CHAPTER TWELVE

PARTING THOUGHTS

Reviewing Some Basic Principles

Hopefully, by now you have learned that judiciously managing a forest requires a thoughtful blend of science, mathematics, individual desires, and business principles. Your financial success ultimately depends on your own personal knowledge, patience, and commitment.

It is unrealistic to assume that you can become an expert in all aspects of forest management and the timber products business. What is important is that you regularly call upon the knowledge and experience of the professionals at Tennessee Timber Consultants.

Begin to understand relationships between sites and species of trees. Diversify your property into as many different stands as possible with different ages and timber types. Be an active manager, and seek opportunities to improve your investment returns.

Timber management is a very long term investment. Growing trees is not a "get rich quick" proposition. Forests will, however, provide a steady, relatively low risk, and very profitable return on your investments, provided they are managed properly and for the long term.

Most woodland owners are their own worst enemy. Very simply, they do not conduct their timber business in a business-like manner. Failure to understand what they have, failure to adequately plan, failure to monitor their investment, failure to understand the very basic in's and out's of the timber business, failure to use professional services, failure to conduct timber sales in a reasonable manner, failure to understand applicable tax codes, and failure to adequately develop their estate leads to one lost opportunity after the other. Successful woodland investing requires thoughtful, "hands on," decision making by a committed owner.

Being a Responsible Forest Steward is Smart Business

How would you feel if a few years from now people were saying about you something to the effect that,

"There goes Mr. and Mrs. Woodsowners. Have you seen their place? They have the best timber in the County even though it seems like they are logging something out there all of the time. And talk about wildlife! I hear hunters are standing in line to pay big bucks for a hunting lease on that place. The entire property is neat as a pin, and there's no mud to be seen anywhere. Yep, those folks have a real show place, and they are making quite a bit of money from it too!"

That would not be too bad, would it? Guess what? Some owners are already to that point, and you can get there too. You can significantly improve your profits while turning your property into a show place at the same time.

Over one thousand Tennessee timber owners are members of the American Tree Farm System. This worthwhile program, sponsored by the American Forest Foundation, represents 70,000 woodland owners nation wide. Membership in the System allows woodland owners to be recognized for their efforts, attend educational field days, and receive practical information through the “American Tree Farmer” magazine. The System also serves in an advocacy role on important forestry issues affecting private woodland owners at both the national and state levels. In Tennessee, the Tree Farm program is sponsored by the Tennessee Forestry Association in cooperation with numerous government agencies and private forestry interests. Most professional foresters can provide information on becoming a member.

The Tennessee Forestry Association in cooperation with the Division of Forestry and the University of Tennessee Extension Service has begun developing County Forestry Associations. These worthwhile, grass-roots organizations are for, and generally run by local woodland owners. Check on the status of such a group in your county, and if one has not formed yet, get involved in starting one.

Beyond achieving the important goals you have set for yourself and your family, you have both a unique opportunity and responsibility. How you, and more than 450,000 other woodland owners like you, attend to Tennessee's forests shall significantly affect our State economically, spiritually, and environmentally. So, your conscientious application of sound forestry practices over the long term is important not just to you. Remember that your fellow citizens are also stake holders, and that a valuable, responsibly tended private forest can be your personally crafted gift to future generations.

In her classic novel, "The Good Earth," Pearl S. Buck presented a clear, simple message that woodland owners would be well advised to remember. Private land in the hands of a responsible, thoughtful steward will provide a last measure of personal security after all other investments or assets are gone. Again borrowing from literature, when Scarlet O’Hara's world was "Gone With the Wind," she understood that the good earth of "Tara" would always remain as the foundation upon which she could rebuild her life and fortune. Your good earth and your woodlands can also be "always" things for you, your family, and future Tennessee citizens.

What happens next is entirely up to you. It's your land, it's your forest, it's your dream, and it's your choice. The preceding and subsequent pages were provided by Tennessee Timber Consultants to help you structure a woodlands portfolio for your property by which you can grow MORE TREES, BIGGER TREES, and BETTER TREES. If you plan and manage your investment effectively to accomplish those three things, then you will be well on the road towards ultimate financial success.