We all value our woods for a multitude of reasons…the privacy, places to observe wildlife, or recreational opportunities it provides us, as well as the ecosystem values of our woods, from their ability to clean our water to their ability to drink up excess carbon. But there are times when some of us  look to our woods to provide an economic return.

As a renewable resource, it is quite possible to harvest timber from your woods without detracting much from its other values. It’s hard to know, however, how much timber value is out there in the woods. A licensed consulting forester  can  estimate the volume of timber and its value in your woods.  They can also advise you on how it can be responsibly harvested, keeping your objectives in mind and staying in compliance with regulations. A forester will also be able to act on your behalf, crafting the right contract between you and the purchaser of your standing timber (also known as "stumpage").

Cooperative Extension and state agencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have for decades been collecting information regarding timber value based on actual sales information gathered on a quarterly basis from buyers and sellers across the region. Data from the last 15 years has been collected according to species and location either east or west of the Connecticut River.

Prices for standing timber or stumpage  can vary considerably depending on the quality of the trees, distance to market, total sale volume, consumer demand, season, access to harvest site, and more. Looking back at the data, however, brings a few trends to light. In general, timber west of the Connecticut consistently has more value than east of the river due to best site and soil conditions resulting in higher quality timber. West of the river, species that tend to fetch the highest prices are red oak, cherry, sugar maple, yellow birch, ash, and white oak, recently being valued  between $75 and $350 per thousand board feet.

In the last 15 years, amid much annual fluctuation, overall trends in stumpage values have been revealed. After several years of increase in price, red oak has come back down and now sells for approximately the same as it did in 1995. Cherry, a popular hardwood for woodworking, has been increasing in value and is now one of the most highly valued timber species. Sugar maple is another species that has been increasing in value, since 1995 increasing by about 50%. Despite fluctuations yellow birch and white oak have basically maintained the same value, whereas ash values have fallen slightly.

For detailed current and historic data and trend charts per species, visit http://www.masswoods.net/index.php/stumpage/about. MassAcorn.net can also provide more information about your land, from maps of nearby priority habitats to forums for discussion about your land. To locate your regional service forester or other licensed consulting forester, see http://massacorn.net/index.php/localcontact. Here, you’ll also find additional resources that may be able to guide you to other opportunities to reduce economic burdens associated with land ownership.