NORTH DEVON'S forests and woodland are an increasingly valuable asset as the price of gas and electricity continues to rise.

And farmers and landowners are faced with new decisions about making the most of their trees.

The potential market is clearly obvious to anyone who has seen the logging depot at Bideford's old cattle market and the loading of ships on Bideford Quay during the last six months.

Thousands of tonnes of timber, much of it in soft wood from fir trees, harvested by the UK's biggest operator in the field, Euroforest, have left North Devon by sea since last May.

It's gone to various European countries including Germany and Scandinavia, "A bit like taking coal to Newcastle," according to the area manager for Euroforest, Mark Williams.

The wood comes in to Bideford from all over the county, and among the landowners who have sold their timber for export is the Castle Hill Estate, where Paul Smalley of Savills is the agent.

He said the 1,100 acres of forestry and woods makes up a fifth of the overall estate.

"The woodland is very important for the landscape and for the pheasant shoots," Mr Smalley said.

"The trees provide cover and roosting, and because so many are in the valleys they create height for the shots as the birds pass from one side to the other. But the woods are also important for timber production. We have a programme of thinning and try to take out the equivalent cubic meterage that we calculate has grown during the year."

Most of the trees are Douglas Fir, but there are also Sitka Spruce, Norway Pine and some Western Hemlock. About 5 per cent is hardwood.

"As we're replacing, we're doing it with more broadleaf trees," Mr Smalley said.

"That's partly because of the shooting and partly because of the landscape but also because of the firewood market.

"There's a good market in hardwood thinnings. And also we're questioning if we can use some of the low value soft wood thinnings for firewood.

"So many more people are putting in wood burners because of the price of other fuels

"And all over Scandinavia, in Scotland and America they use softwood. So that's something we're exploring."

A new £10 million grant scheme to revitalise woodland management was announced by Forestry Commission England in November, aiming to produce woodfuel by improving roads and access for extraction.

The high cost of extracting timber has led to woodlands across the country being under-managed

The commission said that supporting owners and managers to improve roads and access would reduce harvesting costs and once again make woodland management economically viable.

The reclaiming of the UK's woodlands is encouraged by grants through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) with money available on a percentage basis for the right equipment.

The Castle Hill estate closed down its timber mill in 1998 because of the cost of re-investment and health and safety concerns. It has sold off its wood ever since, buying in wood products from a variety of sources.

The timber on the estate is put out to tender, and has recently been felled by contractors working for Euroforest, using sophisticated machines that measure and cut required lengths without anyone needing to leave the cab.

"It's changed a lot since people had to use tape measures and chain saws, although they are still used in places the big machines can't reach," said Mr Smalley.