Wood Industry/Logging

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Logging and Timber Sales

Celebrate Iowa Forests

Get out and enjoy the beauty of April tree blossoms across Iowa neighborhoods. Trees quietly enhance our daily lives in many ways. Neighborhood trees clean the air we breathe and make it fresher.

Here’s some fun options for you and your family to celebrate Iowa forests this fall.

Plant a Tree. Check out the How to Plant a Tree from A Container video for tips on how to plant trees properly.
Discover what trees are growing around you. Iowa’s 10 Most Common Urban Trees can help you identify trees in your yard or neighborhood and learn more about each kind of tree.
Calculate the benefits of planting trees. It's easy to estimate the value of planting trees on your property with the i-Tree planting calculator.
Learn how to prevent wildfires. Smokey Bear lives within us all! Check out our easy and fun activities to prevent wildfires when exploring Iowa’s great outdoor areas.
Read a Book About Trees. Visit your local library and ask for books about trees.
Explore all things trees. Use the Tree Scavenger Hunt activity sheet to guide your outdoor adventures.
Attend an Arbor Day Event. Communities across Iowa will be celebrating Arbor Day with various events including tree plantings, nature walks, and more. Tree City USA Communities across Iowa will host events as well.

Bonded Timber Buyers

Bonded Timber Buyer List

Iowa's Bonded Timber Buyer law states:
"A person who engages in business as a timber buyer without filing a bond or surety with the commission (DNR Forestry) is guilty of a serious misdemeanor."

"Timber Buyer" is defined as a person engaged in the business of buying timber from the timber growers, for sawing into lumber for processing or resale. This does not include a person who occasionally purchases timber for sawing or processing for that person's own use and not for resale. Timber buyer includes a person who contracts with a timber grower on a share-profit basis to harvest timber from the grower's land.

Iowa's Bonded Timber Buyer Law

Rules pertaining to the Bonded Timber Buyer Law

July 1, 2020 Bonded Timber Buyer Law Changes

To report illegal timber buying/harvesting, or to report a non-bonded person or company, please click on the following link to contact your local law enforcement officer:

Iowa Law Enforcement Map

Required Forms for Bonded Timber Buyers

Timber buyers in Iowa are required by law to have an application and a surety bond on file with the Iowa DNR before cutting any trees. This law also requires all timber buyers to renew their application by January 1 of each year.

Instructions for completing application
Application for Bond Approval (Form NRC72-1)
Corporate Surety Bond (Form NRC72-2)

If you want to use a certificate of deposit that is co-owned with Iowa DNR, then complete these forms:

Application for Bond Approval (Form NRC72-1)
Timber Buyers Surety Bond (Form NRC72-3)
Collateral Assignment of Certificate of Deposit (Form NRC72-4)

* Iowa law requires a certificate of deposit to be held for one year after receiving this form for redemption. Form NRC72-5

As of July 1, 2020 Timber Transport Certificates are now required to haul logs in Iowa. Please fill this form out before hauling. Form NRC72-6

Economic Impact of Iowa's Forests

2017 Economic Fact Sheet

Landowner Resources

For general information about harvesting trees check out the links below. To insure that you are making wise management decisions on your property it is highly advisable to meet with your forester, discuss your short and long term management objectives, and assess your resource.

Contact your district forester for assistance.

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