hurricane katrina and private forest ownerships

8/14/2019 Hurricane Katrina and Private Forest Ownerships

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MTN13 E GENERAL FORESTRY INFORMATION SEPTEMBER 2005

Hurricane Katrina

And Private Forest Ownerships

Dr. Bill Stuart, Dr. Laurie Grace, Dr. Ian Munn, and Mr. Jeff SmithDepartment of Forestry

IntroductionThe trees and forests of the area impacted by Katrina, like the people and communities, have all beenaffected by the storm. Some effects were catastrophic, with large areas of broken or uprooted timber.Other areas suffered minimal damage, wind stress, broken limbs and lost foliage. The catastrophicloss is immediately evident; the more subtle effects may take months or years to manifest themselvesin reduced tree growth, increased susceptibility to insect and disease attack, and splits and shake thatultimately reduce the value of the tree for solid wood products.

These trees and forests constitute a considerable share of the wealth of the area. ManyMississippians have looked to an investment in land and timber as support for their retirement, forcollege funds, or simply as rainy day reserves. Others have used the value of their lands and forestsas collateral when borrowing money for other purposes. The reasons for ownership and investment in

timber are many, the strategies for managing that investment complex, and the expectations for thatinvestment have been realistic under normal circumstances. Katrina changed things.

Salvaging hurricane damaged timber and returning the affected forest areas to productivity as quicklyas possible are necessary and formidable tasks.

Salvage Operations on Private LandOne factor that complicates the process in the southern coastal plain areas is the number and size ofindividual forested ownerships. Timber salvage on these smaller ownerships requires a differentprotocol than would be used on large private or industrial ownerships.

Each parcel must be dealt with separately. Tasks that would be simple in normal times become

complex and time consuming following a natural disaster. The purchaser of the timber or thecontractor handling the salvage must be sure the person with whom they are dealing is actually theowner of the property and has the right to enter into an agreement. This requires a deed search at thecourthouse. County clerks, if the records escaped damage, are probably stretched thin, because thesame requirements apply to any contractor undertaking salvage or reconstruction on private andcommercial property.

The map of the percentage of individual parcels of uncultivated land within survey sections for aportion of Stone County (one of the Mississippi counties directly in the path of the hurricane)


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demonstrates that the ownership is both fragmented and dispersed across the landscape1 (Figure 1).This is the result of two hundred years of land use in agriculture and forestry, the concentration ofagriculture on the areas of the most fertile and productive soils, infrastructure development, and thesubdivision of land over time and with population growth.

.

TONE CO.-PERCENT OF AREA IN PRIVATELY OWNED UNCULTIVATED PARCELS BY SURVEY SECTION

R-13-W R-12-W R-11-W

6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1

97% 53% 53% 44% 35% 31% 31% 69% 19% 74% 59% 39% 39% 84% 97% 31% 66% 91%

7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12

6% 90% 61% 38% 39% 53% 57% 79% 66% 100% 61% 57% 16% 61% 48% 29% 78% 51%

18 17 16 15 14 13 18 17 16 15 14 13 18 17 16 15 14 13

67% 58% 0% 13% 25% 13% 75% 99% 0% 59% 35% 37% 7% 55% 0% 79% 92% 56%

19 20 21 22 23 24 19 20 21 22 23 24 19 20 21 22 23 24

31% 93% 69% 0% 3% 13% 31% 50% 81% 78% 59% 13% 17% 56% 45% 44% 72% 69%

30 29 28 27 26 25 30 29 28 27 26 25 30 29 28 27 26 25

55% 74% 48% 36% 13% 19% 37% 38% 44% 84% 62% 66% 4% 56% 85% 51% 69% 60%

31 32 33 34 35 36 31 32 33 34 35 36 31 32 33 34 35 36

46% 51% 62% 33% 30% 18% 25% 23% 7% 73% 49% 85% 10% 58% 90% 83% 74% 11%

6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1

93% 46% 63% 49% 72% 66% 13% 14% 12% 35% 56% 82% 54% 58% 48% 62% 58% 10%

7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12

80% 75% 53% 66% 78% 79% 38% 24% 70% 11% 16% 42% 89% 54% 58% 64% 48% 56%

18 17 16 15 14 13 18 17 16 15 14 13 18 17 16 15 14 13

39% 100% 0% 87% 83% 56% 60% 68% 0% 49% 6% 24% 86% 100% 0% 43% 36% 64%

19 20 21 22 23 24 19 20 21 22 23 24 19 20 21 22 23 24

101% 82% 64% 0% 0% 56% 32% 9% 31% 0% 36% 30% 79% 77% 83% 94% 3% 100%

30 29 28 27 26 25 30 29 28 27 26 25 30 29 28 27 26 25

14% 67% 6% 5% 0% 0% 20% 0% 0% 0% 5% 10% 43% 73% 103% 79% 19% 81%

31 32 33 34 35 36 31 32 33 34 35 36 31 32 33 34 35 36

78% 55% 55% 11% 24% 0% 10% 62% 99% 25% 0% 24% 32% 73% 80% 58% 97% 24%

6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1

97% 53% 39% 0% 0% 2% 11% 50% 38% 0% 44% 76% 8% 77% 80% 72% 20% 25%

7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12

69% 82% 28% 12% 0% 0% 7% 0% 24% 11% 89% 69% 67% 49% 55% 3% 48% 0%

18 17 16 15 14 13 18 17 16 15 14 13 18 17 16 15 14 13

61% 48% 26% 41% 0% 2% 16% 25% 0% 24% 14% 75% 67% 25% 0% 0% 0% 0%

19 20 21 22 23 24 19 20 21 22 23 24 19 20 21 22 23 24

5% 25% 0% 101% 10% 100% 0% 3% 0% 0% 14% 33% 6% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

30 29 28 27 26 25

0% 23% 0% 100% 18% 14%

31 32 33 34 35 36

0% 13% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Percent of uncultivated land in each section

0 1-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100

Figure 1. Percentage of privately owned, uncultivated land by section for a portion of Stone CountyMississippi.

Parcel sizes of uncultivated land for 11 counties in the area affected by the storm (Clarke, Covington,Forrest, George, Greene, Harrison, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Simpson, and Stone) were summarized todevelop an estimate of the number of parcels and the total acreage by parcel size involved. Thesecounties contain 72,271 individual parcels of uncultivated land ranging in size from one to 640 acres(tax rolls break ownerships larger than 640 acres into individual survey sections). The distribution of

sizes is shown in Figure 2. Over twenty thousand are in the one to five acre group, and there arerelatively few parcels larger than eighty acres. The holdings may be larger; these figures representonly the portion of that holding in forest.

1Tax rolls, the source of this information classify forest land as uncultivated, for tax rate setting purposes. This

has a practical dimension. Uncultivated land in Mississippi, if protected from bush hogging and fire, quicklyreverts to forest, with or without the aid of man!


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These tracts cover a combined area of 1,712,000 acres, and assuming an average stocking of even50 tons per acre (less than two truckloads per acre) represent volumes in excess of two years annualcut for the state.

Parcel Size of Uncultivated parcels in Private Ownership

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000


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Acreage by Size of Uncultivated Parcels in Private Ownership

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000


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Completing the other business tasks of the salvage process will also take more time. Salvaging timberfrom a five acre parcel has the same commercial requirements as for a 100 acre tract:

An interested purchaser must be found,A contract must be negotiated and signed,Boundaries marked or identified,

A logger contacted and placed under contract,The method of payment agreed upon,And a process put in place to assure the process is completed smoothly.

The concern of all involved is that the salvage does not create more problems for the seller, thepurchaser, and the contractors involved, now or later, than absolutely necessary.

We, the landowners, the loggers, the consuming mills, and the forestry profession are all in thistogether. How well we join forces to get the job done, done right, and not inflict unnecessary harm onthe other participants will determine the future of Mississippis forests and forestry.

hurricane katrina and private forest ownerships

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