Harvesting Trees on Managed Forest Law and Forest Crop Law Lands
Production of future forest crops through sound forest management is one of the fundamental components of Managed Forest Law (MFL) and Forest Crop Law (FCL). Likewise, most owners of MFL and FCL lands will be required to harvest trees as part of their forest management plan. The forester that prepared the forest management plan when the property was enrolled in MFL included these mandatory timber harvests, also called mandatory practices, to ensure the health and productivity of the forest consistent with the landowner’s objectives for the land.
For many landowners, the mandatory practice in their forest management plan will be their first experience with timber harvesting, which can seem daunting. The information contained in the following sections is intended to demystify the process of harvesting timber on MFL and FCL lands by breaking it down into manageable steps and provide guidance for landowners to navigate the process. This information is useful for anyone involved in the process of harvesting timber on MFL and FCL lands including landowners, consulting foresters, logging contractors, and other forestry professionals.
The entire process can take anywhere from three months to three years or longer to complete. Some steps may run concurrently, but each situation is unique and may take more or less time.
The steps are: