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County forestry reports strong timber revenue year-to-date; oak wilt and failing culverts flagged
Summary
Sawyer County forestry staff reported active timber sales worth roughly $4.3 million on file and year-to-date revenue near $1.7 million, work on culvert replacement planning, ongoing oak wilt treatment, and early movement on carbon-credit verification.
Forestry staff told the Sawyer County Land, Water and Forest Resources Committee that timber-sale activity remains strong and that the department is on track to meet revenue targets for the year.
For August the department reported 10 active sales and six closeouts. Staff said the county’s sold and uncut timber value on file is just over $4,300,000; revenue for August was $363,000 and year-to-date revenue was reported as about $1,700,000.
Forestry staff said a standard timber-sale contract base term is two years with up to two extensions (for a total of four years). If a contractor does not complete work in that window, staff said the county typically reclaims the sale, claims the bond to cover reestablishment costs and re-advertises the sale.
Staff reported ongoing oak wilt detections and described active treatment of infected trees on county land. They also said the department is tracking failing original railroad-grade culverts on ATV/UTV and snowmobile roads and are working with the DNR to develop a culvert-replacement plan and pursue state funding.
On carbon credits, staff said they received an additional verification request and that Anew had presented county credits to a potential buyer earlier in the month; staff said they have not yet received final results but “the process is finally starting to move along a little bit.”
Sale inspections, recon work and preparation of a fall timber sale bid prospectus were reported as on schedule.
