timberland. As a direct 

 result, large tracts owned 

 by forest-product 

 companies are now on the 

 open market. Most have 

 been available for some 

 time without attracting a 

 buyer. Some of the original 

 "no land" companies have 

 actively, if quietly, changed 

 their status by acquiring 

 lands adjacent to or within 

 economical transportation 

 range of their plants. 



The final outcome of the 

 land ownership dilemma 

 will probably remain unclear 

 for the near future except 

 for one aspect. There is a 

 growing trend toward limited 

 partnerships and other 

 investment groups, 

 including foreign interests 

 looking for relatively short-to 

 medium-range investment 

 opportunities. Only an alert 

 and informed public can 

 prevent a return to the 

 short-term 

 clearcut-and-get-out 

 practices of 60 years ago. 



Leasing and Management 

 of Leased Lands-One of 

 the methods employed by 

 the industry in relatively 

 recent times to modify the 

 capital investment 

 requirements in land 

 ownership involves leasing 

 privately owned lands and 

 placing them under the 

 professional management 

 of company foresters. The 



USDA Forest Service has 

 accumulated some data 

 over the years that indicate 

 that the forest industry has 

 to some degree turned to 

 leasing as an alternative to 

 outright ownership. The 2.9 

 million acres under 

 long-term leases by 1970 

 increased to approximately 

 4.2 million acres by 1985. 

 Georgia leads all States in 

 the South with almost 1 

 million acres under lease. 

 Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, 

 and Mississippi account for 

 an additional 2.7 million 

 acres, leaving relatively 

 minor amounts to the other 

 Southern States. 



The terms of many of these 

 leases are proprietary, but 

 they usually involve a 

 payment for the 

 merchantable timber 

 growing on the leasehold 

 when the lease originated, 

 plus an annual payment for 

 a stated number of years 

 ranging from a low of about 

 30 years to a high of 99 

 years. The annual payments 

 are determined by a soil 

 productivity factor, and 

 lessees have the right to 

 manage the timber assets, 

 including harvesting, as 

 they see fit. Many leases 

 require regeneration and 

 return of the property in a 

 prescribed growing 

 condition. Guarantee of the 

 title and payment of annual 

 ad valorem taxes are 



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