Development of a prototype model for optimizing silvicultural investment on a diverse forest ownership in central Maine

This research project developed a prototype model for optimizing silvicultural investment on an industrial ownership in central Maine. The model was based on the Model I harvest scheduling formulation of Johnson and Scheurman (1977). The linear programming based model incorporated a choice of three objective functions (cost minimization, present net worth maximization, and woodflow maximization) subject to limited land area, investment levels, and required woodflows. The model incorporated data from a 150,000 acre study area but was developed with the intention that it be easily expandable to the entire 920,000 acre ownership as data becomes available. The study also considered the possibility of moving the ownership to a more balanced age class distribution. This consideration is overshadowed at the present time by an impending softwood shortage.