158 Acres Timberland, Perry County, MS

For a high resolution stand map, click on the link

Raulston Stand Photo

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The tract is located in western Perry County about three miles northwest of New Augusta and nine miles east of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The tract is situated 2.5 miles north of the Desoto National Forest and 2.5 miles west of the Georgia Pacific Pulp Mill near New Augusta. Pearce Drive, a paved county road, runs through the northern portion of this tract. Public road acres are not included in the tract acreage mentioned above. There is a maintained woods road that runs through the portion of the tract south of Pearce Drive. No woods roads were found north of that public road. Most of the boundary lines observed are marked by barbed wire fence. Some fence is in good shape, and some is very old and difficult to find. No clear boundary markings were found along much of the east line, south of the public road. A power line right-of-way makes up the south boundary of this tract. It appears that the property line is the north edge of the power line right of way, but no boundary markers were found along the south boundary.

Approximately 156.1 acres are forested. Approximately 78.6 acres support a stand of mature merchantable timber that appears to have been established naturally. The remaining 77.5 acres support a young unthinned pine plantation that was established around 2009.

TOPOGRAPHY

The topography is mostly flat to nearly level. Total elevation change is about 20 feet and ranges from 110 to 130 feet above sea level. One large natural drain runs through the north portion of the tract. No other significant streams were found.

Timber Inventory

A timber inventory was conducted on the forested acres of the property. The field work was completed by TimberCorp in July 2023. The inventory design was a systematic sample using fixed radius plots.

The sample plots in the mature merchantable stand were 1/10 acre in size for sawtimber and chip-n-saw and 1/20 acre in size for pulpwood. The plots in the mature stand were generally placed on a grid basis every two chains (132 feet), on cruise lines spaced five chains (330 feet) apart. A total of 80 plots were taken on 78.6 forested acres, providing a sampling intensity of approximately 10.2 percent for sawtimber and chip-n-saw and 5.1 percent for pulpwood.

The sample plots in the 2009 plantation were 1/10 acre in size for sawtimber and chip-n-saw and 1/20 acre in size for pulpwood. Additionally we added 1/100-acre plots for sub merchantable trees. The plots in the 2009 plantation were generally spaced on a grid basis every 4 chains (264 feet), on cruise lines spaced 5 chains (330 feet) apart. A total of 40 plots were taken on 77.5 forested acres, providing a sampling intensity of approximately 5 percent for chip-n-saw, 2.5 percent for pulpwood and 0.5 percent for sub merch.

On each sample plot all merchantable trees were measured to determine their species, product, diameter, and merchantable height. The three product classes used were pulpwood, chip-n-saw, and sawtimber. Diameters were measured to the nearest one-inch class. Merchantable heights were measured in one-foot lengths. Pre-merchantable trees in the 2009 plantation were tallied by species and diameter.

All data was kept separate for each sample plot. This allows plot data to be used to estimate volumes for any specific area. This is especially useful for forest management purposes.

TIMBER INVENTORY RESULTS

Two separate timber types are found on the property. There are 78.6 acres of mature timber that was salvage thinned after Hurricane Katrina. This area is labeled Stand 1 on the Stand Map.
The remaining 77.5 forested acres consist of a pine plantation estimated to have been planted in 2009. If so, it is now 14 years old. Pine plantations less than 15 years old are generally considered “pre-merchantable”, as all of the planted trees are not yet large enough to be utilized for a forest product. Pre-merchantable stands are often valued using a multiplier such as $40 per acre per year. In your case, most of the trees in your plantation are merchantable as small pine pulpwood. However, most investors would not clearcut a 14 or 15-year-old plantation, as its investment value is much greater than its current liquidation value. Therefore, we will value the 2009 plantation considering its current liquidation value and its investment value. These values are summarized below.

The results of the timber inventory are summarized below.
MERCHANTABLE TIMBER VOLUME

VALUATION DATE: JULY 24, 2023
78.6 MERCHANTABLE FORESTED ACRES
Species/Product Volume (Tons)
Pine Sawtimber                 3,390
Pine Chip-n-saw                   459
Oak Sawtimber                       60
Misc. Hdwd Sawtimber         65
Pine Pulpwood                      244
Hardwood Pulpwood        1,168