Department of Conservation

AUGUSTA, Maine – (September 17, 2001) The Department of Conservation’s Maine Forest Service released today the Silvicultural Activities, Wood Processor, and Stumpage Prices reports that provide a year-to-year picture of the harvest behavior, size of harvest footprint, and amount of wood harvested in Maine. In 2000, Maine landowners harvested 563,500 acres on 6,200 individual harvest operations, and harvested 6.25 million cords of wood, up slightly from 6.14 million in 1999.

Clear cutting in 2000 was less than 3% of the total harvest activity, and that the size of clear cuts is down significantly from 35 acres in the mid-90s to 21 acres in 2000, as a result of the Forest Practices Act, reports MFS Director Thomas Doak. Doak pointed to a 20% decline in the use of herbicides last year that reinforces a downward movement of use first documented in 1996.

The new trend emerging in forest management is shelterwood harvesting, which comprises 35% of the harvested acres in 2000, more than double the 1995 level. The next generation of trees – those that will be harvested 50 to 100 years from now – are currently being grown under the protection of mature trees. Shelterwood harvesting is a forest management technique where foresters rely on natural regeneration and controlling light into the forest floor.

“These reports clearly indicate the growth of several positive trends in Maine forests that include investments in forests, harvest levels and the substantial increase in harvest acres supervised by professional licensed foresters,” stated MFS Director Doak.

Highlights from the 2000 Silvicultural Activities report are:

Landowners harvested 563,500 acres on 6,200 individual harvest operations in 2000.
Shelterwood harvesting now comprises 35% of the harvested acres, more than twice the 1995 level.
Clear cutting made up 2.5% (13,815 acres) of the total harvest activity in 2000. This is the lowest reported clear cutting level since the Maine Forest Service started tracking this information in 1982. The average clear cut size reported in 2000 was 21 acres.
75% of all harvest acres in 2000 had a licensed professional forester involved, a 15% increase from the 1999 rate.
Landowners performed new precommercial silvicultural activities (spacing in young softwood stands, herbicide thinning in natural stands, and tree planting) on 60,000 acres, an insignificant change from 1999. However, a 20% decline in the use of herbicides to 25,000 acres continues a downward trend in herbicide use since 1996.

Highlights from the 2000 Wood Processor report are:

Maine landowners harvested 6.25 million cords of wood in 2000, up slightly from 6.14 million in 1999. 19% (1.2 million cords) of the 2000 harvest was exported out of state
Maine’s forest products industry consumed 6.9 million cords of wood in 2000, up 9% from 1999 consumption. Seventy four percent of the supply (5.1 million cords) was harvested in Maine, while 26% (1.8 million cords) was imported from out of state.

The Stumpage Prices Report indicates that stumpage prices paid to landowners remained consistent with 1999 prices for most products.

Director Doak urges forest land owners to seek the advice of a Maine licensed professional forest to ensure the best return on their harvest activities, as well as compliance with state and local regulations. “One of our goals is to help people make informed forest management decisions. The Maine Forest Service can provide advice on forest management options, stumpage prices, hiring a consultant forester, and hiring a logger. Forest land owners considering a timber harvest should call the Maine Forest Service before they begin.”

Contact the Maine Forest Service to obtain copies of these reports:

Maine Forest Service web site: www.state.me.us/doc/mfs/pubs.htm

Maine Forest Service: (207) 287-2791 or 1-800-367-0223 (in-state only)