When you buy property here, you are instantly the owner of your own timber, or trees. If you want to cut down some trees, get a chain saw. That’s it, no permits, just start cutting. If you want to have it timbered, as in have a logging company come in & strip it bare, you can, but the timber company will need to get a couple of permits to do it. They WILL be given, as there’s no woodlands here that are privately owned that the Owner can’t cut trees on.

When it comes to firewood, generally nobody cuts down any trees, because there is always plenty of deadfall (trees that have fallen on the ground already) to choose from & use for firewood that are already semi dried for you. Any tree that’s laying on the ground directly will rot out quick, and be real wet. If the tree is suspended at all off of the ground, it can lay there for years & not rot at all. So; look for downed trees that are held off the ground, even an inch is enough space between the ground & the tree to keep it from getting wet.

If you have a property that doesn’t have enough firewood on it, and you want to harvest some of your own, go to the National Forest Service Offices in Coeurd’alene or Sandpoint, and get a firewood cutting permit. They charge $5.00 per cord, youhave to cut either deadfall or standing dead trees (no live ones) & you have to buy a minimum of 4 cords ($20.00) & take a maximum of 12 cords per year, & I don’t know many people who would use more than that.


Gathering Firewood - Your Firewood Permit

To cut firewood for personal use on National Forest lands in Idaho, you must have a Personal Use Firewood Permit. At $5.00 per cord, you can purchase a permit for no less than four cords ($20) and no more than twelve ($60). A permit is good for gathering firewood from the time of purchase through March 31. You are only allowed to haul firewood up to 6 feet in length. Anything longer must be approved in writing by the Forest Service. Permits are available at Forest Service offices.

Taxes & Trees:

When you buy any property here that is over 5 acres, you can get a Timber Exemption from the County that will lower your taxes drastically on the property. When you do this, you are basically promising to not timber, or log the property; if you decide TO log the property, you will owe back taxes on the property. So, everybody has a timber exemption, and very few people log their land/s.

Hope it helps-

Chris

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