The consulting forester works for the landowner. Foresters can provide landowners with guidance and advice concerning land resource decisions and implementation. Final decisions concerning any management plans, remain in the hands of the landowner. Foresters employ experience and education to realize the landowner's objectives and desires on their property within a biological, financial, and legal framework. Landowners may employ the services of a forester for either long or short periods.

A long term relationship can begin with the drafting of a "Management Plan." A management plan spells out the landowner's goals and the schedule of future actions to attain them. A regular schedule of forest improvements including timber harvesting can provide for protection of the landowner's property values.
A management plan continues to reflect landowner objectives with periodic meetings between the landowner and their forester including annual or semi-annual forest inspections. The management plan can be changed to reflect changes in landowner's goals, objectives or forest health.

In the short term a forester may evaluate the landowner's forestland and administer a timber sale with a competitive bid to receive the greatest value for the landowner's standing timber.

Timber Sale Administration Includes:

• Fee is a percentage of the total bid for sale
• Initial woodland examination/evaluation
• Discussion of owners management goals and interests
• Establish guidelines for selection of timber to be harvested
• Review inventory data with owner
• Prepare timber sale notice & sealed bid solicitation
• Advertise timber sale to prospective buyers
• Receive sealed bids
• Evaluate bids with owner
• Award timber sale to owner approved buyer
• Hold security deposit until completion of timber sale
• Prepare detailed timber sale contract
• Provide permit application assistance to owner and buyer
• Negotiates payment terms prior to any cutting
• Hold pre-harvest meeting with timber purchase
• Conduct frequent inspections of harvest to ensure contract compliance
• Provide owner with progress/inspection reports
• Assist owner with any harvest concerns or conflicts
• Insure post harvest requirements are satisfied; cleanup, grading, seeding, ect.

A Land Manager serves the Landowner to ensure the best use, maximum yield, and protection of their woodland resource and investment.

Good forest management is advanced by timber harvests at the proper time using proper methods. Trees are a crop that need to be thinned to provide healthy growth for continuous long-term productivity of the crop.

With proper planning and supervision by a qualified professional forester, the landowner can expect to obtain top prices for their timber crop and improve their woodland property for future uses and profits. The true cost of using a Consulting Forester is minimal. A Consulting Forester should save or make money for you.

Other services such as appraisals, planning, and management are provided on an hourly or lump sum basis.

Foresters can help landowners maintain:

• forest esthetics
• ecological value
• wildlife habitat
• soil and water quality
• timber values

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