Timber Cruising and Appraisal
Timber cruising and inventory inform most forest management decisions. We provide a high volume of this work, driven by the demand for this critical information.
In our timber cruising, we implement a sampling design to accurately capture the variability of the timber stand based on its forest structure and terrain. The goal is to be accurate for the stand’s log production value, often by achieving a sampling intensity that provides a statistically significant estimate of the resource products, which gives a scientific basis for confidence in the evaluation.
Sampling design does not replace experience, it sharpens it. On most stands we have a close estimate of the volume before the cruise begins, and the sampling confirms and refines it. How close depends on the situation and the difficulty of the stand. Alongside the sampling, we rely on our experience to form complete assessments. The consideration of hidden defects, logging production, and damages is critical for accuracy.
Timber cruising requires knowledge and application of the Forest Practices Act, while the appraisal process involves all known factors that influence the valuation of standing timber. Evaluations are done as a management tool for the landowner to make informed decisions, without the strict professional standards demanded of an appraisal.
We have carried out extensive inventory, timber cruising, and carbon measurement for industrial clients across a range of purposes: internal management, acquisition, sale preparation, and timber preparation. This work spans tens of thousands of acres of varied ground.
We have experience in the evaluation and manufacturing of a wide variety of log products available to the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Idaho and Alaska:
- Long and short transmission poles
- Export grades
- Veneer and oversize
- Domestic sawlogs
- High-elevation stands and pine forests
- Western red cedar and coastal redwood
- Hardwoods
- Difficult and problematic pieces of high disease, defect, and utility
