(1957). The Westvaco 

 program, called C.F.M.®, 

 and the International Paper 

 Company program, called 

 LA. P.®, each encompass 

 about 1 million acres. 



Today, according to the 

 Southern Forest Institute, 

 there are at least 75 

 companies in 32 States 

 with some type of landowner 

 assistance program. As no 

 two companies are the 

 same, neither are the 

 landowner assistance 

 philosophies or programs 

 the same. The type, amount, 

 and conditions of assistance 

 vary from company to 

 company and within the 

 same company in different 

 locations. 



Minimal programs may 

 involve oral advice to a 

 landowner from a company 

 representative at the time 

 he or she purchases timber. 

 More substantial ongoing 

 programs by some of the 

 major companies involve 

 foresters working full time 

 solely on private landowner 

 management efforts. After 

 consultation with the 

 landowner to determine his 

 or her goals for the use of 

 the land, the company 

 inventories and maps the 

 forest lands and presents a 

 professionally approved 

 management plan. When 

 agreement is reached on 



the plan, both parties sign 

 a formal agreement. 



Typically, many of these 

 agreements provide the 

 management plan, 

 timber-marking services, 

 and a general overview of 

 silvicultural treatments, 

 such as prescribed burning, 

 timber stand improvement, 

 harvesting, and 

 regeneration at company 

 expense. Most of the 

 agreements provide 

 company assistance at 

 cost for tree planting with 

 variations calling for the 

 landowner to pay an 

 independent vendor for 

 such services. Limited free 

 seedlings, matching 

 seedlings, and genetically 

 improved seedlings at near 

 cost are all variations of the 

 same thrust to encourage 

 regeneration. 



Some company programs 

 require in return nothing 

 more than a gentleman's 

 understanding that the 

 landowner will give the 

 company an opportunity to 

 compete in the marketplace 

 when harvesting operations 

 occur. Other programs 

 spell out that the company 

 is to get first opportunity, 

 first refusal, or last refusal 

 of the products at harvest 

 time. A few programs 

 attempt to set firm sale of 

 the timber to the assisting 

 company, and a few 



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