January 1, 2026
Final Timber Sale & Harvest Scorecard — Including Long-Term Results
The final scorecard evaluates the timber sale as more than a one-time check. It considers realized value, land opened, condition left behind, future usefulness, lessons learned and the longer-term effects of changing roughly 50 acres from timberland to open ground.
The final scorecard for this experiment needs to answer a broader question than whether the timber sold successfully.
Financially, the transaction generated $60,000 against an independent appraisal of approximately $62,000 for just the pine.
Operationally, roughly 50 acres were opened and the merchantable timber was removed. That materially changed what could be done with the property.
The harvest also created new costs and problems. Stumps, slash, disturbed ground and the need for reclamation did not disappear when the timber buyer left. In fact, those conditions led directly to additional experiments about whether harvested land should be intensively cleared and smoothed or managed more cheaply with stumps and residual material left in place.
Some of the most important results will take years to judge.
We need to observe how the harvested ground responds over time: whether erosion becomes a persistent problem, how soil condition changes, what vegetation establishes naturally or through seeding, how wildlife use changes, how much ongoing maintenance is required, and whether the acreage ultimately becomes more useful and valuable for our intended purposes.
That means this Field Note should remain a living scorecard.
The timber sale itself is complete. The long-term result of the decision to harvest is not.
Observations
• $60,000 was realized from the timber sale versus an appraisal of approximately $90,000.
• Roughly 50 acres were opened for future use.
• The harvest created both opportunity and additional land-conversion work.
• Post-harvest conditions generated separate experiments rather than being treated as simple cleanup.
• Long-term soil, erosion, vegetation, wildlife and maintenance effects still need to be measured.
• The final answer to 'Was harvesting the timber a good decision?' should remain evidence-based and be updated as the land develops.
Actions Taken
We will continue monitoring the harvested acreage and update this scorecard as longer-term results become measurable. The immediate next work is captured in the separate post-harvest Forest-to-Pasture experiments.
Next Step