Forrester for selling logs to the mills (assessor, buying)

[Ghostrider16]

I had a forester come out recently and take a look at the property. He said it was overgrown and that I needed to thin it out. He also offered to be my consultant for such a job. He would do it all - select and mark trees, hire a cutting / removal crew, and sell the lumber to the mill.

That sounds great, and I sure don't have a reason not to trust this guy, but I'm wondering if there were any unknown pitfalls you came across after starting such a project.

If there was one question I'd like to get answered, it would be how I would know exactly what a tree sold for? Theoretically, he could take all my red cedars to the mill and tell me he only got enough to cover expenses and then hand me 50 bucks as my "profit" when actually he walked away with 500 bucks.

I just read that and all is true and accurate. It's hard typing when you've taken an Ambien on board. The lines on my screen now appear to e floating in front of it like clouds. But I digress...

SO, any surprises or difficulties dealing with a forester for a forest management plan???

[Sage of Sagle]

Dealing with the slash is a huge job. If you have them clear cut an acre or two you'll wind with some cash. If they're thinning, it's a very low profit thing because they're leaving a lot of stuff standing and it really limits their mobility. When clear cutting, they can bring in a track-ho and just knock everything down and rip it out zing-zang-zow and then another guy clears the slash. We clear cut .6 acre of HEAVILY wooded cedar and tam (when building) and it paid about about $2000 in 2007 IIRC after costs, but I think the mills were buying more logs then.

Seems weird to have the same guy be your forestry expert AND your forester. Usually the forestry expert makes more than the forester so they don't do the grunt work. Maybe he just needs the work. What's the guy's name?

[chevpu1967]

Being of a non-trusting nature due to humanoids being what they are, I would ask a question of you. Did you invite this person to come out, or did he just show up one day? In my part of the country, a statement that begins with "I had a guy come to the house" can mean either "This fella showed up one day" or "I invited this fella to the house". If he just "showed up one day", I would advise to send him on his way. If you invited him out, then also check him out as you would with any potential employee. He should have references. My neighbor "had a guy come out" once (the uninvited kind) and ended up paying good money for a crappy driveway. He was not happy. The warmer it gets outside, the more the scam artists come out to play and make you pay.

[Ghostrider16]

Originally Posted by chevpu1967

Being of a non-trusting nature due to humanoids being what they are, I would ask a question of you. Did you invite this person to come out, or did he just show up one day? In my part of the country, a statement that begins with "I had a guy come to the house" can mean either "This fella showed up one day" or "I invited this fella to the house". If he just "showed up one day", I would advise to send him on his way. If you invited him out, then also check him out as you would with any potential employee. He should have references. My neighbor "had a guy come out" once (the uninvited kind) and ended up paying good money for a crappy driveway. He was not happy. The warmer it gets outside, the more the scam artists come out to play and make you pay.

I had him come out.

I can't remember if his specifically was one of the names on the 2 page list of names given to me by the Assessor when I stopped in to inquire about the forest management exemption, but I got to him via that list, possibly through someone else on it.

I asked around, but no-one I spoke with knew anything about a specific forester. As it turned out, I spoke with a person who said the outfit he is with had a pretty good rep and the guys who worked there really knew their stuff. So I went with him for the forest management plan.

I'm just considering the next step (thinning) and just starting to look into what I might need to know.

I like your thinking. Your first sentence pretty much describes me too.

Thanks!

[chevpu1967]

That's great that his outfit has a good rep. If he does a good job for you, then definitely hold onto his business card for future reference. I had always heard that thinning is good for the other trees so they can grow larger and be healthier. I only wish that it worked that way with my hair.