Foresters

In Massachusetts, the state employs service foresters (sometimes called county foresters). They have a dual role, educational and regulatory. A good first step for a landowner is to meet with a service forester; he or she can give you general advice about forest stewardship and the process of selling timber. Service foresters spend most of their time administering the forest tax law (Chapter 61) and the Forest Cutting Practices Act (Chap, 132).


Four of the six New England states (ME,NH,MA,CT) have forester licensing laws. Each of these laws is different. In Massachusetts, individuals offering forestry services to landowners for a fee must be licensed. To obtain a license, an individual must meet educational and experience requirements.

In the private sector, there are two types of licensed foresters, consulting and industrial. Consulting foresters represent and are paid by the landowner. Industrial foresters generally work for sawmills or independent loggers.


Consulting foresters charge in various ways for the services they provide, which typically include: inventory; management planning; boundary location and marking; timber sale administration; timber stand improvement. Industrial foresters may provide some of the same services, but are employed by a potential timber purchaser. Therefore, they will not seek offers from other potential purchasers.


Selecting A Forester

A landowner should feel confident that he or she is receiving fair market value for timber they sell. Think of other things that you occasionally buy or sell. In every case, if you are a good purchaser or seller, you gather information about market value and often use the services of a professional in the process. You should do the same in the case of timber. The decision on the choice of a forester is especially critical because you are not simply selling something. The forest remains after the timber sale; its condition, productivity, and appearance will all be affected by what occurs during a timber harvest.


Consulting foresters may charge by the hour, by the unit (e.g., thousand board feet, acre), on a commission basis, on a flat fee basis, or using a combination of methods. The method and the amount charged are part of what a landowner will evaluate, but should not be the only considerations in selecting a forester. Compatibility, communication and trust are vital. A landowner should not hesitate to ask for references and to see examples of previous work. A consulting forester works to translate the landowner's objectives into practice. If a consultant does not ask about your objectives and what is important to you, take this as a bad sign. Similarly, be wary if a prospective consultant proposes a timber harvest prior to performing an assessment of overall conditions on your property. As the landowner, you are the ultimate decisionmaker and no decision is more important than your choice of forester.


The first loyalty of an industrial forester is to his or her employer. While there is usually no identifiable "fee" charged to the landowner by industrial foresters, the value of any services they provide must be recaptured somehow. A number of arrangements are possible: long-term cutting rights, right of first refusal when timber is sold, or simply the right to choose what timber will be cut as part of a harvest. A landowner electing to use an industrial forester must feel confident that the total package of services, forestry decisions and prices paid for timber serve the landowner's interest.

Regardless of whether a landowner chooses to work with a consulting or industrial forester, a written agreement should provide details on the business relationship.

Loggers

As part of a timber sale logging companies purchase timber from landowners or are hired by sawmills to harvest timber from private and public land in the region. Many mills also have their own industrial foresters and loggers who complete timber sales.

The majority of loggers utilize a variety of heavy equipment to "skid" or transport logs from local forests. Skidders are used to drag logs to a log landing where the timber is picked up for transport to a sawmill or other processing site. A "forwarder" is vehicle that moves logs to the landing without dragging them along the forest floor. Forwarders can reduce the amount of soil disturbance and are used by some logging companies in the region. At least two loggers in the North Quabbin region use the more historic method of moving logs with draft horses.

Visit our profiles of Private Consulting Foresters working in the North Quabbin Region.

View A list of all MA licensed public and private foresters.

To learn more about the Massachusetts Chapter 61 Law and Forest Cutting Practices Act and the Forest Stewardship Program visit http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/forestry/service/lawsnforms.htm.

Visit http://www.masswoods.net/selling_timber/index.html for comprehensive information for landowners on forest management in Massachusetts.