Do I need a a license or permit to harvest wood?

[Brad81]

I've been putting some serious thought into buying a portable hobby mill for building things like sheds, decks, and fences etc but a buddy of mine told me that if you harvest wood and get caught transporting timber over 3ft in length that a person could find themselves in a fair bit of trouble. So my questions would be is this true? And if so can I get some kinda permit that would allow me to get wood  for a hobby mill?

[sealark37]

If you are on the Queen's side of the border, I believe that you must be permitted to cut and transport the Crown's timber.  Regards, Clark

[Brad81]

Yeah I'm in B.C.

[beenthere]

Would help for you to put your location in your profile... then we have a much better idea how to give you an answer.

And Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

The reasons for permits is to combat anyone helping themselves to timber that doesn't belong to them.

Contact your local foresters and gov't forestry bureau's. They will know where or if there is wood available to you.

[4x4American]

Never heard that one before!

[whitepine2]

Never heard that one before!

Yep was called in this state an ax permit to cut anything 6" or over
and if on land of another approval of forester. But this is seldom
enforced today and not too many know about it could be it has been
done away with who knows.   

[Brucer]

To transport timber over 4' in BC, the logs will need either a Timber Mark or a Timber Brand. This is true even if it's your own timber from your own property. In a few circumstances you can get an exemption (see below).

If you are harvesting logs off private property (with permission, of course), or if you're buying from a logger, the logs will need a Timber Mark. That indicates where the logs came from. If you're harvesting from your own property, you can get your own Timber Mark at no cost (put you'll have to pay for a hammer with the mark embossed on it). The harvested timber will have to be taken to a Scale Site where it will have to be scaled by a registered scaler. You have a few options here: you can take the course ($1400 last I looked), pass the test, and get yourself registered; you can often find a scaler who will do the job for you -- ask around at any mills or log sorts in your area; or if you're only doing a couple of loads a year and you can't find anyone to do the scaling for you, a check scaler from the Ministry of Forests will sometimes come and help you out.

If you're buying logs that have already been scaled, the logs will have to be marked with a Timber Brand. That shows where the logs were scaled. The brand is provided by the scale site.

If you want to transport a small number of logs (up to about 1/4 logging truck load) and the logs are from private land and the wood is going to be used by the owner of the land (and not sold), then you can get a Timber Mark Exemption. If you ask nicely, you can probably get a scaling exemption as well. There's no charge for the exemption and it's been my experience that the MOF people will really try to make it easy for you.

If you are going to cut trees on your own land, for your own use, and you are not going to transport the logs off your property, you don't need to do any paper work. If you start selling the wood on a large scale, expect a visit (eventually) from the MOF.

This all sounds a lot more complicated than it is.

For example, my mobile operation is registered as a portable Scale Site. That means I can receive unscaled logs anywhere my mill is set up on private property. I usually don't buy unscaled logs, but when I do the scaler at the pole mill down the road from me will come out and scale them for me on his way home from work.

Most of the time I buy pre-scaled logs from a plywood veneer plant. All I have to do is collect the load slips from the truck drivers and fill in an arrival ledger.

I quite often have homeowners who want to bring me a few of their logs to saw up for various projects. The local scaling supervisor will let them send in the application for a Timber Mark exemption by mail, fax, or e-mail. She'll try to process the application in a day and return it by whichever method she received it.

Some advice: ask around a find out which Forest District you're in. Talk to the scaling supervisor and find out what the rules are. Also find out how that individual wants to do things. By co-operating with them, you make their life easier, and they will try to help you out in return.

If you decide to try to fly under the radar, you might get away with it for a while. When you get caught, you can try to plead ignorance and you might get a gentle slap on the wrist. But you'll be asked to sign an acknowledgment saying you did wrong and after that they will not give you a second chance.

Oh, yeah. In BC, the rules are enforced.

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Brad81.

[4x4American]

What a pain!


wp2 the rules here in america seem to be getting more strict every way you look!  I heard that in MA you have to have a permit or something to own a long gun, is that true?

[Brad81]

Thanks for the info Brucer looks  like I've got a bit of leg work to do before I buy my mill.

[sawguy21]

What Brucer said. It is definitely in your best interests to play by the rules here.

[whitepine2]

What a pain!


wp2 the rules here in america seem to be getting more strict every way you look!  I heard that in MA you have to have a permit or something to own a long gun, is that true?

Sure is true,cant even buy ammo with out a permit. The Ax
permit is not new was told to me by local sawmill owner some 40
years ago but like I said not enforced.At one time we P O were to
report anybody cutting wood in the town to Com Com well you know how that went over as most cut and burned wood or were land owners drove around with blinders on

[Brucer]

... looks  like I've got a bit of leg work to do before I buy my mill.

There are sources of logs that reduce or eliminate the need for paperwork. If you can buy prescaled logs, the owner will be able to put a brand number on it. You can transport it and do what you want with it because it is "on the books".

One of my customers visited the veneer plant with me and saw some oversize logs they had set aside. 16' long and 40" at the butt. Too big to mount on the peeler. So he bought them and had them delivered to my site so I could saw them up.

The veneer plant also has a bunch of 8'-6" "spinouts" -- logs that slipped in the peeler and could not be used.

Sawmills sometimes have odd sizes that don't suit their immediate needs. If you approach them properly, they will often sell you a small quantity.

Find out who the Forestry department's scaling supervisor is in your district. Talk to him/her and you will likely get some advice and possibly some tips on who would sell you a small quantity of logs.

Find out who the log buyer/log sellers are at any mills near you. Talk to them and see if they have anything they might be willing to sell to you. They will likely talk in terms of cubic metres. Figure on getting 180 to 200 BF in wane-free timbers out of a cubic metre, and another 90 to 100 BF of 1" and 2" lumber off the sides. Figure out ahead of time how much you're prepared to pay per BF, and translate that into $ per cubic metre. If a log seller is asking less than your maximum, don't try to dicker. That's how you make a friend out of the log seller.

Know what species you're looking for. Pine, birch, aspen, and grand fir, all deteriorate fairly quickly through a hot summer. Douglas-Fir, Larch, and Western Red-Cedar can go through one or two summers without too much loss of wood.

If you're down in my neck of the woods, give me a call and we can talk logs and sawmills.