Forest Restoration

A typical log sorting yard. Here we sort logs for their best use and value. Watershed Consulting typically receives twice as much value per load of logs relative to most loggers. This is due to our value-added techniques and creative marketing strategies.

Services Offered:
Forest Ecologic Integrity Assessments
Sustainable Land Use Planning
Fire Hazard Reduction
Wildlife Habitat Improvements
Tree Thinning and Pruning
Reforestation
Timber Inventory
Light-On-The-Land Logging
Forest Products Marketing
On-Site Custom Lumber Milling
Prescribed Burning
Weed Control
Forest Restoration Training & Seminars

Watershed Consulting leads the way towards true ecological and economically sustainable forestry. Our light-on-the-land equipment ensures sustained forest ecological integrity and productivity. We bridge the gap between current ecological concepts and on-the-ground forest practices.

A low level of mechanization keeps workers, not machines, in the woods. We use a four-wheel drive farm tractor with a winch and 165 feet of cable. Note the tree guard on the right.

Our specialty is forest restoration, meaning we enhance forest integrity, and when feasible, turn out forest products. Forest Restoration includes restoring and maintaining natural forest processes, promoting appropriate native species, enhancing stand structural diversity, increasing tree vigor, decreasing fire hazard, enhancing wildlife habitat, and enhancing over-all forest integrity.

We not only write forest management plans, we do the work as well. There is no gap between forester and logger. We emphasize sustainable forest use, light-on-the-land logging, value added techniques, and resourceful product marketing. We promote rural job opportunities and economic stability by utilizing low-level mechanization that puts people to work in the woods instead of machines.

Watershed Consulting is dedicated to applying and teaching ecologically and socially responsible forestry methods that restore and sustain long-term forest use and vitality. We offer classroom and on-the-ground training to landowners, agency personnel, or any interested party.

Wind-throw salvage is rough doing, but worth the effort.

We can't turn you into a forester overnight, but we can provide you with basic knowledge and skills in sustainable forestry practices.

We prefer to take a long-term approach to restoration. Providing our services on a multi-year schedule has been the most successful approach, and has several advantages:

• A long-term approach is both aesthetically, ecologically and economically less offensive.
• Multiple visits give us the opportunity to learn the complexities of your forests, riparian areas, wetlands, ponds and streams. Best management is often based in familiarity.
• As the years go by, we can refine restoration techniques by identifying and monitoring successes and failures.
• Restoration activities can be modified if your goals and ideas for the land change through time.