Armstrong Brook Forest

Descriptions

Armstrong Brook Forest is a northern Maine timberland investment with an established road network, moderate terrain, scenic water features, and a recent inventory indicating a capital timber value of $2.5 million. It is located in the small, northern town of Stockholm, Maine, about twelve miles north of Caribou and equally distant from Quebec, Canada. Despite its remote location, the property is well-located for convenient transport of forest products to numerous local mills. The northern terminus of Interstate 95 is approximately one hour to the south and the capital city, Bangor, is another two-and-a-half hours south from there.

The forest has a well-established, gravel road network providing ample, year-round access to nearly every corner of the property. A town-maintained gravel road bisects the southeastern corner about a mile north of the village center. This road connects into the private road network which is maintained only during times of active harvesting operations. A former railroad right-of-way passes through the entire tract as a designated public ATV trail. A gravel road enters the southern boundary of the parcel fronting Route 161.

The parcel is comprised of three to four modest plateaus separated by small brook channels. Topography ranges from nearly flat to gently rolling with a few moderate slopes in the northeast corner. Soils are generally well-drained on the plateaus and upper slopes while the flat areas near the brooks and elsewhere exhibit moist soils favorable to spruce/fir and northern white cedar. Four brooks wind through the forest, all of which eventually join into one channel and flow into the Little Madawaska River. The internal road system has established crossings over these brooks with culverts and bridges.

The forest supports three distinct timber types typical of the region; 1) spruce/fir represented by a young age classes just entering merchantable sizes, 2) northern hardwoods comprised of a good mix of quality hard maple and yellow birch and 3) northern white cedar growing in the flat, low-lying areas of the forest. The young spruce/fir trees are just now growing into merchantable sizes and, for the next couple of decades, will be growing at their fastest, well over twice the average growth rate. The mature hardwood acres are the most attractive to buyers today. They are well-stocked with good-sized trees offering a mix of quality.