Land Use Changes in the South   Willard Fell
  Dec 23, 2005 06:40 PST 
I don't generally read the Atlanta fish wrappers, but this story
appeared Sunday and pretty well sums up the changes happening throughout
the southeast. Industry has oft been vilified, but these changes on the
horizon have even the eco-crowd up and wondering where we're headed. It
has the rest of us a little uneasy also, especially down here on the
coast where the greatest potential for change is. The past five years
has seen a steady increase in short-stopped snowbirds and reverse
migration from Florida.

I apologize for being a little off topic, but I think it bears some
points worth considering all over the east and the changing patterns of
forest land ownership.



From the Sunday Atlanta Journal-Constitution;

THE GREAT GEORGIA LAND GRAB
Forest tracts are being sold at a dizzying pace as timber companies
unload their holdings
Patti Bond - Staff
Sunday, December 18, 2005

[Article is not reproduced below - in summary:
 "Georgia's private forests are up for sale as never before, unlocking
vast acres for investment groups, land speculators and urbanites who
want a slice of the country. The land is being sold and resold in ranch-
and trailer-size parcels...."]
RE: Changes in the South   Robert Leverett
  Dec 23, 2005 07:37 PST 

Will,

   Whether north or south, big land sell-offs by timber companies
threatens to change for the future the demographics of what have been
rural areas. I would imagine that the "eco-crowd" would prefer tree
plantations to housing sub-divisions any day. I know that I'd rather see
the tree plantations, but in the hands of many private citizens as
opposed to a few multi-nationals, which have little or no interest in
maintaining the life styles of a region. Mainers have had to learn the
hard way just how bloody little the multi-nationals care about the local
economy, traditional life styles, etc. Looks like the Mainer's southern
brethern are now getting a similar lesson.   

Bob
Re: Changes in the South   Fores-@aol.com
  Dec 23, 2005 10:49 PST 
Bob and Will:

The problem the articles illustrate is totally out of control and is
escalating like a rocket on steroids and poised to change the American landscape
forever.

The problem is at its worst when you consider that just ten years ago the
major timber companies owned millions of acres of timberland that was often
considered much the same as public land in the eyes of local residents...in just
a few years all this "timber land" has become real estate as it has been
bought up by investor groups, pension funds and banks.

In WV nearly all large timber parcels have changed ownership in the past
five years.

Investor types have now figured out a way to buy a small stake in timber
companies and force them to liquidate their land in order to improve financial
performance of their stock. This is what has happened to International Paper
that once was the largest property owner in the US...their land is all gone.
Weyerhaeuser is likely next as a company called the "Franklin-Templeton Fund
has bought a large enough stake in the company that their land is next. In
the past couple of weeks Georgia Pacific, once the largest timber company in
the world went out of existence...a majority of their land is now owned by
Plum Creek REIT...Real Estate Investment Trust.


What is most distressing as that, in spite of their faults, the timber
companies (in the colder climates) usually managed their land on a fifty to 60
year rotation and an 80 year planning horizon.


Unfortunately, most of these groups have 7 to 12 year ownership horizons
with liquidation planned after the timber has been aggressively harvested.   
After the timber is cut it is likely much of the land will be subdivided or sold
for other uses as the money moves to Russia or the Amazon in search of cheap
land.

The investor groups have the potential of wrecking the economy of many rural
areas as they flood the market and dump billions of dollars if timber on the
market potentially causing a major drop in timber values and lessening the
opportunity for small woodland owners to get a fair price for what may be the
most valuable or only asset they possess.

Russ
RE: Changes in the South   Darian Copiz
  Dec 23, 2005 11:17 PST 

Russ, ENTS,

It appears that what has been happening to farmland is happening to
timberland as well. It makes me wonder, if there is such a glut of
timber on the market why is there still pressure to harvest national and
state forests? It seems that now would be an opportune time to grant
further protection to some parts of the state and national lands. I
also wonder though, that with all the private land going out of the
harvesting cycle what will happen in 50 years when millions of acres
that had been producing timber are no longer available for harvest and
areas elsewhere in the world may not be either? At that point I could
see public lands coming under very high pressure for extensive
harvesting.

Darian
Re: Changes in the South   Lee E. Frelich
  Dec 27, 2005 05:51 PST 

Russ et al.:

Parcelization of former industry owned lands is also proceeding at a high
rate in the Lake States. It is the major issue being disucssed vis a vis
the future of the forest (although its about to be suplanted by invasive
species and global warming). Vast tracts of land in northern MN and Upper
MI are being sold for second home development. TNC managed to acquire a
250,000 acre tract in Upper MI this year.

Lee
RE: Changes in the South   Paul Jost
  Dec 27, 2005 13:29 PST 

In far northern central Wisconsin, where most of the forested land is in
federal, state, or county forest ownership, thousands of acres of
International Paper lands have been sold off to public and private
interests. Several thousand acres adjacent to a Caroline Lake and the Bad
River headwaters near my property were bought by The Nature Conservancy and
the state of Wisconsin government funded Wisconsin Land Trust for managed
restoration. At least not all is being sold for development. Privately
funded regional land trusts are forming throughout Wisconsin to acquire
lands in order to prevent development. Check out the national Land Trust
Alliance web site at http://www.lta.org and "Find a Land Trust" to help
prevent development in your area of the country...

Paul Jost
Re: Changes in the South   Fores-@aol.com
  Dec 27, 2005 15:02 PST 
Paul:

Wisconsin, like California and Oregon is one of those bell weather states
that leads the nation in all sorts of social change, environmental
consciousness and restoration and I applaud your states' lead in protecting 
some of these "at risk" treasures.

It would be good to hear if there are many other success stories out in ENTS
land.

Russ