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This narrative explains the very basics of how property is classified and how title (ownership) to property is held, and the legal rights of disposition associated with that ownership. This discussion primarily concerns real property title passed to heirs as inheritance.
This publication explains the major laws impacting a landowner’s liability in North Carolina and the responsibilities landowners have for invited and uninvited users of their property.
This publication lists and defines more than 150 forest resource terms to help you in conversing with others about forestry matters and in making informed decisions about your forestland.
This publication discusses how zoning and land use regulations impact the practice of forestry in North Carolina. The publication also explains planning jurisdictions, components of a zoning ordinance, and where to go for more information.
Qualified North Carolina owners of soundly managed commercial forestland have been eligible for property tax reductions since 1974 through the state’s forestry present-use property tax program. To be eligible for Forestry Present Use Valuation, qualified forestland must be actively engaged in the commercial growing of trees under sound management (NC General Statues 105 277.2- 277.7). Commercial growing of trees will entail a harvest as a thinning, partial, or complete harvest of trees (as prescribed in the forest management plan filed with the county tax office). This publication provides a brief overview of the complicated law.
This publication is designed to help landowners learn whether their property might be a candidate for a solar lease and what to expect when a solar developer performs due diligence. It also provides a description of legal issues that may arise, such as unclear ownership, zoning restrictions, and other encumbrances such as liens, easements, and existing leases.
With the high value of timbered forest property today, landowners would be well-advised to take sufficient steps to protect their investment. Maintaining property lines and boundaries is one of the simplest, yet most often overlooked forms of protection from theft, trespass and encroachment. This publication details the importance of property lines and how to maintain or reestablish them.
This publication provides an overview of the Present-Use Value (PUV) property tax program in North Carolina, with an emphasis on disposition and transfer situations that may imperil continued enrollment.
This publication provides information and strategies to help landowners with the transfer of land, wealth, and assets from one generation to the next. It focuses on understanding and building awareness of challenges faced by land owners engaged in forestry and agriculture and motivating families to address these challenges. This information and associated worksheets are designed to facilitate improved communication with family members, business partners, attorneys, and tax specialists during the succession planning process.
This publication examines tree protection regulations, zoning and other ordinances. Guidance is offered on how to practice forestry under existing regulations and on how involvement in the community can retain forestry as a viable land use.
Woodland owners harvest trees for financial and personal reasons. Deciding when is the optimal time to harvest is difficult for most woodland owners. However, this important decision strongly dictates future condition, growth and composition of the next stand of trees and, ultimately, your bottom line. Some basic economic principles can help you make harvesting and other key woodland management decisions. Using loblolly pine in North Carolina as an example, this publication demonstrates the optimal time to harvest based on financial maturity.
Producing firewood from a woodlot can be an excellent forest management opportunity. Properly marked and administered, firewood cutting can produce immediate income while increasing the long-term value of the woodlot. This publication discusses how and when to harvest for firewood.
This brief factsheet covers factors that assign liability for property damage due to tree fall incidents.
This publication reports the results of an educational needs assessment of North Carolina’s non-industrial private forest owners conducted by NC State Extension Forestry in 2020.
Your land is valuable to you and your family. Protection and successful transition begins with a flexible land conservation plan. A conservation plan describes your intentions and methods to achieve a desired outcome. To achieve your specific conservation vision, there are proven checkpoints to complete your journey. These checkpoints will result in a plan you can use to enroll your land in the conservation program(s) that meets your needs. Every plan may be unique but all will have the checkpoints of the journey in common. This handbook provides the recommended checkpoints to help begin your planning journey and simple tools to help you complete a working land conservation plan.
This publication helps landowners make smart choices about managing forests by understanding which tree species are best for different areas. It explains how factors like site aspect, elevation, and terrain affect species composition in the North Carolina mountains, piedmont, and coastal plain. Insights on soil types and species competitiveness are also provided to help landowners make informed decisions about forest management.
This publication provides an overview of woodlands management and a step-by-step process landowners can use to begin developing a management plan for their woodlands. It includes worksheets for defining goals and objectives, prioritizing land uses, identifying needs, and planning management activities.
This publication highlights the history, risks, and remediation of heirs' property ownership.
This publication defines unique biomass and bioenergy terms as they relate to forestry and forest management. These definitions will help you understand commonly used words and phrases that arise in biomass and bioenergy literature and discussions.
