Costs

As in all relationships with professionals, such as doctors, architects, surveyors, and accountants time is the valuable commodity, so the cost of services is based on time spent with a client. Most private foresters incomes are derived from payments from their clients, basically forest landowners, for time devoted to their forest; typically discussing developing management plans, activities to be accomplished, assessing forest conditions, and managing harvests. Most professional foresters do not provide logging services, and most loggers are not professional foresters, and should not be used to develop management plans.

While the initial contact between a forester and a Tree Farmer may be free, or of nominal cost, time spent advising, educating, developing the management plan, or evaluating plan progress (commonly referred to as “inspecting”) will obviously result in billable services. Some foresters charge by the hour, and some have established fees based on specific services or acreages involved. A fundamental step in a foresters assessment of your forest involves a “cruise” or a walk through of representative areas of your woods to determine tree species, tree conditions, and wood volumes. It is best to discuss costs with your forester early in the process to insure both parties understand what is going to happen, what it will cost, and what the limits are. Small parcels, fewer than 25 acres, are easier to evaluate and write management plans for, and are, therefore, less expensive throughout the process.

Finally, the overall cost of participation in the TF program is generally the cost of dealing with your forester plus a $10/year administrative fee, payable to VWA, for:

	•	Maintaining the state TF database
	•	Maintaining the state forester database
	•	Liaison with the national organization
	•	Providing forester training
	•	Performing administrative duties

For an optional $15/year we recommend a subscription to Tree Farmer magazine, the national quarterly publication available from American Tree Farm System. The magazine has good articles about other Tree Farmers, tax issues, regulations, forestry, and equipment. Vermont Woodlands Association, the Vermont sponsoring organization, is your local source of such information, advocacy in state government, and education. The Committee strongly recommends joining VWA. Costs are dependent on your acreage and membership includes a quarterly newsletter, monthly enewsletter, a subscription to Northern Woodlands Magazine, plus invitations to various interesting and educational activities, such as Forestry School workshops, outings, field days, Project Learning Tree, Walk in the Woods, and others.

	Program Essentials
	Costs
	Benefits
	Pioneer Tree Farm
	Tree Farm Standards
	Forest Certification