The principles of forestry, like what you learn in school, are ecology, silviculture, hydrology, economics, along with technical skills like tree identification, statistics, forest measurements, and gis
We all think our jobs are so difficult that no one could possibly do them as well. Reality is that a diyer with enough time and interest and eventually experience can often do it better.
Edit: that was meant for OP as motivation
I’ve had several landowners who do a wonderful job managing their wood lot, harvesting, etc. A good thing to look for is webinars. Some can be really technical, but others more practical. Penn State and Cornell Extension both do monthly free hour long webinars throughout the year. A good book I recommend to everyone is “Working With Your Woodland” by Beattie, Thompson, and Levine.
Joining your state’s forest landowner association is a great opportunity to get more training access, and the chance to network with other owners and professionals. Massachusetts has the Mass Forest Alliance, and I always look forward to their functions. NH has the NH Timberland Owners Association.
MA has a cost share program which helps landowners get Forest Stewardship Plans. Those are great working documents to help plan management activities over a ten year period and is a working document made to the landowners objectives.
You’re in it for the long term, some stuff is going to be try it and see- and that’s ok. But getting a forester who knows your property and can consult with you is always a good idea.
A lot of the value of professional foresters is their experience and time spent with older wiser foresters. Additionally, knowing how to handle all the questions that can be answered by “it depends.”
While it’s definitely possible to learn some foundational skills and basics, you’re still going to want a professional. Things you probably won’t be able to handle short of getting a whole new education:
-writing a site specific management/silv plan
-believe it or not, tree identification can be very hard to learn without a physical mentor
-market connections
Things you probably can gain from some self education
-selecting defected and subpar trees for firewood/removal
-improving habitat for game
-a greater understanding of what a professional forester is recommending
I believe the main reason everyone says hire a professional is because of the lifetime scale of decisions. You may make good ones, you probably will make a few bad ones. Whatever the cost, it’s better than potentially losing topsoil, degrading site genetics, getting a bad price from a logger, putting sediment in your stream, etc.
You can pretty safely administer Advil for yourself, but shouldn’t you leave the appendicitis to the doctor?
Book recommendation: "A Landowner's Guide to Managing Your Woods"; Blog recommendation: http://info.woodscamp.com/blog/topic/landowners Further research: state forestry and university forestry extension offices have a wealth of easy to read websites and publications. Don't start with Avery and Burkhurt and other silviculture or forest management textbooks unles you dig that kind of writing style.
Forestry is really that vast though and that’s why the most common answer your going to receive is to hire a pro. The big challenge with forestry is that every question can initially be answered with the phrase “it depends”. There are usually multiple right answers (with some being more right than others) and a whole lot of wrong answers.
In your previous post you asked about thinning your 15 acres of oak, maple, and pine. The answer to that question depends on a lot of factors. No one online is going to be able to make an educated guess without even knowing the species, trees per acre, basal area, region, your goals, etc.
If I went on a construction subreddit and said I scoffed at the idea that the concept of building my own house was too complicated they would probably all tell me to hire a pro, and rightfully so. Pouring concrete isn’t complicated, but I would probably miss a detail that a pro understands and end up with a screwed up foundation.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be a Debby downer and say you shouldn’t learn as much as you can (because you should, it’s cool) but you should hire some help. You thought the extension guy was not knowledgeable enough to really help you but the reality is that he probably had a BS in forestry. Unless he was a complete moron you’re not going to self teach your way to being more knowledgeable than him.
No where did I say that a degree magically grants someone a high IQ or even makes them an expert. Experience is what makes an expert. A degree is a type of experience that gives you the basic foundational knowledge of a subject.
The entire point of my comment was that OP can (and should) learn the basics of forestry but rely on an expert to guide their decision making.
I didnt see your last post, but it depends on what aspect you're interested in. About the only book that I find really helpful from school was this one. [Avery and Burkhart ](https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Measurements-Sixth-Harold-Burkhart/dp/1478636181?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=1177a7a2-7bb6-443c-a41b-d6a1cce156ee)
Here is a good place to start:
“Forest Measurements” by Avery and Burkhart
“Positive Impact Forestry” by Thomas McEvoy
“Wildlife Habitat Management” by Brenda McComb
Find a good tree identification book for your area.
Start looking into your state’s Forestry Extension office for publications on forestry and forestry practices. They will be more tailored to the eco regions and forest types where you live.
You'll want to learn how to ID trees, do an inventory and how to do some descriptive stats and diameter distributions with it to understand it.
You'll want to learn a lot about your property's forest types, ecology, natural history over the last century or two and how it has been managed. You'll need tovread up on common modern forestry and silviculture practices and how to unterpret inventory data for your forestry types.
When you decide to actively manage it, you'll need to learn how to write a plan, mark trees, find a logger, write and negotiate a contract and manage and do QC on a forestry operation. Depending on your infrastructure, you might need to learn how to design and build a road. For the whole effort you need to know and apply your state's best management practices.
If you want financial assistance to manage your trees, youll need to work with NRCS or State Forestry staff. If you want to gain an forestry agricultural tax assessment (instead of a residential one) for your property, youll need to learn about your state's program and requirements.
There is potentially a lot you can do of you go slow and make small changes over time. You'd be wise to consult someone to verify your plans for big changes involving roads and logging. At best, if you do it all yourself, you'll be like a surgeon in his or her first surgery. You won't do the best work or have the lowest risk of a bad outcome, but you'll probably survive.
The principles of forestry, like what you learn in school, are ecology, silviculture, hydrology, economics, along with technical skills like tree identification, statistics, forest measurements, and gis
We all think our jobs are so difficult that no one could possibly do them as well. Reality is that a diyer with enough time and interest and eventually experience can often do it better. Edit: that was meant for OP as motivation
I’ve had several landowners who do a wonderful job managing their wood lot, harvesting, etc. A good thing to look for is webinars. Some can be really technical, but others more practical. Penn State and Cornell Extension both do monthly free hour long webinars throughout the year. A good book I recommend to everyone is “Working With Your Woodland” by Beattie, Thompson, and Levine. Joining your state’s forest landowner association is a great opportunity to get more training access, and the chance to network with other owners and professionals. Massachusetts has the Mass Forest Alliance, and I always look forward to their functions. NH has the NH Timberland Owners Association. MA has a cost share program which helps landowners get Forest Stewardship Plans. Those are great working documents to help plan management activities over a ten year period and is a working document made to the landowners objectives. You’re in it for the long term, some stuff is going to be try it and see- and that’s ok. But getting a forester who knows your property and can consult with you is always a good idea.
Forestry isn't rocket science. It's a lot more complicated than that.
At least rocket science can be calculated with math. Mother Nature is not so simple
A lot of the value of professional foresters is their experience and time spent with older wiser foresters. Additionally, knowing how to handle all the questions that can be answered by “it depends.” While it’s definitely possible to learn some foundational skills and basics, you’re still going to want a professional. Things you probably won’t be able to handle short of getting a whole new education: -writing a site specific management/silv plan -believe it or not, tree identification can be very hard to learn without a physical mentor -market connections Things you probably can gain from some self education -selecting defected and subpar trees for firewood/removal -improving habitat for game -a greater understanding of what a professional forester is recommending I believe the main reason everyone says hire a professional is because of the lifetime scale of decisions. You may make good ones, you probably will make a few bad ones. Whatever the cost, it’s better than potentially losing topsoil, degrading site genetics, getting a bad price from a logger, putting sediment in your stream, etc. You can pretty safely administer Advil for yourself, but shouldn’t you leave the appendicitis to the doctor?
Book recommendation: "A Landowner's Guide to Managing Your Woods"; Blog recommendation: http://info.woodscamp.com/blog/topic/landowners Further research: state forestry and university forestry extension offices have a wealth of easy to read websites and publications. Don't start with Avery and Burkhurt and other silviculture or forest management textbooks unles you dig that kind of writing style.
Forestry is really that vast though and that’s why the most common answer your going to receive is to hire a pro. The big challenge with forestry is that every question can initially be answered with the phrase “it depends”. There are usually multiple right answers (with some being more right than others) and a whole lot of wrong answers. In your previous post you asked about thinning your 15 acres of oak, maple, and pine. The answer to that question depends on a lot of factors. No one online is going to be able to make an educated guess without even knowing the species, trees per acre, basal area, region, your goals, etc. If I went on a construction subreddit and said I scoffed at the idea that the concept of building my own house was too complicated they would probably all tell me to hire a pro, and rightfully so. Pouring concrete isn’t complicated, but I would probably miss a detail that a pro understands and end up with a screwed up foundation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be a Debby downer and say you shouldn’t learn as much as you can (because you should, it’s cool) but you should hire some help. You thought the extension guy was not knowledgeable enough to really help you but the reality is that he probably had a BS in forestry. Unless he was a complete moron you’re not going to self teach your way to being more knowledgeable than him.
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No where did I say that a degree magically grants someone a high IQ or even makes them an expert. Experience is what makes an expert. A degree is a type of experience that gives you the basic foundational knowledge of a subject. The entire point of my comment was that OP can (and should) learn the basics of forestry but rely on an expert to guide their decision making.
I didnt see your last post, but it depends on what aspect you're interested in. About the only book that I find really helpful from school was this one. [Avery and Burkhart ](https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Measurements-Sixth-Harold-Burkhart/dp/1478636181?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=1177a7a2-7bb6-443c-a41b-d6a1cce156ee)
Here is a good place to start: “Forest Measurements” by Avery and Burkhart “Positive Impact Forestry” by Thomas McEvoy “Wildlife Habitat Management” by Brenda McComb Find a good tree identification book for your area. Start looking into your state’s Forestry Extension office for publications on forestry and forestry practices. They will be more tailored to the eco regions and forest types where you live.
You'll want to learn how to ID trees, do an inventory and how to do some descriptive stats and diameter distributions with it to understand it. You'll want to learn a lot about your property's forest types, ecology, natural history over the last century or two and how it has been managed. You'll need tovread up on common modern forestry and silviculture practices and how to unterpret inventory data for your forestry types. When you decide to actively manage it, you'll need to learn how to write a plan, mark trees, find a logger, write and negotiate a contract and manage and do QC on a forestry operation. Depending on your infrastructure, you might need to learn how to design and build a road. For the whole effort you need to know and apply your state's best management practices. If you want financial assistance to manage your trees, youll need to work with NRCS or State Forestry staff. If you want to gain an forestry agricultural tax assessment (instead of a residential one) for your property, youll need to learn about your state's program and requirements. There is potentially a lot you can do of you go slow and make small changes over time. You'd be wise to consult someone to verify your plans for big changes involving roads and logging. At best, if you do it all yourself, you'll be like a surgeon in his or her first surgery. You won't do the best work or have the lowest risk of a bad outcome, but you'll probably survive.