Disposal of Forest Products and Other Vegetative Resources

March 5, 2013

In Reply Refer To:
5400 (CA930) P

EMS TRANSMISSION: 3/5/13 
Instruction Memorandum No. CA-2013-012
Expires:  09/30/2014

To:          All BLM CA District and Field Managers 

From:     State Director

Subject:  Disposal of Forest Products and Other Vegetative Resources

Program Area:  Forests and Woodlands Management, Plant Conservation 

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum provides direction in three areas concerning the disposal of forest and vegetative products:  1) Disposal of forest products including minimum appraised prices; 2) Policy guiding road maintenance funds; and 3) Policy concerning free use.  

Policy/Action:  

1.   The current policy for the sale of vegetative resources is found in Washington Office 
      Information Bulletin 2012-097  and CFR 5420.0-6.  This policy states that all timber or other
      vegetative resources to be sold shall be appraised and in no case shall be sold at less than the
      appraised value.  Other vegetative resources is considered to be “all vegetative material that
      is not normally measured in board feet, but can be sold or removed from public lands by
      means of the issuance of a contract or permit.”  The purpose of this memorandum is to set the
      minimum price of which some of these products can be sold (see attachment 1).  These prices
      should be considered the state’s minimum values only and may be adjusted upward when the
      specific Field Office appraisal justifies an increase.   

      The local forest/vegetative products appraiser may establish an appraised value by using 10 
      percent of the local market selling price for low valued products such as, but not limited to,
      firewood, posts, poles, nuts, berries, cones, transplants, and boughs.  For higher valued
      products, such as sawtimber, an analytical, transaction evidence, or comparable sales
      appraisal must be used.  The appraisal method based on comparable sales data is the
      preferred method.  All product appraisals must be documented in the official case file for the
      project.
 
2.   The following is the policy concerning the collection, deposit, and use of Road Maintenance
      Funds for forest and other vegetative products disposed of from BLM administered lands
      within the State of California.

      A.  Collection of Road Maintenance Funds

            Road maintenance funds may be collected for all vegetative products sold.  The road
            maintenance fee collected is 20 percent of the total product value (rounded to the closest
            dollar).  Examples:  A two cord firewood contract sold at $5.00 per cord would have
            $2.00 deposited into the road maintenance account; a $5.00 Christmas tree tag would
            have $1.00 deposited into the road maintenance account.  Road maintenance funds are in
            addition to the product value (i.e., a $10 firewood contract with a $2 road maintenance
            charge equals a $12 total contract value).
    
      B.  Deposits of Road Maintenance Funds
    
            Road maintenance funds are to be deposited into the L91200000 road maintenance fee
            account.  Those funds deposited come back to the office that deposited the funds minus a
            surcharge that is taken off to manage the account.

      C.  Use of Road Maintenance Funds (L91200000)

                  1.  The functional area L91200000 funds are derived primarily from the sale of 
                       forest/vegetative products, and are only to be used for the repair or maintenance
                       of roads that service forest/vegetative product harvest areas. 

                  2.  The L91200000 road maintenance functional area is to be managed by the Field
                       Office Forester/Forestry Program Lead. 

                  3.  The Field Office Forester/Forestry Program Lead will annually prioritize any 
                       forest product access roads requiring maintenance and provide the list to the
                       appropriate management staff in a timely manner. 

3.   The BLM policy for Free Use of timber and vegetative materials is found in Washington 
      Office Information Bulletin 2012-097 and BLM Manual 5500.  That policy states that Non-
      Sale Disposal or Free Use Permits are not to be used except in the circumstances limited to: 
      qualified Alaskans and mining claimants, not for profit associations or corporations, and 
      Federal, State and local government agencies, when it can be demonstrated that such disposal 
      will also benefit management of the public lands.  In these circumstances, quantity is
      extremely limited and may not be for commercial use.
 
     A.    For some products a reasonable amount may be obtained for personal use without a
             permit.  The reasonable amount of these products not requiring a permit is defined in
             attachment 2.
 
     B.    The only form authorized for issuing free use permits is BLM Form 5510-1, Free Use
             Application and Permit.  

     C.    Free use permits issued to governmental units have no dollar limit per calendar year, but 
             the vegetative materials must be used for a public project.  

     D.    Free use permits issued to non-profit organizations have a dollar limit of $100 worth of
             vegetative material during any one (1) calendar year.

     E.    The time limit or expiration time for any free use permit may not exceed six (6) months 
             from the effective date of the permit. 

     F.    Under no circumstances will the products obtained under a free use permit be sold or 
             bartered.  

     G.    The District Manager has the authority to issue free use permits. 

Timeframe:  Effective immediately.

Budget Impact:  None.

Background:  This provides up to date guidance for the state concerning the sales of forest and other vegetative products.  Updated guidance is necessary in order to provide for a statewide standardized sales program.  

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  This IM provides for establishment of a minimum acceptable price schedule for commonly used forest/vegetative products from California BLM lands.  Additional guidance may be found in H-5400-2 Special Forest Products Procedures Handbook.  
 

Signed by:                                    
Angie Lara                                    
Associate State Director                      

Authenticated by:  
Richard A. Erickson   
Records Management

Attachments 
    1 – Minimum Price List (1 p) 
    2 – Reasonable Amounts for Personal Use not Requiring a Permit (1 p)

• Notes for the above table:
• Burls – If the tree will be killed, sell entire tree by MBF
• Various products – Above rates apply to commercial and personal use sales.
• Biomass – The sale and utilization of biomass is highly encouraged throughout the state.
  Burning on site will be the last alternative.
• Wildings – includes any vegetative material that is being purchased for transplanting. 
  Cactus, yucca, shrubs, trees, etc., are included in this category. 

                                                                 Attachment 1

Note for above table:  To only be used for personal use.  Personal use means use other than
for sale, barter, trade, or obtaining profit. 



                                                              Attachment 2