Village of Colfax accepts Woods Run proposal to thin 17.5 acres of Red Pine planation
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Village Board has accepted a proposal from Woods Run Forest Products to thin 17.5 acres of red pine plantation north of the Colfax Solid Waste & Recycling Collection Site.
The recommendation is to remove 30 to 40 percent of the volume of standing timber, according to a letter from Bruce Ayres of Woods Run Forest Products, 310 West Third Avenue, Colfax, dated December 29, 2023.
Woods Run would hire Travis Anderson to do the logging.
“Travis is the son of Mike Anderson who is legendary in the area as being the best logging contractor until he [suffered health problems] some years ago. Travis continues the proud family tradition. With a degree in forestry, and his long tenure in pine plantations, he is capable of properly thinning a planation, so there would be no need to hire a consultant forester to mark trees. Because of his expertise, integrity and careful work, Travis is the only logger I will allow to log any of my 500 acres of timberland,” Ayres wrote.
Most of the timber will be “bolts,” the term used for small logs from seven to 11 inches in diameter. Anything over 11 inches is considered to be a “log,” according to the letter.
Woods Run would pay $160 per cord for bolts, $170 per cord for logs and $125 for smaller parts of the tree that are useful for fence posts, which may amount to 15 to 20 percent of the harvest. Travis Anderson charges $85 per cord for cutting, skidding, trucking and delivering the timber to the Woods Run yard, and the village would receive the remainder of the money, the letter states.
Some of the wood on the village’s property would only be suitable for pulpwood, but there are no pulp mills in the area. Woods Run does not have pulp contracts, but Travis Anderson does, so Anderson usually purchases the pulpwood from the timber owner, and the price the village would receive likely would be $10 to $20 per cord for pulpwood, according to the letter.
Travis Anderson is in high demand and has a 12-month backlog. While he may not be able to get to the village’s timberland in 12 months, he most likely would be able to thin the pine plantation within 24 months, the letter states.
Specifics
The trees on the village’s property are seven to 10 inches in diameter and are 75 feet tall.
There are 17.5 acres to be thinned, and the harvest will yield 12 to 15 cords per acre.
Approximately 30 to 40 percent of the pine plantation will be thinned, leaving the largest trees well spaced.
The price per cord to the village will be $75 per cord for logs over 11 inches in diameter, $65 per cord for bolts that are seven to 11 inches in diameter, $40 per cord for posts that are under seven inches in diameter and $10 to $20 per cord for pulpwood.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the proposal.
Jen Rud, village trustee, abstained from voting since she is an employee of Woods Run Forest Products.
Rand Bates, director of public works, said he had talked to the county forester, who had said essentially the same thing that Ayres had communicated in his letter.
Village trustee Carey Davis was absent from the meeting.
Voting in favor of the motion were Jeff Prince, village president, and village trustees Margaret Burcham, Clint Best, Anne Jenson and Gary Stene.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved an application for a license to operate a mobile home park from January 1 to December 31, 2024, for City View Villa Court on Park Drive owned by Pleasant Valley Properties.
• Approved an application for a secondhand jewelry dealer license for Nancy O. Mouledoux, Twice Blessed Treasures, 605 Main Street, Colfax.
• Approved a street use permit for 2024 for Timber Technologies for hired and owned semi-trucks and trailers to travel from state Highway 40 west onto Third Avenue, then north on Cedar Street to the loading dock on the Timber Technologies lot at the corner of Cedar Street and Legion Drive. The exit route will be east on Legion Drive to Highway 40 to Timber Technologies at 106 Bremer Avenue.
Closed session
The Colfax Village Board adjourned into closed session at around 7:25 p.m. and reconvened into open session again nearly one hour later.
Following the closed session, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved paying Don Knutson, former director of the Colfax Rescue Squad, from $25 per hour to $30 per hour for training and assisting the interim director of the Colfax Rescue Squad.
• Approved a 50-cent per hour pay increase for public works employee Don Logslett due to his successful completion of a certification required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
