Undeveloped areas are all the areas of the property not included in the road and access areas or developed areas. These areas present the highest degree of difficulty to the small landowner in choosing a management strategy. This is due to the financial and equipment constraints the landowner is faced with. In most situations, the landowner is at the mercy of the natural fuel characteristics and general forest type associated with their property.  In order to accommodate the limitations of the small landowner, our recommendations will focus on the most simple and progress to the more complex.

No Action
The simplest strategy is, of course, to leave these areas untreated. This, for some, may be the only viable option. However, as before, the landowner is at the mercy of nature.

Create Fuel Breaks
The next possible solution is to create "fuel breaks" around the perimeter of the property.  This will allow fire suppression crews a line of defense to protect the property against fires started on adjacent properties. This will also work in the reverse, as crews will have a better chance of containing a fire originating on your property before it spreads to surrounding properties. Depending on the cause of the fire, this could greatly reduce the cost of fire suppression billable to the landowner in the event of fire on their property.  There are two types of fuel breaks you may consider: understory clearing and the complete clearing of all vegetation.

Understory clearing is designed to be effective in preventing the spread of low to moderate intensity fires that are not burning in the crown. This involves removing small trees and shrubs in the understory which act as ladder fuels for fire to climb into the upper canopy of the forest.

The complete clearing method is designed to be more effective in combating high intensity fires. This type of fuel break closely resembles that which would be constructed during actual firefighting situations. All vegetation is removed, leaving only bare mineral soil.

Complex Management Techniques
As we progress to the most complex management techniques, the overall goal will be to reduce fuel across the undeveloped areas.  Traditionally, management of larger properties included broadcast burning or timber harvesting, depending on the general condition of the property.

The availability of resources to properly conduct a burn will be the most limiting constraint to the small landowner.

As for timber harvesting, the availability of marketable timber can determine the economic feasibility of treatment. Ideally, the profit from the harvest will pay for some or all of the treatment. Basically, the landowner will be conducting a commercial thin and, of course, be reducing the fire danger on the property. Optimal methods of harvest will be site specific for each property. They can range from hand felling with tractor skidding to the use of cut-to-length harvesting systems. In some extreme cases, helicopter logging may be considered. Each harvesting method will increase cost respectively.
 

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