Forest landowners speak out about managing land, estate planning

By Glenn Rosenholm

USFS S&PF NA

As a result of our recent work looking at why people own forestland and how they conduct estate planning for their estates, the following landowners came forward to share their stories about landownership. These landowners are a geographically diverse group, hailing from Maine to Arizona and Georgia to Montana. Some of the people lived on their land, while others lived more than 1,000 miles away from theirs. Some people bought their land and others inherited theirs. Nearly all of them were age 55 or older. Several landowners were retired. The remaining landowners had either year-round or seasonal businesses. Nearly all of them made money off the land through timber harvesting or related ventures. They also had a wide range of larger holdings of forestland, anywhere from 73 – 1,700+ acres. All of the forest landowners had one thing in common: they loved their land. Here are the results.)

How long have you owned forestland?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA): My great grandfather bought it in 1846. 

Miles Schulze (TX): We bought the first parcel in 1970 and the last one about three or four

years ago. There are several parcels in all.

Everett Towle (ME): I’ve owned my forestland since 1950. Most of it was inherited.

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): We’ve owned it since 1966.

Steve Graham (NY): The lands we own are part of an area that was homesteaded in 1865 by my family. It’s been in our family name off and on for six generations. In 1900, there were six farms in East Pitcairn, N.Y.; my great grandfather’s was one of them.

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): We owned it since 1972.

Mike Greenheck (MN): It’s been in my family for 100 years.  I personally owned property since 1987.

Josiah Phelps (GA): I’ve owned it since 1972.

How much forestland do you own?

	Bill Park

Bill & Ruth Park (PA): We have 73 acres with 50 in timber. There’s a farmhouse there. We doubled the size of the house a few years ago. Thirty-five people slept there last September.

Miles Schulze (TX):  We bought the first 80 acres in 1970.  Bought the 80 acres next to it in 88 or 89.  Bought the 100 acres north of it 3-4 years ago to get better access.  So that parcel now totals 260 acres.  The 320-acre parcel is probably 25 miles away in another county and was bought in the mid-1970s.  Then we have three other smaller timber parcels, plus the cotton patch, which raises the total acreage owned to 700-800 acres.

Everett Towle (ME):  We have around 175 acres.

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ):  I own today 100 acres.  I used to have 200 acres, and I sold off 100 of them over the years.  I sold two 40-acre parcels to my bother that likes to hunt. I sold another 19 acres along with our house to a stranger. 

Steve Graham (NY): We now own 1,700 acres, including the 12-acre Graham Pond, named after our ancestors, stocked with brook trout. 

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): We own none today, though we recently owned 180 acres.

Mike Greenheck (MN):  Family-wise, we own 3,500 acres. Personally, I own about 500-600 acres.   

Josiah Phelps (GA): I own 75.25 acres.

Where is your forestland located?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA):  It’s about two hours away in (northern) Pennsylvania. One son lives there. 

Miles Schulze (TX): The timberland is in southeast Oklahoma.  I have another non-forested cotton patch just north of Dallas.

Everett Towle (ME): My forestland is in (southern) Maine. 

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): It’s in (eastern) Wisconsin.  We live (in southern) Arizona.

Steve Graham (NY): It’s located in the eastern foothills of the Adirondacks. 

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): It’s (in northeastern) Montana. 

Mike Greenheck (MN): Some of it is in southeast Minnesota and some is in (western) Wisconsin. About 9/10ths of my personal land is forested. 

Josiah Phelps (GA): It’s in the southern part of Georgia. 

Why do you own forestland?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA):  We own it because our great grandfather bought it in 1846. We never lived on property. It’s been passed down in the family through the generations.  It continues to be family land.   

Miles Schulze (TX): We’ve been asked why we own forestland many times. Our objectives have changed over the years. When we first bought it we thought the forestland was pretty and it would be a good place to go to on the weekends. We see it now more as an investment property. It generates periodic income when you harvest trees. You can sometimes get government grants to improve it. Plus, it increases in value over time. That’s not a bad return. We feel an obligation to be a good trustee of the land. We’re always considering our impact on the environment. We are working to improve the land. Somebody owned that land before we got it, and someone else would own it after we’re gone. That land is always going to be there. Someone needs to take care of it. 

	Everett Towle

Everett Towle (ME): I got it because I love a forest and because it’s a real pleasure to see a forest improve over the years. A little management goes a long way. It has helped my retirement income. I’m now age 73. I’m a forester. I worked for the U.S. forest service for 33 years.  My folks owned a lot of the land we own now. Some of that land goes back six generations. The principle reason we retired back here in 1991 was to be near our family and our land. I think a lot of people like myself grew up on the land. They like the trees and the birds and the wildlife. Owning land also makes a good retirement nest egg. I also do cross country skiing. 

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): My dad in his infinite wisdom knew that some day recreational opportunities were going to diminish in the area. The land we found had a brook trout stream on it. We bought it for hunting and fishing and because we love the outdoors and wildlife.  My dad taught me the names of the trees and the types of birds. It’s more for selfish reasons. I want to enjoy it myself. My dad was really possessive of it; I don’t mind people walking on it as much. 

Steve Graham (NY): We own it mainly for recreation. The financial benefits are secondary.  When I think of my net worth, I don’t include the forestland because I think of that as belonging to future generations.

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): The forestland was given to our children.

Mike Greenheck (MN):  My father was a tree farmer by heart.  My reason for owning forestland is based upon sustainable forestry. We kind of look at the whole picture and say why is this watershed important. Both grandfathers were some of the first people to manage forestlands in their area. They were influenced by Aldo Leopold. Part of it is an investment for the future of my kids. It gives me a tremendous piece of mind and helps me to be a better businessman. I get an emotional cleansing from it. I also manage my woods for economic value. 

Josiah Phelps (GA): I like land. I like forests. 

What enjoyment do you receive from owning forestland?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA):  We just enjoy the woods, wildlife. 

Miles Schulze (TX) There’s some enjoyment just about going out and walking around outdoors.  Being in nature and knowing that you own it.  There’s also the joy of knowing that you’re providing for your family.  When you get out on that forestland and it’s quiet, there’s no pollution there.

Everett Towle (ME): I like to hunt, cross-country ski and walk through the woods.  I’ve had my knee, hips and shoulder joints replaced so I can stay active.

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): We like to hunt too.

Steve Graham (NY): It’s immeasurable.  Hunting is a big thing. We’re trying to grow big bucks, as in deer. We’re letting our male deer grow to an older age for larger horned deer. Fishing is a real big thing, we stock anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 brook trout each year. We also have large and small mouth bass.  My son is a forester. He works in the woods every day and comes home and sits in the tree stand with his two-year-old son. The other son is a lawyer in New York City. 

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): We enjoy fishing, camping, cross-country skiing, hiking, hunting and general enjoyment of the woods. 

Mike Greenheck (MN): I enjoy exercise, peace of mind. I’m a visual hunter.

Josiah Phelps (GA): I like to look at the trees growing. I like to walk around the forestland. 

Do you visit your forestland? If so, how frequently, and what do you do there?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA):  We go there almost every week. We enjoy walking through the woods. We have spent time planting trees, thinning and in general managing the forest for its timber.

Miles Schulze (TX): We visit each parcel about once a year.  We usually go out with our forester and look at specific things.  When we get up there it’s like, gee we should get up here more often.  It’s an effort to get up there.  It’s about a three-hour drive.  Usually when we do get out there it’s for some specific purpose. 

Everett Towle (ME): I live in our forestland; our house is on one of the parcels. I ski in the wintertime, and I like to walk the trails in the summer. We have a nice stream with a trail that goes along near it. Wildlife is pretty plentiful. We have wild turkey on the lawn fairly frequently. 

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): We just moved out to Arizona in July. We plan on visiting our land infrequently, because we have a lot of attachment to the place.  I have such deep, fond memories of the place that it is difficult to return there, knowing that it is only to visit and not to stay.

Steve Graham (NY): I am currently building a home there. It’s a 10-year project.  The trees on our property are being used as lumber to build our 5,000 square foot home. I work there a lot.

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): We continue to enjoy the forest. We get out there for enjoyment about 10-12 times a year. We harvest wild Christmas trees on the 180 acres every October. That’s several weeks straight of work.

Mike Greenheck (MN): I try to go once a week.  My brother and I manage the lands there.

Josiah Phelps (GA): I visited it last week. I visit it frequently. I like to watch things grow.

Do you manage your forestland, and if so, how?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA): Yes, we’re trying to be sustainable foresters. Both my wife and I -- and 3 of 4 children -- belong to the Pennsylvania forests stewards group. It involves a couple weeks of training to learn how to be forest stewards. The training was one of the best things I ever did. I learned about how to determine good consulting foresters and about forest management practices. I learned, for instance, it takes red oak about 25 years to generate acorns. You also need mature and healthy seed trees to help keep your forest in optimum health and productivity.

Miles Schulze (TX): Yes, we got a grant for improving our stand.  I highly recommend people looking into grants for improving their stands. We work with a consulting forester and we practice sustainable forestry. Years ago the state forestry department showed us how you can keep the land pretty and still make money from it. When we got our forester that’s when we really got serious about the business of forestry. It is absolutely indispensable to have a forester.  The larger the parcel, the more attention you can pay to it and the more you can do with it. The 40 acres tends to get ignored, but the larger parcels we concentrate on. 

Everett Towle (ME): I have a plan for each tract of land. I’m a certified tree farmer. 

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): I have a forestry plan drawn up with the state. It’s set up for sustainable forestry.

Steve Graham (NY): We’re running a quality forest management program, so that future generations will have this to enjoy at no cost because it will be self-sustaining. 

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): Yes, in fact I’ve been active in leading an effort to educate forest landowners in the state.  We helped to set up a two-week course of instruction for landowners to help them in turn develop forest management plans for their own properties. As a result, we developed our own plan in 1990 and we’ve been executing that plan for the past 17 years.

Mike Greenheck (MN): Most of our work involves timber stand improvement. 

Josiah Phelps (GA): Yes, I manage my forestland. I had the county forester make me a forest management plan. I harvest timber to help manage the land.   

Do you make money off your land, and if so, how?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA): We spent the money from a recent salvage cut on putting up a fence to keep the deer out.  We got some help from the government.

Miles Schulze (TX): We make money through the increase in land value, the periodic selling of timber and being eligible for government grants to improve the land.

Everett Towle (ME): I make money off the land by selling timber. I mark my own trees and contract with loggers. I’m a sustainable forester. You can maintain or increase the value of your forestland by practicing sustainable forestry. You can also leave a place better than you got it. 

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ):  In our plan, 2012 is the first thinning. I should make some money off of that.  

Steve Graham (NY): Yes, by setting up an LLC (limited liability company) we run it like a business. All our forestlands are registered under a 480A tax relief program that takes pressure off of larger landowners, so that they don’t have to sell off the property.  They take the proceeds of timber sales that happen very infrequently and give part of them to the local community to help offset the tax relief that they get in return.

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): We make money off our land through logging and Christmas trees.

Mike Greenheck (MN): We do a variety of ways, the sale of our timber, rent agricultural land, leasing farms to hunters. 

Josiah Phelps (GA): I make money by selling timber.

Do you recommend others owning forestland, and if so, why?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA):  Yes, and we’re attempting to get our neighbors around us to think about sustainability too.

Miles Schulze (TX): Absolutely.  The reasons we’d use are all of the reasons why we own it.  The aesthetics, the good feeling of owning forestland . . .

Everett Towle (ME): I do recommend it. It’s a real joy owning land. Seeing the forest change over time is nice to do. It’s also a family heritage thing. You can make money off the land. I have a couple pieces of land on Rt. 202 with outstanding white pine. I’ve nursed it over the years and I get a lot of compliments about it. 

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): I would certainly recommend other people owning forestland if they have the same interests I do. If you like the solitude, walking through a sun dappled forest – you don’t even have to hunt. I like walking around with my flower book, or just cutting firewood. I lost interest in hunting, but not in the land. It will always be near and dear to my heart. 

Steve Graham (NY): Yes and no. It depends on the kind of people and what they’re going to do with the land. If they’re out to develop the land, then I’m against it. If you cannibalize the land there’s no going back to the natural state.

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): I recommend owning forestland to anyone with the means, desire, access and similar sense of responsibility -- because it is a big responsibility. 

Mike Greenheck (MN): I think owning property is of all the investments I’ve ever done the best. My peace of mind and all of the things it can offer is wonderful. People who want to buy forestland should be careful, though. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you might end up limiting your ability to get where you want to go with it.  If you buy for aesthetics, you’ll have one opportunity. If you buy for timberland, you’ll get another result.

Josiah Phelps (GA):  I recommend anybody, particularly black farmers who have land, owning forestland. You can put the land into trees. You can make money in the future and add value to the land.

(Author’s Note: About 393 million acres of forest in America are owned by non-industrial forest landowners. The people interviewed are among millions of family forest owners who look after their land. Beyond that, the interviewees are “joiners” in the forest stewardship community of active land managers.

Studies have shown estate planning for family forests is often overlooked or inadequately addressed. Studies also show estate planning can limit forest loss due to forest fragmentation, parcelization, and development. The following questions and answers discuss efforts by interviewees to protect their personal or family legacy with their forests.) 

Have you dealt with forest estate planning issues recently?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA): We had it in our family since June 9, 1846. What I’ve done is when we bought the place from my brother and sister in ’97 we deeded it to our four children. That’s how I had gotten it. My great grandfather originally owned it. He and my great grandmother had 12 children. In 1885 my grandfather bought it. When my mother and father retired they purchased the land from my dad’s two brothers. . . I’m afraid from what I can tell that that will have been a tax liability for my children if they ever sold it. 

Miles Schulze (TX): Our will is probably 20 pages long. It’s a combination of will and estate planning. It doesn’t get into forest management issues specifically, though. It was written up about five years ago. 

Everett Towle (ME): Yes.

Ed Nigl (AZ): No, we haven’t donea ny estate planning beyond a will.

Steve Graham (NY): Yes, we’re equalizing the shares of the LLC ownerships between my two sons and myself by gifting; they actually become the owners of the LLC while I’m alive. We are tenants in common and joint tenants in the involvement in the LLC. It just stays with the members of the LLC when someone dies, and you can bring someone into the LLC by gifting them shares of the membership.

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): The first thing I did was put conservation easement on it. I’m a big believer in conservation easements, because they prohibit development of that land. Once you put homes and asphalt on a piece of ground, it’s no longer a forest. It can no longer provide timber, wildlife or water purification or recreation. All those things that no longer exist when you put asphalt on the ground are things that are beneficial to society.

Mike Greenheck (MN): My brother and I are trustees. My father passed away in ’97. He wanted to set things up for a long-term family ownership. He wanted to get it out there as far as he could. The idea behind his estate planning was that our generation would also have the capacity to do estate planning. Now my brother and I are negotiating with other family members about it. The end for me is that our family members will have the same type of attitudes that my father had. I’ve gone through lawyers. We’ve had trusts and corporations. You have to be careful when you transfer ownership of something that it’s not done wrong. Trusts can be expensive. Our planted forests are 50 years old, but there are a lot of existing forests that have been managed for a long time. My focus is to keep it sustainable, keep it in tact.  When you let forestland reach maturity and you harvest it, that is good. You don’t have to sell it off to benefit from it. I try to keep a business approach to it, but it’s different when you’re dealing with family members.

Josiah Phelps (GA): I’m actively working to make sure my daughter and other relatives inherit my land. I just want to set it aside for my wife and my relatives.

How did you resolve those forest estate planning issues?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA): I may have given my kids a problem by deeding it to them because of tax issues. We did that because that has been done to me. It’s the way my family did it for generations in our family. 

Miles Schulze (TX): We wrote up a will.  We also converted all the forestland in Oklahoma from outright ownership to a trust.  If we had to go through probate, with our land in three counties, that would have been three different probates we’d have to go through. What we did was we converted it all to a trust and then recorded the trust in those towns. When we die that trust will go on. We didn’t want to do anything that would limit our heirs from using the estate. I’m fortunate that our two sons have a very good relationship. If they didn’t, we’d have an estate planning problem. 

Everett Towle (ME):  I divided up the ownership of the forestland between my wife and I. I’ve taken care of it in wills. I am pondering the issue further, but I haven’t come to a conclusion yet.

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ): Our will is outdated. We set up a trust for our children, but that’s outdated now.  Will have to update it sometime soon. 

Steve Graham (NY): I’m giving the remainder of my shares to my grandchildren when I go. 

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): We put a conservation easement on it and then established an LLC.  We have four children and gave the LLC to the children. They all now have equal shares and own it collectively. However, they must comply with the easement.

Mike Greenheck (MN):  At this point, I’m not sure we have the issue completely resolved. I’m trying to keep our family communications open. We’re at a wait and see point. I have some ideas about it, but it’s not resolved. 

Josiah Phelps (GA): I don’t plan to put my land into an estate. 

Would you recommend others doing estate planning for their forests?

Bill & Ruth Park (PA): I think it’s very important, if you’re interested in keeping it undeveloped and keeping it as forestland. In the past we’ve lost a lot of forestland. With the current development, we’re losing more. We need to be responsible stewards of the forests. We can do lots of harm to the land if we’re not careful. 

Miles Schulze (TX): That’s the easiest question. If you don’t do it the state will do it for you and it’s taken totally out of your hands. When you think of estate planning you think of a formal document. The real work is the planning for what is going to go into that document: what your wishes are, family considerations, what the taxes are, etc. 

Everett Towle (ME): Sure. 

Ed & Carol Nigl (AZ):  I would. I think all parents want to treat their children fairly.  You should formulate your will to capture their different personality types and attitudes and values. 

Steve Graham (NY): Everybody’s situations different. If you’re a large forest owner and going to hold onto the property for any length of time an LLC makes the most sense. It makes it much easier to pass it on within the family. It also gives you all of the advantages of running it like a business.

Don & Sharon Schiltz (MT): Yes, we do. Forest management is a long-term business. In most parts of the Northwest it takes 60-80 years from when you plant tree seedlings to when you harvest timber. I’ve developed a sequence to follow for estate planning. The major reason you need to follow this sequence is because this is a long-term plan.  Most of us don’t live long enough to see the plan come to its culmination. The forest does, but you don’t. 
  This is the first thing: develop a forest management plan. You can be assisted by a state forestry agency to help you do one, or you can pay for a consulting forester to do it for you.  Make sure the plan reflects your goals, not your planner’s goals. If it’s a good plan, it’s going to show a progression even if you’re not around.
  My second step is, once you have a plan, put an easement on it. That will make sure that whoever owns the land continues to manage it in a way that reflects your original plan.

  The third step is: develop an estate plan so that whoever gets that land will comply with your management plan. The most important reason for the estate plan is to avoid encumbrances such as inheritance taxes. Without an estate plan, your heirs sometimes have to sell part of the land just to pay for the taxes.

Mike Greenheck (MN): Of course I would recommend estate planning. It eliminates the possibility of losing the property or taking it out of the family. A lot of my family members do a lot of work on the forest.  For me, the work we’re putting in now is going to add additional value down the line. Estate planning is important because you set the future. Forests take a long time.  Estate planning enables you to think long term.  Forests need long-term processes.  Estate planning goes along with that. 

Josiah Phelps (GA): Yes, my will includes everything that goes to my family.