FORECON's Services

Timberland Management

Overview of Timberland Management

Whether you own 30 acres or 300,000 acres, having a reliable source for quality forestry services and good management information can have an enormous impact on whether or not you obtain your ownership objectives.  At FORECON, Inc., we believe that providing our clients with sound professional advice and effective timely service is our specialty.  We have a diverse staff of experienced experts capable of meeting all of your forest management needs.  We take great pride in being a “full service” consultant, providing you with the convenience of “one-stop” shopping when it comes to meeting your management needs.

FORECON manages hundreds of thousands of acres of prime timberlands throughout New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.  Our clientele consists of small private non-industrial owners, forest industry, public municipalities and large timber companies.  The intensity and direction of forest management can vary greatly within our client base, but we can customize a management program to meet your specific needs, whether they be income and/or value appreciation-oriented or focused on goals not necessarily financial in nature, such as improving wildlife habitat or enhancing recreational opportunities on your property.

The first step in the forest management process is to gather forest inventory data.  This information is then analyzed in context with the objectives of the owner, and a plan is developed to specifically detail the process and activities needed to meet these objectives.  This planning phase can be as simple as preparing a brief management prescription for one tract, or as complex as developing annual allowable harvests, operating budgets projecting both income and expense, management policies, or even investment strategies for larger ownerships.

The remaining steps in the forest management process depend on the needs that you may have.  We can provide services that include silvicultural prescriptions, timber marking services, boundary line identification, forest road planning, building, and maintenance, insect and disease assessment, security visits, gate and lock maintenance, deer exclosure services, herbicide application services, hunting lease management, etc.  In addition to these services, we can administer timber harvests through the effective competitive bid process, and provide harvest monitoring services to assure adherence to timber sale contract specifications.  Also, with TIGER_®, our new world-class hardwood database system, we can continuously track activities on your ownership and provide you with a variety of reports, including growth and value estimates, that can be used for a variety of purposes.

For investors, we offer complete due diligence services, beginning with preliminary assessment work to help focus on the value that a potential forestland investment opportunity may have.  The next step often involves a formal inventory process to gather statistically sound timber data for both valuation purposes as well as potential management purposes should the property be purchased.  Our fieldwork is done according to industry standards developed with the client before the fieldwork begins.  Inventory sample plot centers are physically monumented so they can be relocated for auditing purposes, and an in-house audit is done to assure us that each of our experienced foresters and technicians are consistently meeting the requirements of the inventory specifications.

Our experience with hardwood forest management and the capabilities and technology we can bring to your benefit as your forest manager goes unequalled within our extensive operating area.  We would be honored to work for you in any capacity.  Please call us for a list of client references or any other questions you may have about our extensive forest management services available.