Forest Restitution

[tonich]

..A lot (not all) are thinking of cutting wood for money now, and wildlife and long term planning isn't in the radar.

That’s the main difference between well-advised and “not so well-advised” woodlot owner. And it is not up to knowledge, but to attitude.
Here, in my country I cannot claim private forest owner as good ones. Unfortunately.
And I have a single explanation for this – they are rather green. They got their woodlots 5 years ago, after forest restitution. I don’t know when they’ll consider those lands as own ones and treat it “properly”. Certainly, not soon. 

[WDH]

Can you say more about "forest restitution"?  I think that I know what that means, but I am not sure.

[tonich]

Yes, sure!

This is a lawful act of giving back the forest to their legitimate owners.
As you all know, all private forests in Bulgaria were nationalized by the communists during the period 1945-1949. Nowadays, as a result of the forest restitution, a mix of private and public ownership occurred ,  involving the reorganisation of tenure over forest resources, the privatisation and decentralisation of commercial and related activities in the woods, the redefinition of the role of the State in oversight, management and planning.

Being a participant in the whole process of forest restitution, I have a close look at all the matters. I must ensure you, that all this restitution was used for pure political purposes, but not of private owner’s service. To me, as a forester this law was/is imperfect and it all ends up with many very small woodlots with all the silvicultural, economic and social shortcomings, resulting from that. We are often joking here, that in the smallest woodlots if you fell a tree, you are supposed to do the primary processing and logging in your neighbour’s property.   

If you have some questions, I’ll gladly answer them.
Cheers!

[Cedarman]

tonich, I appreciate reading what goes on in other places that have a unique history in their woodlot.  I would be interested in learning what happened in your forests and how you have to manage them now.  What is taking place?  How big are the woodlots? etc.

Thanks for joining the forum.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah Toni, don't stop now. You've only begun to tell the story. And where are the pictures? Maybe begin a new thread? For years that part of the world was locked up in secrecy and myth, now is time to climb some of those mountains and shout.

[tonich]

OK!
Due to deep interest, I should consider making a workshop in my region.
You all will be invited. Pig roast is on the house!!! 

The moderator could split-up this thread and make a new - kind-of-forest-restitution one. For the time being, I’m sticking here. I could eventually add some photos if I’m able to dig up any.

Yes, we have a unique forestry history.
Browsing through this forum, it is inevitably making a parallel between “here” and “there”. And it not the silviculture, because it is a very conservative science. It is to owner/forester attitude, mind, approach, traditions. This is what we (in Bulgaria) have to consider and try to learn. I’m sure it should take a long time. It is not easy, to be a forest owner. 

According to forests legislation here (far from the perfect one), the smallest woodlot should not be less than 0.1 ha. Believe me or not, there are some properties as big as 0.1 ha. However, over 50 % of the private owners were able to cooperate for joint ownership and benefits (this was historically premised).
Nevertheless, the average area of private woodlots here is about 0.3 – 0.5 ha. Don’t have to convince you, that this is what we (foresters) DO NOT call forest. Not to mind tiny total basal area, stand volume, biomass etc.

Forest regulation is held by recurrent forest inventory – every 10 years. It is composed of two duties 1. forest measurement, estimation and sampling; 2. tending and silvicultural treatments – management plan for the decade. The first duty is free of charge for the private forests, since the government pays for it. The second one is payable by private owners.
For private woodlots as big as 2.0 ha. or less, no management plan is to be made, but only forest measurement. According to the measured data and concrete forest state it is possible for a private consulting forester or a state forester to submit silvicultural practice, including cutting, harvesting and timber usage. The trees for cutting are marked with metal, painted die stump downwards once, and with a spray-marker-paint at breast height upwards, second. A harvesting plan must be prepared. After doing this, the state forestry service have to examine the tree marking, consider the supported documentation and approve/reject the practice. The state forestry service has one week to approve/reject the practice. A written refusal must be issued if they don’t approve the silvicultural operation. As a private consulting forester, I have no limitation to propose and mark trees for cutting. The state forestry unit in my area has to make the final decision.

My grandfather had about 150 ha. private forests. Currently they all are restituted in both ways – cooperated and single. The single woodlot is as 2.3 ha. of Scots pine artificial plantation, mixed with some natural Nordic spruce. A successful thinning had been done last year. The main goals were: reducing the higher basal area and selection (wrong provenance was introduced on planting, on my opinion).

[Jeff]

tonich, I have split this off from the other topic as indeed, it certainly deserves a space of its own. If I have not said it before, welcome to the Forestry Forum.   A week or so ago I started exploring some websites related to your area after I noticed where you were from. Beautiful country!

[TeaW]

tonich how was the forest managed before  the forest restituion?

[SwampDonkey]

Hey Toni, I found this Abstract on the Forest Restitution of 1998. 

http://www.springerlink.com/content/r4166523032x40x0/

download it here, or an article by the same author. I think it's similar to the journal article.

http://www.conservationandsociety.org/c_s_2_1-3-barbara.pdf

[SwampDonkey]

I'm finding her article is quite interesting. I've read the first 5 pages.

Toni will let us know if there are errors, so that means he's got to read it too.

Nothing like putting the forester under the spotlight.

[tonich]

@ Jeff B:
Thank you for splitting this topic up. I believe this will make it more informative and comprehensive.

----

Hey SwampDonkey!

When you are intended to read my works here, I’m supposed to have a sleep…
I can’t be 24 hours available…
…Unless you’re willing to pay my overwaged night shift.

As for the article, I’ve read it thoroughly and have to claim, it must have been a deep study by the author and all this must be consider as true. Moreover, the particular described region is the very same I’m telling you about. So this article is all about history of forestry ownership in my region. If you’re interested in it, I’d recommend read it!

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tonich how was the forest managed before  the forest restituion?

Technically, quite similar.
As for the silviculture – faulty, I should say:
-   No long term forestry strategy
-   No sustainable management
-   No multifunctional forestry
-   Low ecological benefits
-   Low social benefits

Common past practices:
1.   harvesting
2.   harvesting
3.   harvesting
provided: mostly with clearcuts. Almost no flexibility with cutting systems. A lot of selective and shelterwood systems were substituted with clearcuts (even with much wider strips and/or bed sequence).
Artificial regeneration afterwards, with very close patterns, poor selection seedlings (even totally wrong origin). Late on, dense artificial plantation in bad shape - no thinnings, many windfalls, snowfalls, insect attac, no selection. It all ends up with disturbed uniform stands with poor overall characteristics and low benefits.

[SwampDonkey]

Toni, rest assured I did read it with both eyes wide open. 

With foresters being so few and so full of vim and vigour over there in Bulgaria, and able to take deep breaths of that cold mountain air to renew yourselves, I would have figured you were available 24/7 to answer the call.  You've got a lot of woodlot owners to look over and you have only scratched the surface. No time for sleep. And didn't you realize there were many long hours to put in with little reflection in your pay cheque? 

[tonich]

Get involved, SwampDonkey!
Those all are private forests – cooperative.


My office. In the open.


About same – winter.


And again!




At the forest line. Altitude ~2000 m.


That’s, what I was able to steal for now.   

[SwampDonkey]

Well I'de be right at home over there I am sure, but it's too far for me to walk as I don't like the idea of travel across a vast ocean, either by sea or air. Nope, I'm staying right here. Got enough to wield my kindly influence over at the moment. 10-130 acre woodlots seems more economical/practical to deal with as in your coops.  Are there directors you work with on the coops, or do you have to deal with the landowners directly? Sometimes even getting 10 directors to agree on anything is a challenge to.

[tonich]

Come on, SD!
You sound like an old, tired man.
You have the whole live ahead of you.
Energize it!        

____

Fortunately, I’m not dealing with the owners. There are directors that contract with owners. Although, having directors is not a great gratification, I can’t say that they are on the way of my duties. Of course, always there are exceptions. Enough said. 

[SwampDonkey]

Boys Toni, you must have sucked in a big chest full of that mountain air this morning. Strutting around like an old drummer grouse. Keep working on those directors, they'll come around if they think of forestry seriously enough. 

[tonich]

Keep working on those directors, they'll come around if they think of forestry seriously enough. 

I do doubt, they’ll ever think of forestry seriously.

[SwampDonkey]

Nobody building barns, sheds and houses in that area? You need a sawmill I think. You can become the regional procurement forester and silviculture foreman. You better strap on a larger size boot.

[tonich]

This morning I went to supervise a cooperative woodlot, which I marked for cutting last November.
The woodlot is as 17.7 ha., composed by Norway Spruce (Picea Abies) 90 % and Austrian Pine (Pinus Nugra) 10 %. Native origin. Age 90 years. Slope 36 degrees.

Thinning - 25 %.
Harvesting standing volume - 1696 kubic meters.
Overall stand mean diameter (prior cutting) – 32 cm.
Harvesting mean diameter (among marked trees) – 30 cm.

Logging:
1. Gravity slip-way (some guys here are real experts in this, building hundreds meters of slip-ways).
2. Overhead skidding:







This tree, at the front is… me! 


This is where the cutting has already passed.
Pictures are not very good, but the snow cover should give you more information about current stock density/canopy:

[SwampDonkey]

Great looking site. Nice looking post harvest area, will get the chest pounding a bit walking up those slopes.

Our member ED_K in Mass. maybe could take some advise on your yarding system. He's working on sloped terrain. What ya think Ed?

Toni, where is the sawmill?