living on a slope: the ups and downs of marginal land

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One problem is that roads to marginal areas are often primitive and poorly maintained. This probably means you'll be stuck a lot in mud and snow. Also—although getting away from it all sounds good now—you might find later that electricity for blenders, power tools, etc., would be a real blessing, and that a phone sure would eliminate a lot of hassles. Unfortunately, the farther back you are, the less chance there is that these hookups will be available on your land. The nearest powerlines are two miles from our place and the cost of bringing them up here would be thousands of dollars. Since our stream isn't large enough for a small hydroelectric system, our only option is a noisy, polluting gas generator.

Another drawback of isolation is that we have many more wild animals around than there are down in the more populated valley. We have to elevate our hives on platforms or surround them with electrified wire to keep the bears from rob bing them. Coyotes, mountain lions and the like endanger our goats and chickens. . . and deer will go on nibbling our garden and orchard until we have the time and money to fence them out. Also, where there are deer and bear, you can expect lots of hunters in season. Although this problem diminishes over the years as people learn where you are, it's still no fun to confront every sportsman who trespasses on your land.

MAKIN' BUCKS

Another thought has probably crossed your mind by now: What about making money on marginal land? As I've already mentioned, farming is out of the question in most instances. It's hard enough for a small operator to make a profit on good flat acreage . . . and almost impossible if you're working a slope.

One alternative is to take advantage of your woods. Depending on what kind of trees you have, you could log, cut firewood, grow nursery stock or harvest Christmas trees. In some states, wooded land which will be used for commercial purposes is given a special "timberland" tax status. Such laws were really developed for the benefit of the large timber interests, but you should still apply for this classification if you can. Here in Oregon we declare 38 of our 40 acres as timberland, which is assessed at one-eighth of the ordinary evaluation while the remainder (space for houses, outbuildings, garden and orchard) is assessed at the full figure . . . giving us a substantial reduction on our tax bill.

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