Logger Access

EOB

5 year old buck +
Looking for some advise, opinions or experiences. Here is the situation. Our land is located next to 700 acres of timber company land. This land is MFL closed but that fact really doesn't stop the public from using it. We found out that they plan to do a cutting over the next two winters, sounds like the whole thing is being thinned. The trees on our border have already been marked. No big deal, kinda actually like the fact they will be logging their mature woods. The kicker to this whole thing is that we found out via unofficial channels (Bar talk) that they plan to or want to truck the logs out across our land. This is really their only option because the only other access is across on 12 ton limited bridge. Assuming they plan to ask us for permission. Is it reasonable to ask for some compensation? Is so what and how much?
 
I would think they would build you a nice road/trail.
 
I agree with smsmith - Not sure if it matters to you, but I would bet the logging will last more than two winters.
 
I wouldn't let them come across my place unless I gained something significant in return. That wouldn't have to be money, but it would be something

Try and see if you can get some acreage out of it even if they thin/ clear cut it.
Plus a road across yours for a limited time only .
 
$100 a truck both ways and they return the road to grade when they're done using it. What other option do they have?

I'd be proactive about it too. Post the property real well.
 
I highly doubt they don't have a plan and I doubt that plan would involve you with out you knowing about it already. You would be amazed at how they can get trucks in and out during the winter. They have portable bridges they can bring in and can make roads and keep them clear. I also highly doubt that they plan on cutting over 2 winters. 700 acres can be cut in less than 2 months. Actually might even take less time with a big crew. Now I would agree compensation to cut across your land would be nice if they need to. They could easily make a road or a clearing for you in a matter of hours that would cost you thousands of dollars to do your self. Stuff that don't cost them money and are "hidden costs" are where you can score big. Big money will just cause them to look for alternatives to going around. They made a 2 miles road to log some woods behind our land. They could have saved 1 3/4 miles by just asking us, but they never did.
 
Am I too old fashion, or is there something wrong with call your neighbor? I let a neighbor use one of my right of ways for his farm equipment. I never asked for anything, it was the neighborly thing to do. I asked him if I could hunt his land because he didn't hunt, and I have 400 extra acres to play on.
Years go by he retires from farming, he sells me 80 prime acres for rock bottom price.
My investment of nothing more than kindness, made me about $300,000. I never had that intention, karma has a way of working out sometimes.
Glad I don't own land next to some of you guys....good neighbors are hard to find I guess.
 
I'd give them a call and talk about it with them. Maybe there is a win/ win for you and them? Also could be a time to get some of your land logged when they have equipment there.....or some other work completed via barter or trade. Talk.
 
To be fair...this isn't a "neighbor" this is a timber company. Big difference there in my mind. To except reciprocity of kindness from a timber company is a bit far fetched in my mind, but I could be wrong.
Yep...agreed. But those timber companies need to keep good public relations.....or folks will not participate with them. So, they will oftentimes do easy projects that could compensate you for their needs. Thus...win / win's are sometimes possible if you talk with them. If you don't talk...you'll never know. :confused:
 
We plan to be good neighbors. When we do talk to the logger we plan to request that they don't cross our property till after hunting season and improve the existing road they plan to use.
 
We plan to be good neighbors. When we do talk to the logger we plan to request that they don't cross our property till after hunting season and improve the existing road they plan to use.

Is the existing road the best access for hunting your place? My existing access trails cut right through the heart of my place when I bought. They have been abandoned in favor of new ones that use the east border instead of the middle. Made a huge diff in deer seen on stand and the size of my sanctuary.
 
Being a good neighbor is one thing - GIVING the timber company access is another. I let a farmer access his field every year by crossing mine to avoid a narrow road that screams farming accident waiting to happen. A logging road is another thing entirely. If you allow access you should have your expectations understood and in writing. Like as stated trading access for some services or the like is fine as well. You should get something out of it however.
 
They're not your neighbors, they're a for-profit corporation and should be dealt with on a professional (for-profit) basis in kind.

Each truck is a nuissance to you and a few grand in profit for them. You can't make it lose money (they'll cancel the job), but as a "partner" you're entitled to a return on your investment for the value it adds. A 12T bridge is a major hurdle to productivity: your value just went WAY up. Charge accordingly - they'd do it to you.
 
Am I too old fashion, or is there something wrong with call your neighbor? I let a neighbor use one of my right of ways for his farm equipment. I never asked for anything, it was the neighborly thing to do. I asked him if I could hunt his land because he didn't hunt, and I have 400 extra acres to play on.
Years go by he retires from farming, he sells me 80 prime acres for rock bottom price.
My investment of nothing more than kindness, made me about $300,000. I never had that intention, karma has a way of working out sometimes.
Glad I don't own land next to some of you guys....good neighbors are hard to find I guess.

I think letting a neighbor use a field driveway and letting a logging company carve a path through your property are pretty different situations. I think getting something in return is reasonable in this situation. I agree with Stu that everything needs to be clearly defined and in writing. You don't want a one time logging access turning into a new access that they want to use forever. And you also want to make sure they don't damage anything when using your land. If it was me, I would look at getting a nice access road added or possibly opening up a section of woods for a new food plot. They'll have the equipment to be able to do that kind of work quickly and that work could cost you thousands if you hired someone to complete it.
 
Here's the thing that stands out like a neon sign to me: you said the land is not open to public hunting, yet is hunted as if it were. So...if they make a nice, convenient road across your property to theirs for log trucks, will that become option number one for John Doe to access that same land in the future? Maybe not, but maybe so.
 
Jeff23 brings up a great point - price just went up even more if it was me!
 
IDK Bout you guys but I burn wood for heat, imagine how much wood you could get by cutting a deal with them? Let alone making making a new access on your place for you. Yee haw!
 
And if you didn't want the road at all? Everyone has their price. This is a situation which has some negative impacts on the principle use of the land, and those impacts need to be compensated accordingly.

It's like my neighbors who think their "walking in the woods isn't hurting anything" - when I bought the place to get further away from them: there's value lost in their "non-destructive" utilization of my land regardless of whether they think so or not.
 
if they want access across your place, that's fine, let em log your place too, after you walk with a forester and mark trees, you get the money from the trees felled on your place, and they return the road and all ruts back to a flat, non water holding condition afterwards, unless of course, you want a water holding feature surrounded by your newly thinned woods.
 
There is also the "slim" possibility that they already have an easement across somebodies land. The major timber companies have a standard easement fee that they charge people to cross their land to get to yours. I think the last time I checked into it...it was something like $4 or $5000 per 40 acres. A similar charge is not out of the question. However you might charge less for a one time deal vs a permanent easement.
 
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