What is a consulting forester?

Consulting foresters are professionally trained in forestry or natural resource management. Their services are available to the public on a fee or contract basis. Consultants may be either general practitioners or specialists. Consultants generally have a college education in forestry and several years of experience, subscribe to a code of ethics developed by their professional organization, and have no direct business affiliation with a forest industry firm. Good consultants have the primary mission of representing landowner interests.

Consultants are in the business of providing forest management and other related services. Their fees vary greatly. Some common ways consultants charge for their services include: lump sum contractual price, percentage of the gross income from a sale of timber, an hourly rate, and on the units of work performed.

Services provided by consultants may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Appraisals of value-land and timber.
• Acquisition of forest land-appraising and purchasing.
• Computer services--forestry applications.
• Environmental impact studies.
• Environmental regulatory compliance--erosion and sedimentation control requirements, and wetlands regulations.
• Estimates of timber value--economic studies.
• Insect and disease control.
• Prescribed burning
• Litigation--serving as expert witness on forest and property litigation problems.
• Management of forest resources (timber, wildlife, water and others).
• Timber stand improvement.
• Forest regeneration.
• Marketing forest products.
• Surveying.
• Road layout and construction.
• Taxation counseling for all forestry situations.
• Urban forestry.
• Timber trespass.
• Timber damage evaluation--fire, wind, insect, disease.