Federal Land Management: Appraisals of Headwaters Forest Properties

摘要

We did not identify any areas in which the appraisals of the Headwaters and Elk River properties deviated from federal appraisal standards. Federal appraisal standards state that the government should appraise a property to be acquired at its fair market value. The appraiser of the Headwaters property produced a limited appraisal with four market values-one value for each of four timber harvest assumptions provided by BLM. In calculating these four values, the appraiser relied on two approaches: (1) estimating the current cost of the land and the timber from revenue and logging-cost estimates and (2) estimating the total net income from future timber operations and adjusting this amount to the present value of the standing trees. The appraiser of the Elk River property relied on one approach to derive fair market value, the use of comparable sale information to estimate value, and verified the result using a second approach, estimating the total net income from future timber operations and adjusting this amount to the present value of the standing trees. Following these standards led the appraiser to estimate the value of the Headwaters property at $135 million, $250 million, $350 million, or $405 million, depending on the assumed harvest level. The Elk River property was appraised at $78.4 million. The Secretary, in his opinion of value, determined that the $380 million authorized for the combined properties falls within these appraised values. The Secretary's Opinion of value also found the acquisition to be in the best interests of the United States because it represents an opportunity to set aside an irreplaceable resource for the public.