Fees and Services Of - Mississippi State University

1 BYChristopl Dr. Ian A. MunnFees and ServicesOfMississippiConsulting ForestersFEES AND SERVICESOFMISSISSIPPI SCONSULTING FORESTERSbYChristopher C. WatkinsGraduate Research AssistantandIan A. MunnAssociate ProfessorForestry DepartmentMississippi State University , MS 39762 TABLE OF CONTENTSList of Tables..3 INTRODUCTION ..5 METHODS.. 5 RESULTS ..7 ConsultantCharacteristics ..7 ConsultantServices .. 7 FeesforIn-houseServices .. 9 ForestManagementFees .. 9 TimberSaleAdministrationFees .. 10 Site Preparation fees (except chemical) ..11 Regeneration fees ..12 Chemical Treatment fees ..12 FeesForMiscellaneousServices..13 Game Management fees ..15 fees for Related Services ..16 Sub-Contracted Services ..18 Supervisory Feesfor Forest Management and Timber Sale Administration.

2 18 Supervisory Feesfor Site Preparation(except chemical) ..19 Supervisory fees for Regeneration..20 Supervisory Feesfor Chemical Treatments ..21 Supervisory fees for Miscellaneous Services ..22 SupervisoryFeesforGameManagement ..24 Supervisory fees for Related Services ..25 SUMMARY..27 APPENDIX A ..28 CoverLetter .. 28 Survey Instrument..29 LIST OF 8 Table Consultant Feesfor Long Term Management Marking 13 Table 17. Forestry Consultant fees for Chemical Timber Stand Improvement (injection).. Boundary Pre-commercial 15 Table Consultant Feesfor Game Management Plan 15 Table 27. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervision and Implementation of Hunting Property 17 Table 35.

3 Forestry Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted Timber 18 Table 36. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Mechanical Site 37. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-contracted Windrowing (shear and pile)..19 Table Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted 19 Table 39. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Site Preparation 20 Table 40. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Machine 20 Table Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted Hand Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted Chemical 21 Table 43. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Chemical 21 Table 44.

4 Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Chemical Timber 45. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Boundary Line 22 Table 46. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Boundary 22 Table Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Prescribed 2 2 Table 48. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Fireline 49. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Fireline Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted 23 Table 51. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Timber Stand 23 Table 52. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Game Management Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Game Habitat 4 Table 54.

5 Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Implementation of 55. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Food Plot Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted Land 25 Table 57. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Real Estate 25 Table 58. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Expert Witness Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted Estate 25 Table 60. Forestry Consultant fees for Supervising Sub-Contracted Taxation Consultant Feesfor Supervising Sub-Contracted Forest 264 INTRODUCTIONT here are 242 consulting foresterscurrently registered in Mississippi ( Mississippi Board of Registration forForesters 1998).

6 These individuals are animportant resource for non-industrialprivate forest (NIPF) consultants provide Services toNIPF landowners that enhance themonetary and non-monetary benefitsderived from forestland. Manylandowners are unaware of the benefitsthat a consulting forester can landowners may feel that forestersdo not understand their forestlandobjectives, that forestry practices can besuccessfully implemented withoutprofessional assistance, or that employinga consultant is not worth the benefitsreceived (Autry 1996). However,consulting foresters are trainedprofessionals that improve the quality andquantity of products and servicesgenerated from forestland. Numerousstudies have identified the benefits ofprofessional forestry advice.

7 Timberharvests conducted with professionalassistance had less timber removed, moreregeneration, and received higher pricesfor stumpage than those withoutassistance (Bullard and Moulton 1988;Cubbage and Hodges 1986). On average,the increased sale price generated byconsulting foresters is at least equal to theconsultant fee (Munn and Rucker 1994).When consulting foresters are involved,the residual stand typically has greatertimber volumes and is in better conditionafter the timber sale (Hubbard and Abt1989).Consultant fees are importantcriteria landowners need to consider whenchoosing a forestry consultant (W atts1996). In addition, many landowners arenot aware of the broad range of servicesforestry consultants provide.

8 Thisinformation has not been available beforein paper summarizes the resultsof a 1996/1997 survey of Mississippi sconsulting foresters . The survey solicitedinformation about consultant-providedservices and associated fees . Thisinformation benefits landowners byidentifying available Services andestablishing reasonable cost , this information will assistprofessional consulting foresters set theirfee schedules by providing an estimate ofcurrent market prices for forestry foresters practicing inMississippi were surveyed to determinethe range of forestry Services they provideto Mississippi landowners and typical feesfor those Services . Using the 1995 and1996 Rosters of Registered foresters ofMississippi and the 1994 Directory for theAssociation of Consulting foresters (ACF), 234 individuals were identified asconsulting foresters who providedservices in Mississippi .

9 Forty-one ACFmembers and 103 registered foresters ofMississippi - listed as consulting forestersin the Rosters - were included. Inaddition, 90 registered foresters listed asforester, self-employed or otherambiguous designation in the Rosterswere also included. Any duplicate listingswere eliminated. Seventy percent of thesubjects were from Mississippi , 18% werefrom Alabama, and the remaining 12%were from Georgia, Louisiana, Florida,Texas, Tennessee, or mail survey instrument wasdesigned based on Dillman s Total Design5 Method (1978). The instrument was athree-page survey intended to determinebackground information and general feescharged to landowners by consultingforesters for a range of Services (seeAppendix A for survey).

10 The first sectionwas designed to determine keyinformation about the consultants background and experience. Subjectswere asked to report years of experienceand membership in professionalassociations. The second sectionconsisted of a list of Services commonlyoffered by consulting foresters inMississippi. Respondents were asked toindicate whether they provided the service in-house ,sub-contracted the service, ordid not offer it. Consultants were thenasked to report their standard rates forthese Services based on three differenttract size classes: less than 100 acres,between 100 and 500 acres, and greaterthan 500 acres. Standard rates weredefined as fees normally charged undertypical conditions and circumstances inthe consultant s area.