k. Forest management activities includ- 

 ing reforestation, timber harvesting, 

 and protection on the land. 

 ORS 321.955. Timber Severance Reports 3 



If merchantable timber subject to assessment 

 by any county in this State is severed during 

 any calendar year from real property, the owner 

 or his agent shall, before March 3 of the year 

 following the severance, make and file a report 

 with the county assessor of each county in which 

 the real property is situated. The report shall 

 contain a legal description of the property from 

 which the merchantable timber has been sev- 

 ered, a statement of the area from which the 

 timber has been severed, the best estimate of 

 the acres logged and of the percentage of total 

 volume of timber, by species, severed from such 

 acreage, and the best estimate of the acres of 

 merchantable timber remaining uncut. The re- 

 port shall include a map or sketch showing the 

 area logged and be signed by the owner or his 

 agent. 



Article 21955. (Relates to Timber Severance 

 Reports under Western Oregon Ad Valorem 

 Tax). 



A. Definitions: 



1. "Merchantable Timber." The statutory 

 definition is designed to follow current 

 utilization practices in the county or in 

 the area logged. Owners are required 

 to report the merchantable timber 

 which currently is considered by the 

 Commission as subject to inventory and 

 assessment. Owners should check an- 

 nually with the county assessor to de- 

 termine types and classes of timber 

 which were assessable for ad valorem 

 tax purposes as of January 1 of the 

 year of severance. 



2. "Owner." The statute provides that the 

 owner at the time of severance file the 

 report. Where the owner on the assess- 

 ment date is not the owner at the time 

 of severance, the report should still be 

 filed by the owner at the time of sever- 

 ance ; however, he may make the owner 

 on the assessment date his agent for 

 reporting purposes if, for any reason, 



3 Applicable to Western Oregon ad valorem tax only. 



it is more convenient to have that per- 

 son make the report. 

 3. "Severance." The statutory definition 

 is designed to cover all situations where 

 conversion of the stumpage to logs is 

 begun. Merchantable timber may be re- 

 moved from the stump but not removed 

 from the land; nevertheless, the sever- 

 ance must be reported. On the other 

 hand, wind-fallen timber need not be 

 reported as severed until it is removed 

 from the place of blowdown to another 

 location, whether that be a cold deck, 

 pond or mill. 

 ORS 308.236. Land and timber values to re- 

 flect presence of roads; roads 

 themselves not assessed; excep- 

 tion for certain timber roads. 



1. The availability, usefulness and cost of 

 using roads, including all roads of the 

 owner of land or timber, and all roads 

 which such owner has the right to use, 

 shall be taken into consideration in de- 

 termining the true cash value of land, 

 the unit value of timber on reforesta- 

 tion lands, and the immediate harvest 

 value of other timber as defined . . . 



2. Roads themselves, except principal ex- 

 terior timber access roads, shall not be 

 appraised, valued or assessed .... The 

 underlying land upon which roads are 

 constructed shall be assessed if it is 

 otherwise subject to assessment. 



3. (a) As used in this section, "road" in- 

 cludes fills, ballast, bridges, culverts, 

 drains, surfacing and other appurte- 

 nances of a like kind commonly associ- 

 ated with roads, but excludes railroads, 

 (b) "Principal exterior timber access 

 roads" means those portions of high 

 standard main-line private roads that 

 provide access from a conversion cen- 

 ter or public way to the exterior bound- 

 ary of the principal forest area served 

 by the road. A high standard main-line 

 private road is a permanent road of 

 two lanes or more which is paved, ma- 

 cadamized, or with fine-gravel surface 

 which is permanently and continuously 

 maintained. 



PENNSYLVANIA 



"It shall be the duty of the several elected and 

 appointed assessors, in their return of real es- 

 tate to the commissioners of the proper county 

 at each triennial assessment, to make returns 

 of all the timberland in their proper district by 



specifying in separate columns how many acres 

 each tract contains of cleared land and how 

 many in timber." 



The General County Assessment Law 

 (Act of May 22, 1933), Sec. 418. 



68 



