are made to determine the average site index 

 for the entire ownership. 



As a matter of policy and for further sim- 

 plicity, the County assessor may wish to classify 

 all pine lands regardless of species at the aver- 

 age site index for all pines of the resource area. 



For areas not growing pine the Site Index 

 curves shown in Figures 10 through 13 should 

 be used to determine the index for the species. 

 Some swamps and certain deep sand ridges 

 should be classified at below site index 50, as 

 their productivity is negligible. 



HAWAII 



Legislation adopted in 1961 and amended in 

 1963 provides that, in order to encourage the 

 development of lands for uses to which they are 

 best suited, the power to zone shall be exer- 

 cised by the State. Methods of real property 

 assessment should encourage rather than pe- 

 nalize those who would develop these uses. 1 Pro- 

 vision is made for four major land use districts 

 into which all lands in the State will be classi- 

 fied: Urban, rural, agricultural, and conserva- 

 tion. Conservation districts include watersheds, 

 scenic areas, parks and wilderness, and for- 

 estry and related activities. 



i Chapter 98 H, Revised Laws of Hawaii 1955 (1961 

 Supplement as amended) . 



In assessing property within a district, its 

 potential as well as present use or uses would 

 be considered. The landowner within an agri- 

 cultural or conservation district may, for a 

 minimum period of 10 years, dedicate his land 

 for a specific agricultural use and have the land 

 assessed at its value in this use. 



The Department of Taxation advises that, in 

 assessing forested lands, sales data are used to 

 the extent available. Because of infrequent 

 sales, adopting a modified cost method of ap- 

 praisal is planned, on the assumption that the 

 cost of growing timber is equal to its value at 

 any particular time. To this the raw land value 

 is added. Forest land and timber assessment 

 guides are being prepared. 



IDAHO 



Under legislation adopted in 1965 (Chapter 

 321 Laws of 1965), only the bare land of all 

 forest type lands is to be classified as real prop- 

 erty; its cash value is that of the annual pro- 

 ductive capacity to grow a forest crop. Such 

 land is to be assessed at the same percentage of 

 cash value as other real property. Forest crops 

 growing on forest type lands are classified as 

 personal property and are exempt from prop- 

 erty tax except at time of severance. 1 



Regulations for the assessment of forest land 

 and of forest crops under the 1965 Act are as 

 follows.- 



ART. 325. ASSESSED VALUE 

 OF FOREST LANDS 



"Forest Type Lands" are denned as those 

 lands which produce wood fiber and have this 

 wood fiber production as their highest and best 



1 Although the tax on forest crops is referred to as a 

 "severance tax," it represents a personal property tax 

 levied in the year of harvest. 



- Ad Valorem Property Tax Regulations, Idaho State 

 Tax Commission, 1965. 



use. Lands not having a productivity of West- 

 ern white pine site class IV or Ponderosa pine 

 site class V based on 100-year rotation and 75% 

 normal stocking (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 Technical Bulletins #630 and #323 generally 

 known as the "Meyer & Haig Tables) shall not 

 be considered as forest type land. The valuation 

 of this type land shall be assessed according to 

 Sec. 63-202, I.C. 



There are three separate productivity classes 

 of forest type lands, poor, medium and good. 

 These broad classes are related in the following 

 manner by definition to the "Meyer and Haig 

 Tables." 



A. Poor productivity class is defined as 

 forest type land having a median mean annual 

 increment (MAI) of 106 board feet per acre, 

 based on a 100-year rotation and 75% of nor- 

 mal stocking. This productivity class includes 

 Western white pine site classes III and IV, and 

 Ponderosa pine site classes IV and V. One hun- 

 dred six (106) board feet per acre MAI shall be 

 used in the evaluation formula. 



B. Medium productivity class is defined as 

 forest type land having a median mean annual 

 increment (MAI) of 278 board feet per acre, 



32 



