Forestry is often seen as logging and the harvesting of trees. That is partially true. However, those tasks are only a portion of what LandVest foresters accomplish for our clients. To achieve sustainable forest management, our staff must be knowledgeable in many scientific, economic and social disciplines. I always equate a career in forestry with a combination of three disciplines. A forester is a historian, an architect, and of course a scientist who understands the inter-relation between forestry, economics, soils, entomology, pathology, and wildlife biology.
Therefore, as our staff implements sustainable forest management, they are aware of an array of factors that enable us to achieve our client’s goals and objectives of ownership. Listening is the first step in achieving our client’s desired outcomes. We are often tasked with meeting a complex variety of goals. However, there is one universal, often misunderstood topic that carries through nearly every forest management activity – economics.
As we develop and implement sustainable forest management plans, LandVest strives to achieve the most positive economic outcome regardless of the variations in a landowner’s goals. Our 50-plus years of experience have given us the knowledge and tools needed to balance our client’s financial expectations in concert with the forest science we are implementing.
Many years ago, a seasoned logger, Tars Ellum, granted me a very important bit of wisdom. I was marking timber and he said, “Carbo, make sure you mark the right ones because once they’re “un-stumped” there is nothing I can do about it!” His statement made a great impression on a very young consulting forester. It was the concept that once a tree is harvested, not only should its harvest have enhanced the health and value of the forest, but equally important is what happens to a tree once it is harvested.
Therefore, LandVest utilizes our size and market influence through our LV Timber Co, LLC marketing division to maximize clients’ financial return on harvested timber. We marketed over 200,000 cord equivalents of timber in 2019 for over $29 million. Through a combination of mill-direct deliveries and our three strategically-located log concentration yards, we are able to:
- Merchandise every tree into its maximum value
- Market 15 grades of sawlogs to scores of sawmills across the northeastern US and the Province of Quebec
- Reduce trucking costs by keeping trucks loaded for more miles
All to achieve the highest possible stumpage value for our clients.
Forestry in the northeast is a long-term enterprise. It can take 100 years to grow a hardwood sawlog tree. We should never undervalue that tree once it is harvested. LandVest’s promise to our clients is that while we excel at delivering the highest quality sustainable forest management, we will take special care of the trees harvested. The objective is to achieve our owner’s non-financial goals and objectives of ownership while also maximizing the financial. This approach places the expertise and market authority of LandVest at the service of our clients. We want to assure each of our clients that LandVest always aligns our work with the dedication to each client’s desired outcomes.
