The Case for Management
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A Well-Managed Stand

(if this panorama fails to load, click here)

Panorama Instructions: Click on the panorama, and press the keyboard Spacebar to view Hotspots (click them for tree info), press the "A" key to zoom in, "Z" to zoom out. To pan around, left click the mouse and drag.

The stand shown here occupies part of the same Montgomery County VA ridgetop as seen in the last panorama, and is approximately the same age. This stand has been well-managed. A harvest was done about 15 years ago to remove many of the weaker, less desirable trees. The better quality trees have been able to grow unencumbered and as you pan around, you will see many medium and high quality sawtimber trees. These are worth much more money. Additionally, the species seen is mainly white oak, a much longer-lived species, which is also more desirable for wildlife.

This stand has been managed in a sustainable manner, and it has the possibility to provide its owner significant monetary value in the future, in addition to the wildlife and aesthetic benefits it is currently providing.

* Growth data represented here is based on one prism point sample within the harvested stand. Monetary data is based on 2003 dollars and timber values. Actual payments to landowners are generally 50% of gross payments, but vary widely with distance to mills, terrain, harvest size, etc.