Why even consider having your timber cruised? In order to evaluate
whether a timber cruise has value to you, a little background
information is necessary. Timber cruising is a systematic survey of your
forest that provides you with information about the quality and
quantity of forest products located on your property. Specifically, a
timber cruise involves the measurement of individual trees on the
forestland to provide landowners, timber buyers, foresters, and other
interested parties with an estimate of the volume located on the parcel.
This section applies only to timber cruises related to the forestry
riparian easement program to establish easement compensation. A timber
cruise is required to determine the volume by species and grade to
accurately determine the value of the qualifying timber.(a) The cruise
method will be a one hundred percent inventory of qualifying timber on
the proposed easement premises. The inventory will include species,
diameter class, grade, and any other information necessary to determine a
value for the qualifying timber.(b) A sampling cruise method may be
used under certain circumstances such as where easement premises are
greater than ten acres or where the forest trees are homogeneous.
Additional trees left voluntarily by the small forest landowner may be
noted but will not be included in the cruise volume.
The timber is cruised by an experienced forester who systematically
measures trees using a series of try out points or plots. Depending upon
the timber age and size of parcel, valuation methods may be either 1/10
acre plots, prism (point) cruise, strip-cruise, or in some cases, a
100% inventory. We utilize computer software in computing data collected
in the field. This results in an accurate timber estimate.
The vast majority of “timber cruises” are these. The data in not
interpolated or manipulated; it is given to clients in standardized
cruise reports (e.g., SuperAce cruise reports). These reports provide
volume and trees per acre by species, sort, grade, age, along with other
information. Absent is an estimate of the timber value. Clients for
these reports typically work in the timber industry.
The Microsoft Windows interface makes the creation of cruise templates a
breeze. Once these templates are created they provide the initial
set-up for differing cruising conditions, timber types, and size
classes. Changes in the cruise template are only needed if timber prices
or merchandising specifications change.
A wide sort of objectives can be accomplished through a timber cruise,
e.g., determination of need to reduce stocking levels (PCT or Thinning),
determination of whether timber is getting too large and less
marketable (butt diameters of logs in excess of 33”), harvest planning,
estate planning, forest management plans, etc. About 20% of the class
subject matter being taught today benefits from or is directly dependent
on a timber cruise. A prime example is the class being taught this
afternoon: Stand Density Management.
Timber Cruising Cruising is the process of measuring forest stands to
determine stand characteristics, such as average tree sizes, volume, and
quality. The primary purpose of cruising is to obtain a volume
estimation to appraise and prepare timber sales. We provide technical
expertise in statistical sampling, measurement protocols, and volume
estimation procedures. We provide cruising software, documents,
training, and technical support. The National Cruise System is a set of
software tools developed for timber cruisers to design a timber cruise,
collect timber cruise data, and produce statistically defensible volume
estimates for timber sale contracts. Current Software The software takes
advantage of new technologies made available in the last decade while
preparing for new technologies on the horizon. Forest Service users will
need to check with their Regional Measurement Specialists before
utilizing the new software. View the National Cruise System Introduction
presentation: PDF, 198 KB, and/or PowerPoint (.pptx), 1.5MB. Cruise
Manager – setup new cruises, manage cruise data, and perform error
checking. FSCruiser – field data collection. CruiseProcessing –
calculates tree volume, biomass weight and statistics for completed
cruises. Cruise Design – an interactive approach to efficient cruise
design. CheckCruise – allows cruiser measurements to be compared to
check cruiser measurements. Legacy Software This older software will be
phased out by the end of calendar year 2016. Legacy FSCruiser Legacy
CruiseProcessing Legacy Cruise Design Legacy National Check Cruise
Program
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