Management Activities Provided by PFC

Prochnau Forest Consultants, LLC

 Harvest Unit Planning:

  • Gather ortho photos, aerial photos, topographic maps, water type maps, resource maps, site class maps, survey  information, etc.
  • Determine preliminary harvest unit boundaries.
  • Research legal access, physical access, and road use fees.
  • Verify haul routes and road maintenance requirements.
  • Check on additional restrictions such as shoreline management act, watershed analysis plan, threatened and endangered species, state environmental policy act, habitat conservation plan etc.


Harvest Unit Design and Layout:

  • Identify logging system - ground system, cable system, or combinations.
  • Identify harvest restrictions due to Forest Practice Rules. (Riparian management zones, wetland management zones, wildlife reserve trees, green recruitment trees, unstable slopes, etc.)
  • Mark all harvest unit boundaries with paint and flagging.
  • Mark or identify required leave trees.
  • Mark riparian and wetland management zones boundaries and selective cut trees as allowed and/or economical.


Road System Design and Layout:

  • Identify any new road construction, landing construction, or rock pit development as needed.
  • Identify and size culverts and bridges.
  • Flag and paint proposed road location.
  • Finalize haul route to public road system.
  • Determine if right-of-ways are needed.
  • Identify potential rock sources.


Permitting:

  • Apply for Forest Practice Application.
  • Apply for Forest Tax Reporting Account Number if needed.
  • Apply for various Small Landowner programs where appropriate.
  • Road Maintenance and Abandonment Plan.
  • Secure Hydraulics Permit if needed.
  • Secure Operational Permits.
  • Secure County Permits.
  • Secure Environmental Permits.
  • Secure Joint Aquatic Resource Permit if needed.
  • Secure Shoreline Permits if needed.
  • Secure Moratorium Form if needed. 
  • Secure Right of Way Permits if needed.


Valuations:

  • Determine acreage within proposed harvest unit.
  • Cruise the timber within the proposed harvest unit to determine grade and sort.
  • Research market to determine current selling prices of logs.


Contracting:

  • Prepare and execute contracts for road construction, harvest operations, reforestation and silviculture with licensed and bonded contractors.


Log Marketing:

  • Contact export facilities, log mill and buyers of specialty products and secure log price quotes.
  • Calculate haul costs to various log destinations.
  • Determine highest net return.
  • Secure log purchase agreements.


Compliance:

  • Supervise forest operations to ensure contract compliance.
  • Monitor road construction, harvest operations, reforestation and silviculture contractors.   
  • Use unannounced spot visits.
  • Randomly check load tickets to actual load.
  • Check on bucking, limbing and sorting with regards to log delivery.
  • Check accuracy of log sorts against scale receipts and log buyers.


Log Accountability:

  • Ensure that logger is branding logs and correctly filling out and distributing load tickets.  
  • Collect completed ticket books from loader operator.
  • Prepare and maintain a ledger identifying log volumes and sorts sold to various vendors on a unit by unit basis.
  • Check scaled volumes against log receipts, and truck tickets.


Distribution of Funds:

  • Establish a trust account for log and other revenues derived from harvest activity.
  • Make payments to loggers and other contractors from trust account.
  • Make excise tax and B&O tax payments from trust account.
  • Prepare and maintain a balance sheet to include all cash flows from log receipts, payments to contractors and miscellaneous costs.
  • Provide copy of balance sheet to landowner on monthly basis or any time upon request.
  • Distribute funds to landowner maintaining a balance for expected future costs.
  • Distribute funds to timber managers (Prochnau Forest Consultants) corresponding to landowner distribution and agreed management rate.


Reforestation:

  • Determine size, number and species of trees to plant.
  • Order trees and arrange for pick-up and delivery to site.


Update Inventory Data:

  • Create Timber Stand Map after harvest and reforestation is completed
  • Prepare summary list of stand ages and timber data corresponding to stand map.