By Michael Copley
Staff Writer

A free class Oct. 21 will teach land owners how to properly sell their timber. The Powhatan Office of the Virginia Department of Forestry is hosting “A Landowners Guide to Selling Timber” because “We’ve seen a number of poorly executed timber sales,” said Powhatan Forester David Schnake.

More landowners than ever are selling timber on their property to offset the effects of the down economy, Schnake said. But “Many landowners, regardless of socio-economic status, are taken advantage of financially during timber sales.”

Some logging companies have, according to Schnake, paid landowners less money than the timber was worth. In other cases, the loggers have removed more timber than the property owner wanted, or cut down the wrong kind.

“This results in lost income, reduced potential for their forest to be productive in the future and possibly even legal issues if property lines are illegally crossed. While timber sales provide an excellent opportunity for landowners to generate revenue from their property and achieve management goals, the economic and ecological impacts of a bad timber sale are long lasting, even to a family’s third or fourth generation.” 

Schnake said landowners should contact a consultant to handle the sale and be clear about their objectives for the property and transaction.

The class will cover common methods of selling timber, Department of Forestry Services, private forestry consultant services, timber sale contract provisions and information on avoiding timber theft and timber trespass.

The class is scheduled for October 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Powhatan County Village Building Auditorium, at 3910 Old Buckingham Road.