Help!! Logger wants to cut down my trees!!

[OlympicYJ]

So I just skimmed everyones posts. As everyone else said get yourself a forester. Some counties have extension foresters and the state should definitely have an extension forester. If you call your county Agriculture extension office they can probably provide a phone number. I'm no hardwood forester so I couldn't tell you definitively how much should or shouldn't be taken out. Just by looking at your pictures, if done right, you could see some real improvement of your timber. Some of the bigger uglier stuff could go and some of the smaller uglier looking stuff could probably go. This would be a timber stand improvement (TSI) or a selective harvest, one term is just more descriptive than the other. I've never seen a stand that couldn't use some TSI to one degree or another.

So if you do have it logged; don't worry too much about the mess. As bitzer pointed out it will help with your regeneration by protecting them from browse. Also the best trees are going to be the seed trees. Granted sometimes those have to be taken out.

To answer a question about stumpage values. They always seem low! However once you subtract road building, logging, and trucking costs out that's what you'll get. So as an example if you had a stand of timber you can get say $673/mbf at the gate from the mill the stumpage value of that log is $275/mbf to the landowner.

I be one of the Forester types...

Git brownies are good.... one of my fave contractors brought in doughnuts one morning. All of us operations guys flocked to the map table. lol

 

[Collegegirl007]

So I have an update for everyone today..

I was under the impression we had decided to hold off on the logging at least for now, but this morning when I got up and I was siting at the table to eat breakfast, I seen a strange man in my woods with a chainsaw and equipment! I freaked out..after talking to the guy, he said he had no idea, his boss (which is his dad) had told him it was okay to log our property..he said he had already cut some logs and would take what he already had and pay us for it, but he would stop there right away and not cut anymore. 20 minutes or so later, his boss/dad showed up at our door apologizing and seeming worried (probably worried we would sue him). He assured us that we would get paid on Friday and if we had any concerns, he just logged and paid our neighbors woods and we could ask them as a reference. He also mentioned he had already got about his limit from our woods and was pretty much done anyway, whatever that means..

I'm really upset that no one so much as knocked on our door to even tell us someone would be out on our property today..isn't that only professional? Also, we have not heard one word out of the guy since he did his quote, he told us to just let him know from there..and then he just shows up today out of no where and has his son log our woods with out even knocking on our door? No contract..no nothing! Shouldn't they have waited for us to call them and tell them we wanted it done? Or at least called us to ask, make an arrangement, sign a contract, mark trees, etc?

What I can see that they cut from my house alone upsets me, I can see that it is a bit clearer and I can also see smaller trees and brush that has been knocked over and not cleaned up as you guys warned me of. I have yet to go all the way to the back of the property to see what else been done, but upon asking him, he assured us that no mess or damage was done..he even seemed perplexed at what was meant when asked if there was any damage or mess left as if it's not even possible! I'm scared to go back there and see what, if anything, is left or to see if anything has been damaged or mess has been left! Not sure what to think..just pretty upset. Not professional at all!!

What do you guys think? I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on all this..

 

[Gologit]

So I have an update for everyone today..

I was under the impression we had decided to hold off on the logging at least for now, but this morning when I got up and I was siting at the table to eat breakfast, I seen a strange man in my woods with a chainsaw and equipment! I freaked out..after talking to the guy, he said he had no idea, his boss (which is his dad) had told him it was okay to log our property..he said he had already cut some logs and would take what he already had and pay us for it, but he would stop there right away and not cut anymore. 20 minutes or so later, his boss/dad showed up at our door apologizing and seeming worried (probably worried we would sue him). He assured us that we would get paid on Friday and if we had any concerns, he just logged and paid our neighbors woods and we could ask them as a reference. He also mentioned he had already got about his limit from our woods and was pretty much done anyway, whatever that means..

I'm really upset that no one so much as knocked on our door to even tell us someone would be out on our property today..isn't that only professional? Also, we have not heard one word out of the guy since he did his quote, he told us to just let him know from there..and then he just shows up today out of no where and has his son log our woods with out even knocking on our door? No contract..no nothing! Shouldn't they have waited for us to call them and tell them we wanted it done? Or at least called us to ask, make an arrangement, sign a contract, mark trees, etc?

What I can see that they cut from my house alone upsets me, I can see that it is a bit clearer and I can also see smaller trees and brush that has been knocked over and not cleaned up as you guys warned me of. I have yet to go all the way to the back of the property to see what else been done, but upon asking him, he assured us that no mess or damage was done..he even seemed perplexed at what was meant when asked if there was any damage or mess left as if it's not even possible! I'm scared to go back there and see what, if anything, is left or to see if anything has been damaged or mess has been left! Not sure what to think..just pretty upset. Not professional at all!!

What do you guys think? I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on all this..

Call the cops. Soon. Maybe now. If the guy had no contract and no permission to cut on your property what he did was an act of trespass and theft.

If physically possible, do not let them remove what they've cut. It's evidence now. Accept no money from them either.

 

[treeslayer2003]

first call your parents.....they may have talked to him?
here we have to submit paperwork to the county for a permit that the landowner would have to have signed. not sure where you are.
as far as damage, it is impossible not to have it, but damage to good saplings should be minimal. trash trees get run over not little oak saplings.

 

[Gologit]

first call your parents.....they may have talked to him?
here we have to submit paperwork to the county for a permit that the landowner would have to have signed. not sure where you are.
as far as damage, it is impossible not to have it, but damage to good saplings should be minimal. trash trees get run over not little oak saplings.

You're right...call the parents first.

 

[Collegegirl007]

The first thing I did when I saw the guy out in our woods was tell my parents about it. They did not give them the go ahead. My mom is against it, dad is for it, so from my understanding they were still discussing it. But now after what happened this morning, I guess they are wanting to say "whats done is done, can't undo it" and are figuring they should take the money since they need it. The loggers already had taken the logs they cut with them when they left early this morning, so its too late to keep them from taking the logs. Since it is their land, it is up to them what to decide. But I want to protect them with as much information as I can, so thank you everyone for your information. I wish the loggers here were as professional and helpful as you guys, then I would have any issues!

According to what the logger told my dad during the time he came to give the quote, he was guaranteed to get at least $2000, but since there was no contract and they just came onto our property without the go ahead from any of us, I don't know..I thought about contacting my neighbors that the logger said he just worked with and asking them about their experience with him..what do you guys think?

 

[1270d]

Seems kinda hard to believe someone was there falling timber and you didn't hear it until they were pretty much done?

 

[treeslayer2003]

it never hurts to talk and ask, just be tactful for the time being. you may need them later so don't make um mad, just gather info.
I could help you more if I knew what kinda truck hauled the logs. tractor trailer or strait truck and how many loads they took. 2000 is not a lot of white oak.

 

[bitzer]

This sounds like total ******** now. They got it all done without anyone knowing and hauled the logs. The woods is right next to the house. Its not like its ten miles away. ********.

 

[Collegegirl007]

Arboristsite Lurker, I have 10 acres and they were in the very back the majority of the time. I only caught him once he was near my house and I had just woken up. So he was doing all that while I was asleep, God only knows how early he was out here. He wasn't using any huge special equipment, he only had a chainsaw and a small piece of equipment that he would chain the logs to and drag them off to where he needed to go, and that piece of equipment was not loud at all. I have neighbors who I'm use to making all sorts of noises, especially in the spring/summer when they are working in their woods/yards, so it doesn't tend to wake me up unless its super loud. On top of that, my neighbors have been getting their property logged for the past day or two so any chainsaw noises I heard I didn't think anything of. Either way, why would I come on here and lie? I signed up for this account and came on here because I'm genuinely concerned for my parents and their property. I have met some great, honest people here and gotten a lot of really great advice - so to all of you guys, thank you!!

Treeslayer2003, I am letting my parents handle all of this since it is their property, and everyone's advice has really helped them out so they better understand. But they are treating the situation calmly. It wasn't a tractor trailer, I seen it drive by down the road earlier today and it was a bigger truck with a long flat bed on the back of it. I know that's probably not a very good description, but I only caught sight of him for a second. As far as how much they took, its anyone's guess right now and that's kinda scary to me because they didn't even have the professionalism to discuss how many trees they planned to cut or did cut. We did look over our property and they didn't take a whole lot, my dad guessed 2 truckloads worth. I noticed they even took a few logs that were pretty skinny which surprised me, I didn't think logs that were skinny in size would be worth anything to them. They did a good job on minimizing damages, so my parents were happy about that. Thanks for trying to help me figure out if $2000 is a good deal.

It looks like my parents are wanting to go ahead with it since what the loggers did is already done and my dad was wanting to say yes anyway. My mom was against it, but now that its done she figures why not just get the money from it now. They've had a lot going on the past few weeks, so they really don't want to make anymore difficulties in their lives by fighting with the loggers. I just hope they learned something and will knock on the homeowners door first in the future!

 

[slowp]

Then take pictures of the stumps. Measure the stumps. Get your folks to call the cops. They are dishonest and I think you've been taken, if you aren't taking us for a ride.

 

[treeslayer2003]

well for two straight truck loads 2000 is very good. those guys may be very honest, I have no way of knowing but it seems unlikely bad loggers would stay in business any where now days.
good luck

 

[Collegegirl007]

Why would I take you guys for a ride, I got enough going on in my life I don't need to come on here to create drama. If you can't give me any useful information, why even reply to my post?

 

[bitzer]

Maybe the old man gave em the go ahead and didn't want to tell the wife cause she said no.

 

[bitzer]

Why would I take you guys for a ride, I got enough going on in my life I don't need to come on here to create drama. If you can't give me any useful information, why even reply to my post?

We gave you a lot of good information and we have all seen countless threads where we spend a lot of time posting our experience only to find out its a bunch of BS or the original poster never comes back.

THEY TRESPASSED AND STOLE FROM YOU!!! CALL THE ******* COPS!!!

It would be the same if they robbed your house and paid you for what they think they took.

 

[Collegegirl007]

Treeslayer2003, thank you for the great advice! It's good to have someone on here helping me out. I will pass on your words to my parents, and hopefully we will actually see this logger again along with the $2000 check! We'll find out on Friday. It makes me feel a lot better knowing you feel like this guy is being honest. Thank you again!!

 

[treeslayer2003]

I don't think we have enough info to make a judgement here. no offence but I think there may be more to this you may even know.
good luck to you

 

[Collegegirl007]

First, my dad is not old and second, you don't know my parents and its pretty disrespectful to suggest my dad would outright lie to my mother..have some respect for people you don't even know!

I didn't know people came on here just to give you guys a hard time, so I'm sorry. I'm not one of them, I think it's a waste of time to do so. I have taken time out of doing other things I need to be doing in order to research this topic, including post on here. I don't need to create drama, I have enough going on in my life as it is. If you had any question as to my honesty, you could've asked in a respectful way and I'd have been happy to take a picture of my yard/woods or even a picture of the check once the logger (hopefully) shows up with it.

As of right now, after everything I have been accused of, I'm done with this. Like I said, I have a lot already going on and I don't need to be treated this way in addition to everything else I'm going through in my life. You need to remember that you don't know people or what's going on in their lives, everyone deserves to be treated with respect. I have no other reason to be here other than to get advice and help. My family recently went through something pretty difficult and I don't blame them at all for not wanting to create drama by calling the cops or fighting the loggers. I'm sure everyone here has made a mistake at one point in their lives, and maybe the logger made a genuine mistake or had a miscommunication. So I have to agree with treeslayer2003, and stay calm and tactful. Yes, I was and am pretty upset by the situation but I understand where they are coming from and respect their decision.

treeslayer2003 and gologit (and others that posted in the beginning, you know who you are) - thank you for your time and for giving me your honest advice and for never judging me or being rude to me for no reason. Your advice really helped my family and I out a lot and we are now a lot better informed if this situation ever comes up again in the future! Thank you for your advice today also, it makes me feel a lot better knowing all you have said and helps us to make a better decision on how to move forward.

Thanks again to everyone! Stay safe and God Bless!

 

[northmanlogging]

If anything they should have at least called and warned someone a day or so in advance that they where ready to move onto your property, its generally bad manners to just show up and start making a mess of things...

Also, CALL THE POLICE... no agreement verbal or written, means stealling, just cause they gave you a quote does not mean that you wanted the place logged.

And I would be surprised if they show up with any money come friday, from the sounds of it they started cutting on monday, promising all your neighbors that they would be payed on friday, after they got their check from wherever... and only planned on taking a very few loads, enough for 2-3 a day until thursday... then dissapear into the ether. With all the logs and the money.

By the way it takes a minimum of 2 weeks to get a check from any of the mills around here.

And starting from the back and working forward toward the house WTF, not even bothering to use the driveway, I smell a rat.

 

[Nuzzy]

First, my dad is not old and second, you don't know my parents and its pretty disrespectful to suggest my dad would outright lie to my mother..have some respect for people you don't even know!

I didn't know people came on here just to give you guys a hard time, so I'm sorry. I'm not one of them, I think it's a waste of time to do so. I have taken time out of doing other things I need to be doing in order to research this topic, including post on here. I don't need to create drama, I have enough going on in my life as it is. If you had any question as to my honesty, you could've asked in a respectful way and I'd have been happy to take a picture of my yard/woods or even a picture of the check once the logger (hopefully) shows up with it.

As of right now, after everything I have been accused of, I'm done with this. Like I said, I have a lot already going on and I don't need to be treated this way in addition to everything else I'm going through in my life. You need to remember that you don't know people or what's going on in their lives, everyone deserves to be treated with respect. I have no other reason to be here other than to get advice and help. My family recently went through something pretty difficult and I don't blame them at all for not wanting to create drama by calling the cops or fighting the loggers. I'm sure everyone here has made a mistake at one point in their lives, and maybe the logger made a genuine mistake or had a miscommunication. So I have to agree with treeslayer2003, and stay calm and tactful. Yes, I was and am pretty upset by the situation but I understand where they are coming from and respect their decision.

treeslayer2003 and gologit (and others that posted in the beginning, you know who you are) - thank you for your time and for giving me your honest advice and for never judging me or being rude to me for no reason. Your advice really helped my family and I out a lot and we are now a lot better informed if this situation ever comes up again in the future! Thank you for your advice today also, it makes me feel a lot better knowing all you have said and helps us to make a better decision on how to move forward.

Thanks again to everyone! Stay safe and God Bless!

Call the cops.

Or don't.

But the situation you have described does not sound normal.




As for the things you've been accused of, understand that some people get kicks coming into places like this and telling such stories because they're bored and like the attention. It's no dig on you. It's just the reality of dealing with faceless randomness.