FAQs

Why would I engage your services? 
Because you’re curious about your land, what’s on it, how it got to be the way it is, and/or you want to improve it. Or because you’re involved with planning a property for public access and want to engage visitors. Or because you want highly detailed ground survey of larger acreages. If you know little about the geology, the plants and natural communities, or the site’s land use history my work will get you sorted and up to speed. A county parks director involved with a million-dollar master plan said my work was the best money he spent on the entire planning process.  


What is your fee? 
Reasonable... But I do have to eat and pay health insurance so can’t (often) work for free. I don’t bill for emails like a lawyer, or bill for time when I’m on a mid-week hike thinking about your property. Reach out and we’ll sort out your goals and the specifics of your property and a reasonable fee. The main variables in cost are: 1) size of the property; 2) how deeply you want to dive (i.e. just trees, complete landscape, archives); and 3) the finishing details and quality of the final product (i.e. hardbound book with custom cover art, or something more prosaic).


Is any acreage too large or too small? 
I’ve done projects as small as 3 acres and as large as 4,000 acres. At this point I probably have 20 useful years left until my body quits so if your property is smaller than ~150,000 acres I should be able to fit it in…


Can you give me a list of every plant, rare, threatened, or endangered species? 
I look for patterns and relationships. While I probably know every woody plant in your area (if it overlaps with my area) and many herbaceous plants, I don’t provide strictly botanical surveys. A botanical survey needs a regional botanist and multiple seasonal visits. I provide broader patterns, context, and reasoning behind why the natural communities occur where they do on your property. On a property I worked on in southern Indiana I was part of a group that documented 285 plants over 400 acres; my efforts contributed 66 woody plants and 80 herbaceous plants—good, but incomplete... 


Do you do government projects? 
I don’t do regulatory projects or rare, threatened, or endangered type work. However, I have worked with local governments on park projects, trail projects, forest inventories, and interpretive efforts. I’m keen to work on historical ecology/land use history projects on public lands where the recreating public can learn more about their lands. If there is a lengthy contract involved for which I need a legal interpretation or a bureaucratic procurement process then I’m probably not interested. It’s nothing personal, I’d just rather be in the woods or working with people than sorting contractual details. 

Are you a forester?
I’m not a licensed forester, so do not cruise timber. I can give you a general sense if your woods has timber value (species composition, age class, quality, etc.) and also discuss with you the pros and cons of harvest. The decision to harvest trees should be based on your goals: financial, forest health, and/or aesthetics.


Do you offer other services? 
I’ve done trail plans and layout (trails are then built by volunteers) and recreation planning on lands I’ve inventoried. Once in a while, on very special sites, I’ll do land management work of culling, thinning, and/or planting. I also do interpretive panel design and content, but again, typically on properties on which I’ve already completed some level of inventory. I do programs and these are easy to do on properties where I’ve done an inventory.


Do you do the art on the covers of your reports? 
I recruit Autumn VonPlinsky on projects where botanical or landscape beauty is needed. A hand painted piece is a great way to go. A landowner who is also a fine art collector gets more positive comments on the piece Autumn made for his property than any of their acclaimed works... 


What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen in the woods? 
The list is too long. Every property has something. I found fascinating ancient forest in Baltimore and incredible plant diversity in southern Indiana. I surveyed 35 acres of old farmland in Vermont without a single exotic weed. I found the largest redbud in Kentucky (now overthrown) and Turkish hazelnut in Virginia, and the oldest known dogwood and red oak. I recently found a hibernating bear in an old wolf tree in Virginia—holy grail of forest finds! I learn new things on every project—I’m sure your land has something...