Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: How are ACF foresters compensated for services?
Answer: 
Fees are charged in a variety of ways. Fees for management plans, timber inventories, and timber
appraisals are typically based on an hourly rate or daily rate, but a lump sum fee may be negotiated
for a completed project.
Fees for timber sales may be a commission based on the revenue received from the timber sale. They may also be based on an hourly or daily rate. This is typical of smaller sales and thinnings. A combination of commission and hourly fees may be charged in some cases.
All fee schedules are independently developed by individual foresters or firms and vary from firm to firm.
Q: Will an ACF forester buy my timber?
Answer: No! An ACF Forester will never buy your timber. Membership in the organization precludes an ACF member from having any interest in a wood utilizing business. They may be employed by a wood buyer or wood using firm to inventory or appraise your timber as a part of services offered to the general public, but they will not do so on any tract where they have been engaged to represent the interests of the landowner.
Q: How large does a forested area have to be to have a timber sale?
Answer: This depends somewhat on the size and types of products on the tract. Small, lower value products, such as pulpwood, usually require larger areas to comprise an economically viable purchase for a logger. While not a hard and fast rule, 10 acres is a guideline for a minimum size sale area of pulpwood, but 20 acres or more is desirable. In some cases, 10 acres may be too small.
For large diameter trees, merchantable as high quality sawtimber or veneer logs, with high volume per acre, a logger might move in on a piece as small as 5 acres, but 20 acres will usually attract more competition and higher prices. These guidelines vary from market area to market area across the state.Q: Can I sell trees in my yard or on my small lot?
Answer: Generally, trees in residential areas are not sold to loggers. Their insurance does not cover hazards such as trees damaging houses, fences, driveways, etc. Most logging operations are designed to harvest large volumes from forested settings, rather than individual trees from urban settings.
If you have yard trees to remove, you should contact your local arborist. Check our links page for contacts.
Q: Wouldn’t I be better off just dealing with a logger or wood buyer that I already know?
Answer: University studies show that landowners who utilize a consulting forester to assist them in the sale of their timber receive more net revenue from the sale, after paying consulting fees, have less wood actually cut, and suffer less environmental damage, than those who “do it themselves”. ACF consultants adhere to a set of professional and ethical standards as a requirement of membership. The ACF designation is your assurance of quality.
Q: How would a forest management plan help lower my property taxes?
Answer: If you live on your property, or have owned it for more than 4 years, and it includes at least 20 acres of forestland, you can submit a forest management plan prepared by a registered forester and apply for “current use tax treatment” under forestry use. Depending on tax rates in your county, this tax treatment may significantly lower your property taxes.
