Do-it-yourself (DIY) has been popular for generations as a way for industrious individuals to develop new skills and save money at the same time. Currently, there are self-help guides for nearly anything one wants to tackle, from stock market trading to major renovations to your home. Those of us who are visual learners can even obtain videos that take us through almost any process step-by-step. The "information age" has blessed us with instant instruction through a variety of media and all of it appears to be "so easy that nearly anyone can do it." How many of you have found that even the best instructions nearly always contain gaps in what you really need to know to complete the job?
Several public agencies and trade organizations are currently working together to develop "Landowner Education" programs that will provide forest landowners with information helpful in scientifically managing their land. Sustainability, stewardship and biodiversity will be the operative words in much of the literature. Hopefully, it will help landowners learn how to assemble the data and information they need to make management decisions, ensuring the long-term good health of their precious natural resources.
You may be reading this publication because you have been involved with a government program or agency. I'm sure the majority of you feel like you know more about your woodlands, streams, wild creatures, etc. than when you first became involved. However, even if you are at the most advanced level of information gathering and training, are you truly qualified for do-it-yourself resource management?
Having reviewed some of the forestry information now available to landowners and being involved in development of timber price reporting targeted at the same group, I am keenly aware that the professional forester/resource manager is still an essential part of any successful management equation. Forestry, or any other resource management discipline, is very complex from both the biological and social perspectives. Messages from the media might lead you to believe that simply preserving what you have is the correct prescription for everything, or that harvesting trees under an even-aged system is not as good as one based on uneven-aged stands. Those of you who have inventoried your property, and worked with a resource professional to develop a plan for a desired future condition, know there is more to the story.
My interest in preparing this article started with a phone conversation with a landowner who had recently sold some very good quality timber. He was calling, after the fact, to determine current price levels for quality trees that had already been harvested. This person was intelligent and motivated to practice good land stewardship. However, he did not seek any professional assistance (public or private) with timber marking, competitive bidding, contracting for harvesting, income tax treatment or follow-up management prior to initiating the timber sale. He assumed he had enough information to successfully make a sale and he had a willing buyer who assured him he was doing things right.
As we talked, he realized he had cost himself current income because he received less than he should have for the timber, and future income because he had not sufficiently designated which trees to cut and which to leave. Unfortunately, this conversation is typical of many I have had with other landowners over the past 30 years who attempted do-it-yourself timber sales.
The cost of a consulting forester almost always will be offset by additional revenues generated through competitive bidding for a specified number or volume of trees. Public agency foresters will also provide free assistance, although you may have to wait several months for their services. All will provide an expertise and understanding associated with the job that a lay person simply will not think of, even with the most complete set of landowner education leaflets. There is also peace of mind for landowners that accompanies the experienced professional forester acting in the landowner's best interest.
Of course, mine is a biased opinion. I'm a professional forester. My colleagues and I spent years obtaining formal education, experience, and expertise in managing trees, wildlife, watersheds and people. This volume of knowledge simply cannot be transferred to a few publications and workshops for landowners in the hopes of generating instant expertise.
Additionally, it is really a partnership. We need each other to get the total job done. You own the resources and have accepted the responsibility for their future value to society through your actions. We have the expertise to most accurately predict the impacts of your actions. Everyone, including foresters, wants you to do a good job. Doing it yourself is probably not the most efficient, or even the least expensive, method of accomplishing good forestry management. You need a forester to help you with that task!