Edward F. Travis Consulting Forester- Real Estate Broker

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

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!

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.

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”

12/23/2025

Merry Christmas to all!

09/05/2025

South Mississippi third thin! Leave trees average 14-16” DBH

06/07/2025

100 year old Longleaf being removed to promote natural regeneration while leaving seed trees to create a renewable resource for the future.

04/08/2025

Many land owners have experienced timber loss and damage from tornadoes in Alabama and Mississippi.
Please share this post with your friends, clients and business associates who may have experienced timber damage.
We can assist them in recovery.

Tornado and hurricane events wreak havoc on tracts that are owned primarily for recreational purposes.
Many buyers are remiss in not treating their property also as a business entity by establishing their cost basis in land and timber when they purchase a property.
The chance to salvage lost value after such events leaves the owner is a serious bind as logger availability is poor as they have many options to work in woods that have not been damaged.
Harvesting trees that are snapped off at the crown, ring shake from severe twisting and few saw hands available to cut up blown down trees.
Opening wound courts to attract bug infestation, blue staining and other issues leave little hope of recovery, especially in today’s timber market.
Large industry owned lands might realize some recovery success but the small land owner is usually left to take it on the chin and in many cases it is a ten count.
Casualty loss deductions require an owner to make all efforts to salvage.
We can offer advice and can help you reconstruct your timber basis as that is the foundation for estimating loss for casualty reporting.

04/08/2025

Tornado and hurricane events wreak havoc on tracts that are owned primarily for recreational purposes.
Many buyers are remiss in not treating their property also as a business entity by establishing their cost basis in land and timber when they purchase a property.
The chance to salvage lost value after such events leaves the owner is a serious bind as logger availability is poor as they have many options to work in woods that have not been damaged.
Harvesting trees that are snapped off at the crown, ring shake from severe twisting and few saw hands available to cut up blown down trees.
Opening wound courts to attract bug infestation, blue staining and other issues leave little hope of recovery, especially in today’s timber market.
Large industry owned lands might realize some recovery success but the small land owner is usually left to take it on the chin and in many cases it is a ten count.
Casualty loss deductions require an owner to make all efforts to salvage.
We can offer advice and can help you reconstruct your timber basis as that is the foundation for estimating loss for casualty reporting.

04/07/2025

Finally on target with getting a name change on this page. Hope friends and fans will continue to support the page and the newer Travis Timberlands page.
Please continue to Like and Share my posts!

Thanks so much!