[CANUFNET] Woodlot valuations

[Ian Wilson]

Alex, well stated - I was going to make many of the same points as you.

Timber value may be the most tangible calculation that could be made.  But I think what it really comes down to, is what is the loss of this stand of trees worth to the town?  It's probably contributing a lot of intangible benefits such as aesthetic beauty, wildlife habitat, air quality improvement, stormwater improvement, maybe informal recreation.  Perhaps the best approach is to throw away any formulae and start a negotiation with the developer based on the premise of what it might cost to replace that tree canopy elsewhere in the community.  If you know the average cost to plant a large caliper tree in the community and then make some assumptions about how many trees you would need to plant (or would like to plant), that could be a starting point for the negotiations.

Ian Wilson

City of Kelowna

From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Alex Satel
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 9:31 AM
To: 'Canadian Urban Forest Network'
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] Woodlot valuations

Geri,

The quick and dirty answer: an 'ISA plant appraisal' doesn't really exist. The ISA PVAC (Plant Appraisal and Valuation Committee) was/is involved as one of the contributors to the CTLA guides (among other groups such as ASCA), but there is not an ISA method per se. Anyone asking probably just doesn't know that it should really be referred to as CTLA, and that's what they're really asking for.

Now, what CTLA method they are after is another story. There are several appraisal methods outlined in the Guide, and it's a matter of choosing the most reasonable method for the situation. It's true (IMO) that the Trunk Formula Method (which is what I believe you're generally referring to) is not well-suited to many situations, so something like timber value may actually be a reasonable choice. Alternately, when we've appraised or reviewed appraisals of plantations that for whatever reason must be done using the TFM, we would typically expect to use a fairly low (maybe 10-15%) location rating, thus accounting for the fact that it's not an appraisal of an individual tree that might have a high contribution to the site.

Another method (which was recently brought to my attention, as I had overlooked it in the guide) is the Contributory Value - basically, how much does the plantation contribute in terms of value to the property? It's outlined on Pg. 100 if you have the 9th edition of the guide handy.

Like others have said, cost of cure or replacement cost could also work.

I'm sure this muddies the waters a bit, but appraisal can be tricky. I think they key is to come up with something that seems reasonable and is defensible. I'm sure others on the list will also have more to say on the matter.

Cheers,

Alex


Alex Satel, MFC
ISA Certified Arborist ON-1353A
Urban Forest Innovations Inc.
1248 Minnewaska Trail
Mississauga, ON  L5G 3S5
T: (905) 274-1022
asatel at ufis.ca<mailto:asatel at ufis.ca>
www.urbanforestinnovations.com<http://www.urbanforestinnovations.com/>
[Description: UFI new logo very small]


From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net<mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net> [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of Geri Poisson
Sent: September-25-12 1:56 PM
To: canufnet at list.web.net<mailto:canufnet at list.web.net>
Subject: [CANUFNET] Woodlot valuations

Hello all,
A landowner/developer is looking to remove trees from their land and the approval authority wants an ISA plant appraisal for the trees to be removed.
This is fine for individual trees,  but there are some hectares of conifer plantations.
I am looking for an accepted methodology for appraising these trees for the town.  Is there a methodology for plantations that is similar to the CTLA Plant Appraisal Guide.  I don't believe an appraisal of the value of
the timber is what they are looking for.  This would be in regards to compensation purposes.

Thank you,

Geri Poisson, B.A. (Hon) / Certified Arborist, Terrestrial Ecologist
BEACON ENVIRONMENTAL
126 Kimberley Avenue, Bracebridge, ON P1L 1Z9
T)  705.645.1050 x22  F) 705.645.6639  C) 705.828.1196
www.beaconenviro.com<http://www.beaconenviro.com/>
ü Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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