How Do You Choose a Consulting Forester?

Owning land is fantastic; you can do a lot on that land. You can build apartments and start a real estate business or give to some corporates to run their business or anything you want. However, if you own a forest area, things are not that easy. You can still make money out of it, but you need to get some consultation from professionals before you do something. Why? Because owning forestland is a responsibility, you are responsible for many things, from valuable trees to endangered wildlife. You can find many who offer forestry consulting in Snohomish County, WA, and you need to choose the best one out of them.

Snohomish County is located in Puget Sound, between King County to the south and Skagit county to the north. The county covers about 2000 square miles and is the thirteenth largest county in Washington. The county has 68% of its land area as forest and 18% as rural. About 9% is city/urban, and around 5% of the land is used for agriculture.

If you own forestland, you need expert advice on businesses you can do with the resources available such as timber and other trees, and also to protect the wildlife there. This post will help you find that professional who can help manage the forestland and help you make money out of it.

So, finding a consulting forester is not difficult, but you need to ask some important questions before hiring them.

Important questions to ask the consulting forester:

If they are registered

If a person needs to be involved in forestry, they need to have a valid license from the authority and respective government departments. The forest registration statutes may vary per state, but they still need to have those papers to prove their credibility. If the person is not registered, you shouldn’t hire them.

Credentialing consulting foresters

Different states have different licensing statutes, and the forester has to meet those criteria before becoming a full-fledged forester. In addition, the Society of American Foresters certifies foresters with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from one of the 50 forestry programs in the US. 5 years of qualifying professional experience after the examination is a must before they start their practice on their own.

Educational Qualification

Every profession requires you to be educated to a certain level. Some ask for primary education like high school certification, some for a bachelor’s degree, and some for post-graduation. As mentioned previously, you need a bachelor’s degree to become a forester. But not just any bachelor’s degree. It would help if you specialized in any of these subjects:

Biology
Forestry
Natural resource management
Environmental science

A bachelor’s degree in these subjects or a few other related fields is enough to get the certification. You can find a forester with these qualifications for forestry consulting in Snohomish County, WA.

The average temperature of Snohomish county ranges from 75°F in July to 33°F in January. This climate is good for working in the forest; an experienced and knowledgeable forester will know this.

Membership in a professional association

Professionals have memberships in different associations, which is a part of their profession. And you will find very few people who don’t belong to any association and usually have their (own) work ethics and policies.

The forester must have a membership in any of the following associations: