Forester experience
#7451426
01/05/22 11:29 AM
01/05/22 11:29 AM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 48 Western PA
pacoonhunter1
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 48
Western PA
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Has anyone had any experience using a forester - is it worth getting one to sell timber? What percentage do they get? Have some wooded property that we are thinking of select cutting. Thanks.
Last edited by pacoonhunter1; 01/05/22 11:40 AM.
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Re: Forester experience
[Re: frank1969]
#7451453
01/05/22 12:00 PM
01/05/22 12:00 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 48 Western PA
pacoonhunter1
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 48
Western PA
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Thanks- property is in Forest County, PA
Last edited by pacoonhunter1; 01/05/22 12:06 PM.
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Re: Forester experience
[Re: Dirty D]
#7451476
01/05/22 12:30 PM
01/05/22 12:30 PM
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,967 new york
mike mason
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 2,967
new york
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educate yourself on "high Grading" before any logging by mill Foresters or any Forester for that matter. But if all you care about is the money then never mind. Dirty D is correct, never use a mill's forester, too much of a conflict of interest. NEVER sell timber without a forester, try to find one that works by the hour for marking/scaling and then inspection during harvest and close out for the bond. Yes, require a bond so all the work is completed to the forester and your satisfaction.
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Re: Forester experience
[Re: pacoonhunter1]
#7451532
01/05/22 01:29 PM
01/05/22 01:29 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,219 Oregon
beaverpeeler
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 11,219
Oregon
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Very good advice here. I've nothing to add except to tell of a horror story where my brother had some "selective" logging done on 160 acres in northern BC. He walked the acreage with a logger/forester, identified what he wanted to have done....and when he came back after the logging it was a wholesale clearcut with just a few wispy trees left, which to my brother's thinking ruined the land. He ended up selling it and was heartbroken.
He did make a lot of money though from the mill.
My fear of moving stairs is escalating!
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Re: Forester experience
[Re: mike mason]
#7451586
01/05/22 03:14 PM
01/05/22 03:14 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,634 Georgia
warrior
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,634
Georgia
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educate yourself on "high Grading" before any logging by mill Foresters or any Forester for that matter. But if all you care about is the money then never mind. Dirty D is correct, never use a mill's forester, too much of a conflict of interest. NEVER sell timber without a forester, try to find one that works by the hour for marking/scaling and then inspection during harvest and close out for the bond. Yes, require a bond so all the work is completed to the forester and your satisfaction. Respectfully disagree. Mill foresters can be great assets for the timberland owner. However in this situation the advice not to rely upon one for the entirety of the sale of a harvest is correct. You need either a disinterested third party or sellers agent to perform the cruise and bid plus to be on board through completion of contract to ensure its done properly. Where a mill forestor can be of help is in the planning stages of planting, management and preparation to harvest as mill foresters, LOCAL MILLS, will know and understand local markets and demand as well as tree species and soils. It may also get you some access to his or her assets such as planting crews, seedling stock, and other services as many mills are now offering services to landowners. Timber is a multi year process and networking with buyers years in advance whether you eventually sell to them or not is only good business practice. We have a working relationship with Scotch Timber for ours in a consulting arrangement. But like all things business if you ain't got a clue its best to hire it done and caveat emptor applies.
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Re: Forester experience
[Re: pacoonhunter1]
#7451604
01/05/22 03:50 PM
01/05/22 03:50 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,854 Pa
Wright Brothers
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,854
Pa
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Trappers have had great posts on this in the past. I vote hire independent, BUT, listen to these guys.
If any of you folks are around an active cut or ready in near future. And selling log truck loads of tops and culls for firewood. PM me I may snag one if decent.
I got beat up by white fir last year and my wood pile suffered.
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Re: Forester experience
[Re: tomahawker]
#7451665
01/05/22 05:24 PM
01/05/22 05:24 PM
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,478 Tug Hill, NY
Squash
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,478
Tug Hill, NY
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Hope you like to cut firewood. My experience was a nightmare of tops left lying everywhere. A once beautiful woods turned into a brush pile you can’t see 25 yards thru. This comment is exactly why I stated you need to decide what your goals for the property are. Tops remaining on the ground can and are good forestry. As they rot they regenerate the soil and also they protect young hardwood regeneration from over browsing by deer. If you are a deer hunter, remember if you can see more than 60 yards through your forest, it is poor deer habitat. Most hardwood tops decay in 5-7 years. If you want a park like forest , then hire a logger with a whole tree chipper and chip the tops, but there is a down size to that harvest as well. My experience has been most landowners talk about wanting sustainable forestry practices on their land , but once the money starts flowing many forget about good management.
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Re: Forester experience
[Re: Squash]
#7451779
01/05/22 08:21 PM
01/05/22 08:21 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,634 Georgia
warrior
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,634
Georgia
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Hope you like to cut firewood. My experience was a nightmare of tops left lying everywhere. A once beautiful woods turned into a brush pile you can’t see 25 yards thru. This comment is exactly why I stated you need to decide what your goals for the property are. Tops remaining on the ground can and are good forestry. As they rot they regenerate the soil and also they protect young hardwood regeneration from over browsing by deer. If you are a deer hunter, remember if you can see more than 60 yards through your forest, it is poor deer habitat. Most hardwood tops decay in 5-7 years. If you want a park like forest , then hire a logger with a whole tree chipper and chip the tops, but there is a down size to that harvest as well. My experience has been most landowners talk about wanting sustainable forestry practices on their land , but once the money starts flowing many forget about good management. Yup, managing forestland is never one and done or just showing up to cash the check. It's farming without the annual deadlines over generational spans. The slash left behind can be just as important anything else. Ours will wash in a heartbeat if the ground isn't protected and we got the evidence to prove it. The big cut that took the old growth longleaf back around 1880 left washes you could drop a house into. That's probably our biggest trouble area today getting equipment safely into some areas and keeping the washes stable and not growing. The plain fact is that there's some trees we just can't harvest as there's no way to safely snake them out of the holes they are in. The big cut we did in 1980 had the slash pushed and windrowed across the slopes to hold the soil. Some of those windrows were 6'-8' tall. Evidence of them can still be seen on aerial photos today.
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