Has anyone created a working business model that owns or controls/manages many smaller woodlots (perhaps with quick-growing or high-value trees) that might be transferable to an urban or suburban setting?
In addition to the obvious timber products, a forestry business - especially a visible one in a population center - can 'sell' environmental benefits to the local community (green space, cooling, moisture & runoff retention, parks, wildlife/songbird habitat, carbon sequestration, etc.). Such an enterprise might also be able to sell carbon-offsets or carbon credits on global financial markets.
Micro-forestry projects could be operated by community groups or community-minded environmental entrepreneurs. Micro-forestry could be a viable revenue source for non-profits serving local communities - and would be very interesting if they were catalyzed by land-grants from municipal governments.
Cool! A park designed for timber production or a timber lot fashioned into a park! Other shorter term benefits could include perennial semi-shade crop production layered in with timber trees. I heard recently that someone has worked out a good way to grow a black walnut improved for its fruit into straight high-value saw logs - tasty!
ReplyDeleteThe only thought I have given to something like this in the past was more for a personal 20-30 year investment. That is to buy cheap forrested land 30 or so acres in maybe somewhere like upstate New York and selectively harvest hardwoods for saw logs while reforesting with walnut and maintain the walnut trees to be harvested as veneer quality logs. That's wierd you mentioned walnut Lincoln, I guess great minds think walnut, come to think of it walnuts do look like brains. :o) Anyway Landon, I like the Idea and my resistance to it is the maintanance cost and taxes. That is why grants seem like they would be neccessary to make it profitable.
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