LYMAN — Landowners who have recently had their woodlot harvested, or are thinking about doing so, should mark their calendars for upcoming informal workshops, forest advocates say.

On Wednesday, landowners, foresters, loggers and others are invited to stop by Funky Bow Brewery on Ledgewood Lane at 5 p.m. to talk about a new satisfaction survey from the Maine Forest Service. Those who can’t make it to Wednesday’s session have two additional opportunities: At Bradford Block Bistro in Springvale at 5 p.m. July 30, or in the banquet room of Province Lake Country Club in Parsonsfield at 5 p.m. Aug. 6.

The “Tree Chuggers” sessions, hosted by the regional conservation group Forest Works, are designed to get participants talking about what they liked about how their property was harvested, what they didn’t like, and what might be done differently the next time around, said Lee Burnett, the group’s outreach coordinator.

“Landowners have never been asked about how satisfied they are with the appearance of their land after the harvest, or the income they received,” said Burnett.

But, he pointed out, the harvest that has taken place ”“ or will take place ”“ affects the forest decades into the future.

“We’re hoping people will use the survey as a tool before they harvest,” said landowner and outreach forester Andy Shultz of the Maine Forest Service.

He said he hopes the survey and its questions will get landowners thinking and deciding to use a written contract for timber harvests, and to work with a licensed forester as well as the logging company they’ve chosen.

The survey is confidential. Questions, according to the Maine Forest Service, cover such topics as overall satisfaction with the harvest; how well the operation met specific harvesting goals; the condition of the woods after the harvest; landowner satisfaction with the financial outcome; reaction of neighbors and the community; whether the landowner had a written agreement with their logger and how effective it was.

Landowners who have filed a Forest Operations Notification with the state ”“ a requirement for timber harvesting, said Shultz ”“ have received the survey. About 2,000 went out to landowners statewide during the first week of July, and already, about 300 have been completed and returned, he estimated.

Burnett said the survey is designed to provide information to the state on satisfaction levels by landowners, but it’s also a good tool for loggers and foresters.

Copies of the survey will be at the workshops, or it can be accessed online at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/mthss.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].