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Town hopes to get $500,000 from its trees

(2/7) The Thurmont Commissioners are hoping to get more than $500,000 by selling timber on town land.

During a recent meeting the Thurmont town commissioners approved a proposal by Ridge and Valley Forestry in Waynesboro to sell timber on town lands.

“Value of the wood products to be sold from your property would well exceed $500,000 with a more accurate value known once the trees are actually marked and measured,” Gregory Baker with Ridge and Valley Forestry wrote in his estimate to the town.

For a 7-percent commission, Ridge and Valley will locate and mark boundaries, select and mark trees to harvest, acquire any needed permits, development a forest management plan, advertise the sale to buyers and develop the contracts.
Chief Financial Officer Bill Blakeslee said not only was the Ridge and Forestry the best bid in terms of commission and expected income, Baker seemed the most interested in the project.

Blakeslee expects the project will take up to 18 months to complete and the money would have to be used in the town water fund because the town’s water department owns the land.

The proposal is not to clear cut the land, but to have the larger trees, leaving the smaller ones to continue growing.

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