Most landowners in New York have never been told plainly what managing woodland involves, or why doing nothing is itself a decision. This is the session we would give a neighbor over the fence. No jargon, no pitch, and a landowner in the room who has actually been through it.
Free. No sales pitch. A recording goes to everyone who registers, whether you make it live or not.
Seven chapters, about forty minutes, then questions. Artem and Luke are both in the woods most weeks, so this is what they see rather than what a textbook says.
Understanding your forest and why management matters
The plain version of what forest management is, and the difference between leaving woods alone and actively managing them. Why the second one matters more than most people expect.
Why a managed forest holds more game
Cover, browse and edge, and what deer and turkey actually need from a property. The reason two neighboring woodlots can hold very different amounts of game.
What a habitat cut looks like on the ground
Before and after, on real properties, so you can see what is actually being proposed rather than imagining it.
The fear, addressed directly
No, this does not mean clearing your woods. This is the objection we hear most often and it deserves a straight answer rather than a brochure.
Invasives, and what they cost you
Including hemlock woolly adelgid, and what happens to a stand if it is left alone. This is the part that tends to change how people see their own property.
A landowner's story
Ten minutes with Brian Ellis, unscripted. What he wanted, what we found, what got done, and what he would do differently.
Your questions
Twenty minutes, genuinely open. Bring something specific about your own woods.
Artem Treyger
Executive VP, Head Forester
Artem has been working in forestry for more than 20 years, with the last 15 plus years focused on helping private landowners manage their forests. Artem handles day to day business operations while also working in the woods inventorying properties, talking with landowners about what they want from their forest, writing forest management plans, marking timber, and helping put those plans into practice.
SAF Certified Forester. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical Service Provider in Forest Management.
Luke Day
Director of Field Operations
Luke has been working in forestry and natural resource management for the past 6 years, with the last 4 years focused on helping private landowners manage their forests. Day to day, Luke heads all field operations including project scheduling and client relations, while also working in the woods inventorying properties, talking with landowners about what they want from their forest, writing forest management plans, marking timber, and leading teams in project implementation.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical Service Provider in Forest Management. ISA Certified Arborist.
Brian is not a presenter and he is not reading from anything. He is a landowner who has been through the whole arc, and he has agreed to sit with us for ten minutes and answer whatever comes up.
His property is worth hearing about because it covers the range. It started with a woods walk and a conversation about what he actually wanted from the place. Then a forest inventory and a management plan. Then the work itself: timber marking, forest stand improvement, controlling competing vegetation both mechanically and chemically, and tree planting with protection from deer.
Three sessions, all Thursdays at noon. They stand alone, so you can come to one or all three, but they are built to run in order. Registering for more than one is a single form.
Understanding Your Forest and Why Management Matters
What management actually means, why a managed forest holds more game, and what a habitat cut looks like on the ground.
What Is in My Woods, and Is It Worth Anything?
What drives timber value, the high grading trap, and what a management plan is and costs.
What Programs Are Open to New York Landowners Right Now?
Every program side by side, who each one suits, what the paperwork really involves, and what you can stack.
Is it really free?
Yes. There is nothing to buy on the call and nobody will phone you afterwards unless you ask us to.
What if I cannot make it at noon?
Register anyway. The recording goes to everyone who signed up, live attendance or not, and it does not expire.
How long is it?
About an hour. Roughly forty minutes of material and twenty minutes of questions, and we mean the questions part.
Do I need to own a lot of land?
No. We work with properties from a handful of acres upward, and the smaller ones often have the most straightforward options.
Will you try to sell me a timber harvest?
No. Plenty of the properties we look at should not be cut at all right now, and we will say so. That is rather the point of the series.
Can I bring a question about my own property?
Please do. Put it in the box on the form when you register and we will try to work it into the session.