Wagner Lumber opinions

[The Engineer]

I am thinking of doing some selective harvesting on my property. I have a lot of Ash, Hard Maple and a few cherries. I am out of the quarantine area so it is no issue there.

I have been getting numbers from contractors which all are about the same and the split 50/50 has been the same.

Finally Wagner Lumber came over and the number is a little better in my favor and they seem to be a little more wood management friendly. Has anyone dealt with them? or does anyone have a contractor who will do the right thing with my land. I do not want a place that looks like a war zone when they are done. I can make good money with only 2 % of my woods getting harvested and keep the woods healthy.

I love my land and I want to make it better, not just take the money and run.

Please let me know what you have experienced if you worked with Wagner or any other. Also any questions I should ask.

ANYTHING this is not a project that can be reversed.

[growalot]

When we had ours done it was 60/40...our favor and they paid the trucking....cut down the tops and did all road and landing repairs...but We had several bidders come out all marked the trees with different colored paint...I had two "test" trees they needed to calculate board footage right then and there....amazing the difference in #'s between estimators...Wagner was one of the bidders...we didn't go with them but they weren't on the low end...we also had the DEC come out to give an opinion on the tree marking....We did not sell on the stump...I knew what we had in timber and went with cut and bid....Doing this increased our bottom line because I knew we had Veneer quality logs....which takes you from pennies to dollars per board foot...trees were cut stacked at landing and the cutters brought in bidders....Canada buyers gave us the best price

[nyslowhand]

....cut down the tops and did all road and landing repairs...

They can literally destroy your property if you don't protect yourself.

When I do it again I'm going to be more concerned with getting a list of their last 10 customers than a few $100 more.

[max3]

They can literally destroy your property if you don't protect yourself.

When I do it again I'm going to be more concerned with getting a list of their last 10 customers than a few $100 more.

Excellent point ! !

[growalot]

Yes they can really cost you $$$$ down the road if your not right on top of things....IE the property we bought was logged years before we got it....and it will be many years before we can do it again...I had the DEC walk that as well ...because of the damage I saw....they couldn't believe how bad it was...the foresters own words.."You get some standing tree damage ...but No Way should 40% of your remaining timber be gouged!"...All those gouged trees...rotting...You need to let them KNOW...you are watching and I took pics ..actually video o the woods before they started...and let them know I did...also requested a small skid steer to be used

[growalot]

Also...trees should have a mark close to ground level....that way you know what they are cutting....trees can easily be stolen if they think you won't notice or count stumps