Forest Management Plans

Forest Management Plans provide landowners with a roadmap for managing their timber and other forest resources both in the present and in the future. Forest management plan development involves working with landowners to identify forest management goals and objectives that are then incorporated into forest management plans. Preparing of forest management plans includes forest stand/ ecological type descriptions, soils/ hydrology descriptions, slivicultural prescriptions, treatment unit descriptions including acreage, conducting forest stand inventory/ timber cruising, cruise data analysis interpretation, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) work including map making and area determination of treatment units, and recommended timber harvesting systems to be used

Forest Health Assessments

Forest health assessments evaluate the over-all health of a forest and looks a various conditions such as tree growth, tree mortality, and insect and disease outbreaks. A professional forester can assist landowners with forest health assessment services by identifying forest insects and diseases that impact their forest, determine risk to forest resources, and recommend management strategies. Forest health continues to be one of the most significant challenges that Colorado forests with major insect outbreaks such as Douglas-fir beetle or spruce bark beetle in recent years causing widespread mortality across the state. According to the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) there is an estimated 834 million standing dead trees across the state’s forests which roughly equates to 1 in every 14 standing trees.

Post-wildfire reforestation

Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously established forests and woodlands that have damaged or destroyed by such occurrences as wildfire. Reforestation is essential in the restoration of forest ecosystems and can have added benefits such as increasing carbon sequestration, improving aesthetics, developing a long-term timber production strategy for landowners, or mitigating post-wildfire impacts such as erosion. Reforestation services include project planning, implementation, post-project monitoring, and assisting landowners obtain funding for projects.

Forestry support services for public land agencies (US forest service/ bureau of land management)

Forestry support services assists public land agencies such as the US Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management to meet the need of forest management actives on the lands they manage on behalf of the American people. These services include timber sale preparation services, reforestation, and timber stand improvement (TSI) work.

Forest Thinning & Wildfire mitigation

Forest thinning is the practice of selectively removing trees that completes the manipulation of species composition, structure, or density of a stand of trees to achieve a desired forest condition with the purpose of achieving conservation benefits to include improving forest health and productivity, improving forest structure and composition, reducing susceptibility to pests and moisture stress, reducing wildfire risk, and increasing carbon storage. Thinning focuses on removing trees that are suppressed, serve as ladder fuels for a potential wildfire, or are impacted by forest insects and diseases in a way that it negatively impacts overall forest stand health. Like weeding a garden, thinning your forest can improve tree productivity, allowing your remaining trees to have the adequate spacing, sunlight, and nutrients that they need. Thinning also favors trees that will be more resilient to wildfire and wind damage.

Wildfire mitigation is similar to forest thinning when it comes to the practice of selectively removing trees in order to achieve a desired condition but is more focused on establishing and improving the defensible space around homes and other structures to. Wildfire mitigation involves a more intensive approach to reducing flammable vegetation within the 100-foot Home Ignition Zone (HIZ). Many landowners make their homes in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) which is the zone where natural landscapes such as forests meet human development. These areas are at greater risk of catastrophic wildfire for several reasons to include the increased probability of ignition for wildfires in WUI areas because most wildfires are human caused.

Grazing Management plans

Colorado and other western states have a rich heritage of sheep and cattle grazing and this legacy continues to be one of the most common uses of both public and private forest land. Grazing if done correctly can have many ecological benefits such as reducing fine fuels for potential wildfires, controlling invasive species, and increasing plant vigor for native grasses which are important to forest structure and function. Grazing management plans, also known as rangeland management plans, are site-specific conservation plans that details a strategy for planned grazing actives where one or more natural resource management concerns are present. Grazing management plans address such topics such as available grazing inventory (forage), rangeland ecology, grazing systems to be used, and monitoring of grazing practices.

Natural resource conservation service (NRCS) Technical service provider (tsp) - coming soon

The NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) certifies Technical Service Providers (TSPs) to work on behalf of customers to offer planning, design, and implementation services for projects that meet NRCS criteria. Services as a TSP will include NRCS Forest Management Plans, Forest Health Improvement,and other related forestry conservation practices.

Private land timber sales

The sale of timber to a logging company allows landowners to generate revenue from their property for a variety of reasons to include funding future forest management or obtaining a return on investment for their property. An independent consulting professional forester has the experience and expertise necessary to appraise the value of timber, designate the timber to be sold to include quantity, the number of acres that will be harvested, compose a timber sale contract, and oversee the harvesting of timber sold to ensure the sale of timber is a fair deal for both the buyer and seller.

Forestry project management- Forestry Mulching (Mastication)

Forestry mulching (mastication) is used to complete the removal/ reduction of brush and encroaching trees like juniper from rangelands, woodlands, and forests with the purpose of achieving improved understory growth, increasing forage, and reducing ladder fuels for potential wildfires. The mechanical grinding or mastication of brush and other wood biomass can be efficient and cost-effective but often requires detailed planning and implementation to be successful. The expertise of an interdependent forester or range management specialist can assist landowners with project planning, project layout to include boundary delineation, selecting a quality contractor, and overseeing contractor performance so that the landowner’s forest/ rangeland management goals are met.

Timber harvesting systems & logging plan design

Timber harvesting is both an art and a science as it has to consider forest ecology both before and after timber harvesting, the type of logging system to be used, terrain factors and limitations, and operational feasibility. A timber harvesting project depending on the size and scope can be a complex endeavor therefore developing a logging plan or timber harvest plan can address such considerations such the equipment most suitable for the timber harvest, design/ layout roads and skid trails, silvicultural prescription, location of landings, number of cutting units, the location of riparian zones where equipment may be restricted, and other special conditions to include seasonal access. The primary purpose of a timber harvest is to generate revenue through commercial timber production but is often used to accomplish forest management objectives at the same time therefore having a written logging plan or timber harvest plan is essential to clear communication between the landowner, forester, and logger that is implementing the timber harvest.