing boundary is 100 meters (330 feet) (Appendix 3).  If there is no evidence within the acceptable distance, the landowner will be required to have a licensed surveyor survey the property before any service is provided by the Association.

All harvesting treatments will be tendered to all local contractors unless the woodlot owner states in writing his/her preference for a specific contractor to conduct the work.  Contractors participating in the tendering process, will be required to provide the Association with a letter of intent accompanied by two letters of reference by woodlot owners for whom they have conducted improvement-cutting work.  The Association will then determine the contractor based on two main elements: the stumpage agreement price and the quality of their past work history.   
         
Our first and foremost priority will be to ensure that landowners receive reasonable assurance that the job will be conducted properly and that a fair value is received for all wood harvested.  Also, spot checks will be carried out periodically (e.g. once a month) in the hopes of deterring wood theft.