ncx-gitbot
commented
1 year ago NCX response: Timber prices for softwoods and hardwoods are combined at the L3 ecoregion level. These prices are updated moving forward whenever new prices for a county or region becomes available (generally quarterly to annually). Ecoregion-level pricing is combined with information regarding mill haul distances, which are also updated quarterly to account for openings and closings. As the comment notes, the prices available in regions such as New England are voluntary surveys and can vary dramatically between reporting periods depending on survey responses. The system in place to use regular updates and combine reported prices within and L3-ecoregion is designed to avoid artificial rapid swings in price when only low or high value species are reported within a survey period.
Commenter Organization: Anonymous
Commenter: Anonymous
2021 Deferred Harvest Methodology Section: 11.3
Comment: Grouping species by hardwood and softwood only is a gross oversimplification of timber markets. In my state, the lowest value hardwood is worth $600 per mbf less than the most valuable hardwood! That is a massive difference! Species drives harvest and it needs to be valued. If the remote sensing is not detailed enough to capture species remotely, than on the ground measurements should be used.
Proposed Change: Use species dependent pricing