Consulting Forester

• Low risk
• High to High-Average landowner returns

Cons:

• Initial administration costs on landowner; normally a % costs of the highest bid offer.  The fee is normally not paid out of the landowner's pocket but is written from the buyer to the consultant.  This helps in that the landowner doesn't have to find the money to pay for the service, and they are not assessed with that % as income to deal with during tax time. 
• In states with no licensing requirements for foresters to practice professional forestry: there are several "foresters" that call themselves consultants; the landowner must ensure the reputation and goals of the consulting forester that they choose.

 A consulting forester should not sell your timber on a diameter limit or stump diameter limit. It should be only a marked sell, or a calculated silivicultural harvest method.  They are professional foresters that have the knowledge and experience to control your investment potential.  A properly marked sale will yield much higher investment revenue returns over the long term. 

A reputable consulting forester is someone that meets with you to understand you management goals, takes the many man days to go out and physically mark individual trees to be harvested, layout your management objectives, flag the sale boundary area, then produces a very informative an attractive bid package, delivers that bid package to as many procurement operations as needed, ensures the securities of the landowner through each step of the harvest, and the final product is a very health and aesthetically pleasing residual stand you to enjoy for many years to come.

A consulting forester has the knowledge, the experience to incorporate and control the long- term growth for the highest financial revenue for the landowner.

Diameter Limit and Stump Diameter Limits do have special case options, but this cookie cutter method should not be performed by a consulting forester.

At normal commission costs these are short cuts that only increase the profit for the "consultant forester" with very little work involved, and produce a much lower quality and less valued result for the landowner.

Pros:

• Studies regarding assisted timber harvests have proven there is a greater than 50% higher financial return for the landowner.
• Most assisted sales are lump sum bid; the landowner gets their check in a lump sum prior to harvesting.
• Initial administration costs on landowner; normally a % costs of the highest bid offer.  The fee is normally not paid out of the landowner's pocket but is written from the buyer to the consultant.  This helps in that the landowner doesn't have to find the money to pay for the service, and they are not assessed with that % as income to deal with during tax time. 
• The forester works on behalf of the landowner, not the buying operation and are able to make decisions that are best for the property / landowner.
• There is a timber sale contract written on behalf of the landowner's objectives for both parties to sign
• The sales tend to be marked sales where the forester individually selects the stems to be removed and often leaves a high-quality residual stand. (CCF's rule of thumb: mark all the bad and half the good)
• The sale is supervised on a regular basis throughout the harvesting process and through
  closure/reclamation of the site, to ensure that all items in the timber sale contract are obeyed and the landowner is taken care of.