Forestry Consulting Fees and Services in West Virginia

Author： Nelli Dheeraj McGill David W. Arano Kathryn G. Grushecky Shawn T.

Publisher： Society of American Foresters

ISSN： 0742-6348

Source： Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, Vol.24, Iss.4, 2007-12, pp. : 252-257

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Abstract

Consulting foresters in West Virginia were surveyed in the summer of 2005 to document their firms' organizational characteristics, services offered, and fees charged and to examine how firm characteristics may influence the average fees charged for the services. The questionnaire mailed to 127 foresters resulted in a 56% response rate. The most common fee structure is payment by the hour with exceptions for timber-sale administration, where fees were reported most commonly as a percentage of timber-sale revenues, and for forest stewardship plan preparation that is charged on a per acre basis. Timber-sale administration was the most frequently offered service, with an average fee of 12% of the sale revenues. Average hourly fees charged for all services ranged from $30 to 70/hour. The two primary challenges currently reported by West Virginia consulting foresters are the cost of doing business and competition. Firm characteristics such as number of foresters employed, availability of liability insurance, number of clients, type of ownership, and years in business significantly influenced the amount charged for certain forestry services.