1. How do I now if the company or logger I am dealing with is reputable?

There are several ways of determining this and the very simplest is to ask your contractor if they will give you references. Hey, if they won't give you references, and their verbal and non verbal response to your question is doubtful, that could begin your worries. Secondly, contact your State's Division of Forestry. They keep a list of all procurement operations, and logging contractors. They can give you excellent reference information. They might even be able to give you as much information as the number of violations that contractor has, how many times he has been shut down, what he has been shut down for, how current are his licenses, workers compensations, what is his accident records. Depending on how much freedom your State's agency has, will determine how much and how detailed the information they will release to you is. Again, regardless of how detailed the information is, comments will be another good judgment factor. Thirdly, ask around. This is a small world, and you will be surprised who you will find that knows that contractor. One bit of warning on this method, is that the opinions that a person might have are very likely to be tainted for some reason. Good comments could be the result of a friendship, member of some organization together, family connections. Bad comments could be the result of something personal and not work related, could be the result of something minor with the job that the landowner disagrees with but is actually good practice, they could be speaking from gossip they have heard. So, I would use your references wisely, and make sure you understand why that reference talks the way they do. Forth, I would see if you can find out past jobs they have harvested; You can find that out through your State's DOF. Visit that site and take a look for yourself. That is an excellent judging factor of what your property could look like after that contractor is finished. Look at items like the quality of the residual stand, the number of roads and soil disturbance, the reclamation of the landing, skid and haul roads, how much wood waste is still left in the woods. All of those are good factors that determine the contractors attention to detail, their care for your property, their care for your stands value and future health, and their care for your financial well being.

Remember this: There are more contractors out there that would be more than willing to harvest your timber. The decisions you and the contractor make today, you will have to live with for 20, 30, 40 years down the road. Choosing the right contractor or procurement operation will mean Dollars in your pocket, not only today but again much sooner in the future. If you don't have the time to do the research, if you are nervous or worried about the status of your property then you need to contact Clear Creek Forestry today!

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