Private Forest Makes a Nice Tax Shelter
HeraldNet
By Debra Smith
March 23, 2008 - 10:00 am

Through a forest stewardship class, a Stanwood couple learns how managing their forested land can keep it healthy, productive and even provide a considerable break in property taxes.

STANWOOD -- Clearing a few trails and cleaning up storm damage was about all the Amber-Oliver family ever did to maintain their wooded 20 acres in Stanwood.

That's changing after they signed up for a forest stewardship class that could potentially save them thousands and help them make their forested land healthier and more beautiful.

The class is intended for landowners who own anywhere from a few wooded acres to a hundred. It's designed to help landowners learn how to manage their land, not just for money but for a healthy forest.

The class covers the basic principles of forestry, including forest health, soils, fish habitat, wildlife and reforestation, said Keven Zobrist, a forest stewardship educator with the Washington State University Extension and an instructor for the class. Extension offers the class jointly with the Department of Natural Resources. Instructors touch on practical issues, such as wildfires and illegal dumping, and introduce landowners to ways to reduce property taxes and federal cost-sharing programs that can save money.

A common misconception is that wooded property doesn't need to be managed, that nature can and should take its course, Zobrist said. Forests grow and change with time. Often, Mother Nature's course doesn't fit with the landowner's wishes, he said. Trees may become diseased. The native plants might be choked by invasive species such as Himalayan blackberry. The tree canopy might be so dark and dense, it isn't providing a sanctuary for wildlife.

"It's a dynamic system," he said. "People think if I don't do anything, it will always look like this, and that's not true."

For many who take this class, this is the first time they've taken a close look at their land, Zobrist said. People come out of the class with a new set of eyes, he said. They understand how their land works and the class gets them thinking about stewardship as a deliberate process.

Variations of this class have been offered in Washington since the early 1990s. This class takes nine weeks, and in addition to some classroom lectures, landowners take a field trip and get one-on-one coaching from professionals. They receive an aerial photo of their land and notebooks of resource materials. The class fee is $150.

The tax burden for landowners can be substantial, and it's one of the primary concerns of those who take the class, Zobrist said.

Snohomish County administers a program for the state Department of Revenue that can alleviate some of the tax burden. The current use taxation program, aimed at landowners with 5 to 20 acres of wooded property, allows tax breaks for those who agree to follow a certified forest-management plan. Zobrist said he heard about a landowner with 20 acres who had his $3,000 property tax bill reduced to $19 by qualifying for the tax break. Part of the class is helping landowners prepare a management plan that ordinarily can cost as much as $1,000 to have completed by a professional, Zobrist said.

Most landowners aren't aware of federal programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which pays part of the cost of improvements owners might be making anyway, such as thinning, planting and pruning of trees, or improving forest roads to prevent erosion.

"Money is there but people aren't lined up to take it," Zobrist said. "We try to get as many people in the county involved as possible, otherwise the money goes some place else."

A professional forester or wildlife biologist visits everyone's property in the class. At a recent visit to the Amber-Olivers' property, Zobrist and John Keller, a forest stewardship coordinator with the Department of Natural Resources, walked the property with John and Susan Amber-Oliver and their son, Cory Oliver. The instructors bored into the cores of trees to determine their age, examined the roots of a fallen tree for the presence of disease and found none, discussed what to plant around a pond and suggested how to handle stream buffer regulations around the creek that runs through the property.

The Amber-Olivers want to find ways to earn enough income from the property to help offset their property taxes. Susan Amber-Oliver said property taxes have increased rapidly and if they continue to rise at the current pace, they'll have trouble paying them in retirement. Keller recommended the family consider harvesting a stand of alders nearly at the end of its lifespan. If they do nothing, the alders will fall and the area will become chocked with low-growing salmonberries, Keller said.

People with forested lawn often talk about "parking it out," clearing out the understory of the woods so it's parklike, said Susan Amber-Oliver. She now understands why that's not a particularly healthy thing for the forest.

The family also wants to maintain and enhance the character of land. They want to keep it as natural as possible and not make any mistakes that might harm its long-term health, said Susan Amber-Oliver. They gets unsolicited offers from developers and real estate agents hoping the couple will sell. They're not interested. This is their home, the site of a million memories, and the heritage they'd like to pass onto the next generation of their family.

Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.

Local Forest Landowners Can Learn About Land Management
Courier-Times
By Codi Hamblin
March 07, 2008 - 10:00 am

When Roger and Kathy Mitchell moved to Bow from Minneapolis, they became the owners of 24 acres of forest land.

“We really didn’t know what’s best to do with forest land,” Roger Mitchell said.

But a neighbor of theirs, who was once in the same predicament, recommended a forest stewardship class presented by the Department of Natural Resources and Washington State University. The class taught the Mitchells how to manage their land in a way that promotes a healthy forest and to develop a management plan they submitted to DNR.

Beginning March 13, the same class — Forest Stewardship Coached Planning — will be held in Sedro-Woolley at the DNR’s Northwest Region office. The short course is open to forest landowners and others interested in learning how to maintain forest health, protect and enhance wildlife habitat and qualify for tax-breaks — among other various forest management topics.

The forest stewardship program is about helping landowners meet their objectives for their forest while keeping it healthy and productive, said John Keller, a forest stewardship coordinator for DNR who helps run the program.

Keller said the class is ideally suited for landowners with about 20 to 80 acres of forest land interested in learning how to manage their forest. In the past, participants have ranged from owning five to 500 acres, but more options will open up for participants if they own at least 20, he said.

Sometimes the art and science of managing a forest is not intuitive, Keller said. The purpose of the course is to identify the goals and objectives of the owner’s forest land and to help participants develop a plan to reach it, said Kevin Zobrist, a WSU forest stewardship educator who runs the course with Keller. Meeting a forest objective doesn’t happen by itself, Zobrist said.

“Forests are extremely dynamic,” Zobrist said. “Mother Nature will take it in the direction she chooses, and that may not fit with the landowner’s objective.”

Different participants take the course for various reasons, but Zobrist said he thinks almost everyone attends to learn how to see the forest in different ways.

Throughout the nine-week course, participants learn about the challenges of forest management from ecology to cultural resources.

The class also includes learning about responsible harvesting as well as fish and wildlife protection. Guest speakers from various agencies will present at the classes to help educate owners about the different topics.

In addition, a Saturday field trip is provided and each participant receives a map of their property and an on-site visit to assist with their forest management plan, Keller said.

One of the most common comments Zobrist said he has received from participants is that they had no idea how much they didn’t know about their forest.

“In some cases, it’s the first time people have come out and seen their property,” Zobrist said. “Often people think at first (their forest) is fine, and a closer look shows forest health problems.”

Roger Mitchell said he and his wife benefited from the course as they learned new facts about maintaining a healthy forest. When they first moved to their property, they were reluctant to cut any trees down for any reason. But the class taught them that selective thinning can lead to better forest health.

Roger said the couple got over their reluctancy and realized it was OK to cut the trees down, as it eventually resulted in a healthier forest. Roger said he and his wife also received a great education on wildfire.

The knowledge acquired about wildfire led them to become volunteer firefighters as well as start a neighborhood effort to become “fire wise.”

“The class is just extremely informative, no matter what level of knowledge you enter the program with,” Roger said.

The program is held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays from March 13 to May 8. Tuition is $150 per family or ownership and includes all course materials. Registration is currently open and early registration is encouraged as limited space is available.

For more information call Kevin Zobrist at 425-357-6017 or e-mail at kzobrist@wsu.edu.
Click here to visit Washington State University's Forestry Department.