Edward F. Travis Consulting Forester- Real Estate Broker

Edward F. Travis Consulting Forester- Real Estate Broker Assisting Buyers & Sellers of Timberland Tracts, Farms and Hunting properties as a Licensed Real E

Specializing in Forestry and Land Sales: Timberland Tracts, Farms, Hunting & Fishing properties and other recreational properties in Mississippi & Alabama.

Getting hard to BEAR with this heat these days. Hydrate your dogs and yourself a day in advance before hitting the woods...
08/15/2026

Getting hard to BEAR with this heat these days.
Hydrate your dogs and yourself a day in advance before hitting the woods.
My days of getting in a creek to cool off in dense thickets are over. Not my age anymore it’s just being old enough to know better.
1st thought should be to make sure you can get back to the truck.
We all have been in places where a Buzzard couldn’t find you so let folks know where you will be.

With Belle Shain Canine Performance & Health – I just made it onto their weekly engagement list by being one of their to...
08/15/2026

With Belle Shain Canine Performance & Health – I just made it onto their weekly engagement list by being one of their top engagers! 🎉

These things happen in the life of a forest.In a recent meeting with a prospective client I stressed that during the gro...
07/11/2026

These things happen in the life of a forest.
In a recent meeting with a prospective client I stressed that during the growth and development of a long term timber stand that mill demand, prices and logger availability changes very quickly and many times during a rotation.
Timber when severed is a commodity like corn or cotton but with much longer crop rotations.
A successful timber sale should be planned when biology is balanced with economics. Fortunately timber doesn’t read the Wall Street Journal or watch the news. Short term thinking and knee jerk decisions in longer term assets can lead to bad results.
Knowing when to hold them or when to fold them sounds like a country song but it’s a reality in the complex forest investment world!

Successful timber sales require planning and coordination. Factors on the tract and external issues off the tract can ha...
02/21/2026

Successful timber sales require planning and coordination. Factors on the tract and external issues off the tract can have major influence.

Knowing the products that you are going to sell and the most probable return from the sale needs to be estimated.

The business and accounting side of a sale is a major consideration. Monitoring results and an accurate accounting of loads, money and contractual conditions is a must.

Consulting foresters work for a client/ principal and perform an important link between the land owner and the logger and timber buyer. Selling timber for a principal is a different function than the timber buyer who works for and is paid by the entity that wants to buy your timber.

Weather, soils type, drainage, topography, mill distances and timing greatly impact the sale prospect. You sell very infrequently so you need to know how things are done in a straight up manner.

Call if you need to discuss your timber sale objectives and opportunities in Alabama or Mississippi.

Ed Travis, RF Ala & Miss
251-408-1467

BMP’s ( Best Management Practices for Forestry) has become more of concern recently. The standard of performance has alw...
02/06/2026

BMP’s ( Best Management Practices for Forestry) has become more of concern recently. The standard of performance has always been for the timber buyer to put roads back into equal or like kind condition as existed before the sale.
These contract provisions do not include anything beyond the good job standard. Some owners try to push the logger to do extra close out work. This has led to led to confusion and semi confrontations.
Good idea to take pre-logging photos of roads, gates and other features which document the before logging condition. This helps to resolve sale issues.
Head bumping seems to be ocurring more these days and it makes life tougher in a stressed timber market.

01/30/2026

Wish my Dad had left me his Sweet 16!

01/22/2026

Thanks to Matt Freeman and others who recently followed this page. Your suppprt is greatly appreciated!

Timber sale management requires planning and setup work. Solicitation of bidders has a lot to do with the markets they s...
01/22/2026

Timber sale management requires planning and setup work. Solicitation of bidders has a lot to do with the markets they serve, a long history of solid performance and accountability during the sale process.

Knowing the product array and the markets that your timber will go to is critical. Hauling distances, road work issues to comply with Best Managmejt Practices and external property issues presented by adjacent owners should also be carefully studied when developing your sale plan. You must think outside your property lines as well as inside in the cut block.

Weather, access, ground conditions, volumes in place as well as the economies of scale that the stand presents in terms of size , grade and volumes have a big impact on how your sale will be viewed by the market.

The structure of your sale agreement as well as getting your accountant to prepare you for long term capital gain treatment can be a major issue.

Most sell timber only a few times during their ownership so it is imperative to do the best you can when each sale is considered.

Loggers are not in the landscape business nor should they be expected to push food plots or do things outside the scope of doing a good job harvesting the timber that their principal has purchased.

Do not go out of the chain of command that is specified in the contract or things can get sideways. Told a high end trial lawyer one time that I would not try to represent myself in a case as I would have a fool for a client. The same applies when he retained me to handle his timber sales which he had no clue about then he had a fool for a consulting forester.

What does a Consulting Forester do?Client ownerships present a wide variety of issues that are presented by legal, econo...
01/05/2026

What does a Consulting Forester do?
Client ownerships present a wide variety of issues that are presented by legal, economic, environmental and physical property issues.
An out of state client inherited some land in Alabama. In this process old drawings, surveys and mineral and subsurface rights varied by parcel that was acquired.
Surface rights that were reserved indicated that mining could be an issue if a prospect materialized. Surprise, surprise!
After making a road trip with him to see the property it appears that the metes and bounds descriptions may show some encroachment by adjoining owners. No painted or hacked lines were evident but the timber line seemed to generally fit an old 1968 survey.
I helped retain a woods surveyor to verify and identify all lines and corners before any timber sale might be contemplated.
Since he inherited the property he needs to get a cost basis study as of the date of the death of the decedent as future timber sales and storms can cause a capital gain or loss to be reported on Fed & State tax returns.
The practice of forestry is based on all factors mentioned early on in this post and many if not most, are unaware of the information needs from a biological and economic standpoint that drive a forest investment.
It’s a know your opportunities advisory business for sure but like Dirty Harry said in a movie “Know your limitations”

Address

Citronelle, AL

Telephone

+12514081467

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Edward F. Travis Consulting Forester- Real Estate Broker posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Edward F. Travis Consulting Forester- Real Estate Broker:

Shortcuts

Share

Category