The Rural Voice, 1999-10, Page 26/t's amazing what money
‘A ill make people do.
Sometimes they'll even do
things they should do without
money being involved.
Such is the case of the
Managed Forest Tax Plan, the
provincial government
program that gives land-
owners a tax rebate if they
develop i management plan
for their woodlands. In order
to do that, they can't just let
the woodlot sit there, says
Anne Lennox -Brindle of Grey
Bruce Forestry Service.
"Landowners do have to do
some sort of active forest
management," she says.
Because most farm
woodlots are included in the
farm and subject to the
reduced farm tax program,
few farmers are involved in
management plans. All the
woodlot management
consultants polled said the
majority of their work is done
for non farmers, many not
resident in the area, with
wooded holdings from the
minimum area eligible for the
program — 10 acres
excluding residences, up to
400 acres, mostly in the 20-50
acre size. Though there is no
tax break available to them.
Lennox -Brindle thinks many
farmers could benefit if they
did look at actively managing
their woodlots.
"A lot of people just like to
know what they've got and
what they should be doing
with it," says Jim Eccles of Lands and Forests Consulting
in Durham. He starts out by making an assessment of
what's on the property.
Before he or she can prepare a management plan, the
consultant must find out what the objectives of the
landowner are. Sometimes, says Marvin Smith, farm
woodland specialist from Listowel, that isn't always. easy.
"Sometimes they haven't sorted it out," he says. They
might have ideas that are hard to communicate, like a
family history or nostalgic reasons such as the woodlot
being planted by their father or grandfather. "Once I
understand the objectives, that's the major hurdle — just
understanding what they're up to."
Those objectives can vary far beyond the obvious idea
of maximizing money from harvesting timber. In fact
Smith says for the majority of his clients, revenue from
timber harvest is not the number one priority. If they have a
residence on the site, for instance, they may treat the
Aplan for all
.;seasons
me itla>>gement plans
. ip IanI� t r
o
helwfers think of
ir
y".' . _ _" tea _
ir buses.
�y Keit tRoulston
wooded area like an extended
back yard and want to see as
much wildlife as possible. One
client didn't even want to
harvest timber at all. He
Iwanted to keep the woodland
in its natural state. As a
consultant he explained that he
would be losing money but
that's what the client wanted:
7to let the woodland develop in
a natural state. .
Even many farmers, because
1 they are also hunters, like the
idea of enhancing wildlife
habitat, says John Morton of
Aquatic and Wildlife Services.
• Some may want to improve
habitat for wild turkeys or deer.
4iP In planning for wildlife
"4' -i.:,° habitat you have to look not
only at the property of the
landowner himself but at the
...' adjoining properties to see if
,,.,) there might be limiting factors,
Morton says. He looks at
topographical maps and air
photos of the area to see if it is
suitable for the goals the
landowner has in mind.
In Grey and Bruce, there's an
attempt to establish white cedar
and hemlock regeneration for
deer but if the canopy of a bush
has been opened up too much
birch and balsam moves in,
trees not attractive to deer.
A landowner wanting to
attract deer can also create
small food plots, either planted
crops like corn or bushes like
sumac, dogwoods and nanny
berries for does, Morton says.
Bucks need extra energy from
corn or alfalfa, wild apples or wild crabapples to prepare
for the breeding season.
f deer are what you want to attract you may also want to
J
look at creating wildlife corridors to protect deer as they
move from wintering areas to summer feeding areas.
These corridors are more than just a wind break, Morton
says. They require more species varieties and variations in
height of the trees and bushes.
With wild turkeys being released in the area, some
landowners want to attract the majestic birds. Turkeys
require both trees to roost in and ground cover for nesting
sites, as well as sources of food.
Some people are also interested in preserving beaver
ponds without letting them do damage to surrounding
areas. Using a technique like a "beaver baffle" can prevent
flooding of nearby timber while still maintaining a valuable
wetland, Morton says.
Many landowners are also increasingly interested in
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22 THE RURAL VOICE