Sell forest land without clear-cutting
We buy forest plots and bare land all over Austria and give them back to nature for the long term.
After bark beetle or storm, the duty to reforest stays with the owner. The proceeds from the damaged timber usually cover the clearing, you pay the rest. If you sell to us, we take that on.
Who pays for reforestation
Most people only find out once the stand is already gone.
If a stand is lost to bark beetle or storm, the land has to be reforested. The Austrian Forest Act requires it, even if you have never worked in the forest.
The damaged timber usually brings in just enough to pay for the clearing. Seedlings, planting and the care afterwards are on you. If you sell to us, we take that on.
After bark beetle or storm
Who writes to us
Very few enquiries come from forestry businesses. It is people who own a forest and have nothing to do with forestry.
Inherited forest
The forest comes from the family, the generation before still managed it. Today it just sits there, and so does the responsibility for it.
Moved away
The land is in the valley, home is in the city or abroad. Every site visit is a day trip, every decision a phone call with the forest warden.
Bare land after bark beetle
The stand is gone, the timber sold, reforestation is due. For the replanting there is either no money or no desire to start all over again.
Community of heirs
Several co-owners, different ideas, no decision for years. A sale settles the matter for everyone at once.
Too small, too steep
Half a hectare on a slope with no access road doesn't pay off for any forestry business. On the property market, a plot like that hardly finds a buyer.
Farm without a successor
Farming has been given up or leased out, the forest plot is what's left. It means work, but no income.
No clear-cutting wanted
Selling would be fine, but not to someone who fells the stand in the first year. The question isn't the price, it's what stands there afterwards.
What happens to the land
Four things that are settled after the handover.
Entry in the land register
The association is entered as owner, and the protection of the land is secured there. So it doesn't depend on a promise, but on what the land register says.
Reforestation
Bare land gets a climate-resilient mixed forest. We choose the tree species to suit the site, the seedlings come from local tree nurseries, and the planting happens on a planting day.
No logging
We don't use the stand commercially. What the Austrian Forest Act requires, such as removing bark beetle timber, we do. Any proceeds cover the costs, the surplus goes into the next plot.
Visible on the map
Location, tree species and photos go on our map and into the forest report. You can keep an eye on what grows there without having to drive out.
Four steps to the contract
Nothing is binding until you sign, and the assessment costs you nothing.
Enquiry
You send us the location and size and whatever else you know about the land. The parcel number helps, but it's not a must.
First assessment
We look at the land on the map and call you to say whether it fits for us.
Site visit
We come by and take a proper look at the site. That's where it becomes clear what can grow there and what the land needs.
Offer
If it works for both sides, you get a purchase offer.
Who takes over the land
Bäume für Morgen is a non-profit association, founded in 2023, ZVR 1944271770. We started with planting days in the Pinzgau, today hotels and companies work with us and fund the trees.
Why we buy land
In Austria, land disappears every day, through development and through large areas being cut up into small fragments.
There is no such thing as forest that belongs to no one. Every plot has an owner, and every owner can fell, divide or sell it tomorrow. Protection that rests only on a declaration of intent lasts exactly as long as the owner's interest. The only thing you can rely on is who owns the land.
That's why we buy instead of lease. A stand that is left alone for a hundred years is ecologically something completely different from one that is felled every thirty years. Old trees, deadwood and soil that isn't driven over only develop over time, and time is the one thing you can't buy more of.
Offer land
We'll call you as soon as we've looked at the plot. We'll sort out everything else in conversation.
Questions
Who pays for reforestation after bark beetle or storm?+−
In principle, the owner. After a damage event there is a duty to reforest, and the proceeds from the damaged timber usually only cover the clearing. Seedlings, planting, protection against browsing and care in the first years stay with the owner. If you sell the land to us, we take over the reforestation and everything that comes after.
What kind of forest land do you buy?+−
Existing forest, bare land after bark beetle or windthrow, and plots where forest can grow. Steep sites and small plots don't rule anything out, quite the opposite: owners hardly ever find a buyer for them otherwise. Whether a plot fits depends on the soil, the location and the access, so we always look at it ourselves.
I've inherited a forest and don't know what to do with it. What now?+−
Write to us with what you know, even if it isn't much. Location and rough size are enough to start with, we'll find out the rest from the parcel number and the map. If you're not sure you want to sell at all, that's no problem, the conversation doesn't commit you to anything.
How is the price set?+−
We look at every plot individually and assess it ecologically. After that we talk about the price in person, taking into account location, size and stand. We don't quote flat rates per square metre, because two plots are rarely alike.
How does the sale work legally?+−
Through a written purchase contract, drawn up by a notary or lawyer. Forest counts as forestry land, so the land transfer authority (Grundverkehrsbehörde) also has to approve before the change of ownership goes into the land register. It checks that you as the seller are not weakened by the sale and that the land will be properly managed. Reforestation explicitly counts towards that. The rules differ from federal state to federal state, in Tyrol we clarified them in advance with the district authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft). We draw up the contract so that it only takes effect with this approval.
Do I have to pay tax on the sale?+−
When forest is sold, the land itself and the standing timber are looked at separately and taxed differently. Up to proceeds of €250,000 a year there are flat rates for this, above that you need an expert valuation. The real estate income tax (Immobilienertragsteuer) on the land share is calculated and settled by the notary or lawyer as part of the transaction. What is left at the end depends on your situation, best go through it with your tax adviser.
Which federal states do you buy land in?+−
We accept offers from all nine. The first purchases are around Innsbruck, because that's where we're starting. If your land is further away, we'll still take it on our list and get in touch as soon as we're ready in your region.
What happens to the land after the purchase?+−
It is given back to nature for the long term. The association is entered as owner in the land register, and the protection is secured there. Existing forest stays standing, bare land we reforest with tree species suited to the site. What the Austrian Forest Act requires, such as removing bark beetle timber, we do. Any proceeds cover the costs, and otherwise go into the next plot.
Can I still visit the land later?+−
Yes, any time by arrangement. On the map you can also see how the stand is developing, with location, tree species and photos.
Rather just call
If you'd rather explain the land than type, just give us a call. A short conversation is usually enough for a first assessment.