Consulting

Because we have a wide range of capabilities (mensuration, silviculture, growth and yield, inventory, timber management) and a good understanding of how the forest industry works, we have been tasked over the years with developing proprietary models, evaluating trade-offs between management objectives, and other projects that were more difficult than the average consulting job. We relish such projects! A few of the many projects we have done include developing weight, volume and taper equations, conducting harvest schedules, developing log settlement spreadsheets for specific timberland owners and mills, estimating hardwood log values, wetlands mitigation tract valuation, teaching customized short courses, review of proprietary models, resolving “cut out” issues, developing stand yield model and tree volumes for Eucalyptus in Africa, developing strategies or management regimes for combining timber and wildlife objectives, evaluating the trade-offs of managing for timber and pinestraw, evaluating tree length logging to a fiber top vs whole tree chipping for different stumpage rates, evaluating stumpage price effect on decision to manage for bioenergy or timber management objectives, developing updated stand yields and mean annual increment (MAI) values, and more.

Consulting

Barry Shiver, President of Smarter Forestry, serves as President of the Georgia Chapter of the Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF).

Because we completely understand the forestry industry we have been tasked over the years with some difficult projects. Some examples of other work we have conducted over the years are noted below:

Developed organization specific weight, volume, and taper equations to provide better estimates of volumes and values from inventory data
Reviewed the information system and harvest scheduling system for organizations and provided recommendations for improvement
Developed log settlement spreadsheets for use in working up hardwood log values from multiple species and grades delivered to a mill
Valued timber on wetlands mitigation tracts at time of mitigation initiation and change over time
Evaluated specific stands for proposed silvicultural treatments including clonal and flex stands, fertilization, and woody release and developed estimates of value added by treatment
Taught customized short courses on topics specific to organizational goals and objectives
Reviewed internal models developed by organizations and compared them to outside models with recommendations for improvement
Investigated and discovered causes for wood harvested not matching estimates of wood from inventories (not “cutting out”)
Estimated value of timber harvested illegally from a "stump cruise"
Developed stand yield model and tree volume models for Eucalyptus in Africa
Evaluated trade-offs between managing for wildlife objectives and managing for timber and financial objectives
Estimated value of proposed harvest by tree length logging to a fiber top for one price per ton vs whole tree chipping with a different price per ton to determine the choice with highest returns to the landowner
Evaluated stumpage price effect on decision to manage for bioenergy or timber management objectives
Evaluated effects of not including stopper heights on sawtimber trees on inventory estimates
Developed updated stand yields and mean annual increment (MAI) values for use by credit organizations in issuing lines of credit to organizations

Call us if you have a project that seemingly has no solution!

Experienced. Objective. Tailored. Punctual. Smarter.

Smarter Forestry

Smarter Forestry, lead by CEO Barry Shiver, is a forestry management company that delivers Silvicultural Prescriptions and Audits, Forest Inventory, Inventory Updates, Forest Level Planning, Third Party Services, Financial Analysis, Forestry Consulting, and CFE classes. At Smarter Forestry , we help clients make better, smarter, decisions based on their individual objectives. Our unique skill sets combine silviculture, inventory, and growth and yield, along with the ability to really listen, to help us help you make better decisions.