Family timberland
80-acre family timberland, selective timber sale, and burn planning
A family-owned oak and maple timberland needed an independent forester to advise on timing, mark trees, manage a selective sale, coordinate the logger, monitor the harvest, and follow through on prescribed-burn planning.
- 80-acre family timberland of mainly oak and maple
- Selective timber sale with tree marking
- Competitive bidding and process management
- Logger coordination, harvest monitoring, and closeout inspection
- Prescribed burn planning and funding coordination after the harvest
Brandon kept me well informed during the entire process and answered all of my questions. I could not be more pleased with the results of the selective cutting and Brandon's management of the entire process.
Read the full client note
Brandon was initially contacted to provide advice regarding an eighty acre parcel of timberland, consisting of mainly oak and maple trees. The property has been in my family for about 150 years and I am the current owner of the property. We periodically selectively timber the property for two reasons. One is to provide funds to pay the property taxes and the other is to promote favorable growing conditions for the timber. Brandon advised that it was an appropriate time to do another selective cutting and also advised that I should consider doing a prescribed burn to promote the growth and regeneration of more desirable species of trees, like oak, by reducing underbrush and competing species of trees.
Brandon was then hired to mark the trees for the selective cutting, put the job up for bids, manage the bidding process, assist me in selecting the winning bid, coordinate with the winning logger, monitor the worksite, and inspect the worksite once the cutting had been completed. He kept me well informed during the entire process and answered all of my questions. He carefully selected the trees to be cut, leaving a naturalistic placement of trees of different maturities. Brandon met with me to walk the property while the logging was taking place and explained what was being done. I was impressed with his knowledge of current forestry management practices. I could not be more pleased with the results of the selective cutting and Brandon's management of the entire process.
Shortly after the selective cutting was completed, Brandon followed up with me to assess my interest in doing a prescribed burn of the property, as he had earlier recommended. He put me in touch with the Michigan Forestry Association (MFA), which administers a State program called The Forest and Water Fund (funded by the U.S. Forest Service), that encourages timberland owners to use prescribed burns as a method of enhancing timber productivity in Michigan. Working with Brandon, I decided to proceed with a prescribed burn of a 40 acre parcel of my property. He helped me apply for a grant from the MFA, coordinated with a trusted, experienced contractor who has conducted numerous previous prescribed burns (for the State of Michigan and others), and notified the owners of neighboring parcels about the prescribed burn being conducted on my property. The prescribed burn was completed as planned when the weather conditions were optimal. I was very pleased with how Brandon effectively managed the entire prescribed burn process - from helping me to obtain funding to the actual burn - and am anxious to see the results.
I highly recommend Brandon and Baird Forestry and I look forward to continuing to work with Brandon in managing this property in the future.