At Timbervest, we thoroughly understand and strongly support the idea that we must manage our forestland investments in such a way as to balance clients' financial goals with the need and desire to preserve our forestlands for future generations.

While our employees and clients know our goal is to maximize returns, they also know it is never at the cost of environmental degradation or unsustainable forestry management. With this in mind, Timbervest has always operated under viable and measurable environmental policies.


What are our policies and how are they measured?

The answer is in three parts:




Timbervest maintains that actions flow from an organization’s core values. Regarding forestry, our strongly held and clearly articulated beliefs based on science, knowledge, and experience are:

• Forests are living, ever-changing, and renewable ecosystems. We assert that biodiversity is necessary for healthy ecosystems and that all stages of forest growth can provide benefits to both society and investors.
• Proper management can provide both exceptional returns and preserve the benefits and beauty of our forestlands for future generations.
• In summary, our values produce a forest management approach that neither exploits (harvests everything and moves to the next location), nor ignores (doesn’t harvest any trees) our forest resources.

At Timbervest, all investment management is directed by qualified professionals. For our professional foresters, every day is Earth Day. Through education and professional experience, foresters are trained environmentalists. They are expected to reflect the highest standards of environmentally responsible behavior in their work. Poor forest stewardship is simply viewed as a breach of professional ethics. Our forestry staff, which consists entirely of university-trained and industry experienced foresters, works diligently to implement our dual goals of forest conservation and effective stewardship.

Our foresters always follow the rules, and our contracts have provisions that require our consultants and loggers to follow them as well.

What are the rules?

Generically, they are known as Best Management Practices (BMPs) and include standards established by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and other groups, as appropriate.

Best Management Practices (BMPs) vary somewhat from state to state and geographic region based on differences in timber types, topography, soils, climate, etc. These guidelines published by state forestry agencies are specifically aimed at the mechanics of forestry operations and the do’s and don’ts for protecting water quality and other sensitive sites. The rules address logging, road building, and other land disturbing practices. The primary focus is to ensure protection of water quality in creeks and streams under provisions outlined in state and federal water quality regulations.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a non-profit organization which promotes sustainable forest management through a broad system of principles, objectives, and performance measures created by experienced foresters, scientists, and conservationists, as well as others involved with the forest industry. It integrates the continual growth and harvesting of trees and the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, and water quality. SFI promotes and encourages the reforestation of forestland. This practice is a proven method to keep forests healthy while allowing for sustainable, positive, long-term growth for future generations. The SFI program is based on the premise that responsible environmental practices and sound business decisions can be integrated to the benefit of all stakeholders including landowners, neighbors, customers, and the general public.

The American Tree Farm System (ATFS) is the oldest non-profit group in the United States committed to sustaining forests, watersheds, and healthy habitats. Founded in 1941, it certifies a diverse set of landowners to the American Forest Foundation’s Standards of Sustainability for Forest Certification (AFF Standards). Landowners must implement a written forest management plan and follow these guidelines to become and remain a certified tree farm. The SFI program recognizes wood from ATFS certified properties as meeting the sustainability standards from well managed forests.

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), an international non-profit organization, also promotes sustainable forestry management and offers certification through independent member organizations established within the applicable country. PEFC US is made up of certification programs through the two previously mentioned organizations: SFI and ATFS.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is another international, independent non-profit group which promotes responsible forestry management through the application of forest management standards. The FSC-US works toward the promotion of these standards in various regions of the United States under guidelines addressing social, ecological, and economic criteria.

At Timbervest, we treat Best Management Practices as the minimum standards in our everyday work, while following guidelines advocated by these various groups. Timbervest is an advocate of forestry certification and works to formally certify its properties under one of the referenced programs where economically feasible. The majority of Timbervest properties are certified or are in the process of becoming certified. We periodically review the remaining properties to determine if they can be certified in an economic manner.

Following these practices helps ensure our adherence to the Federal Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other applicable laws, rules, and regulations. For example, Timbervest took appropriate action when a forest consultant observed the endangered red cockaded woodpecker on one of our properties. At our expense, we changed our logging plan, painted off the site, and informed federal and state officials, who later visited and studied the area to confirm that our management of the tract met federal guidelines for protection of this species.

We are proud of what we do to protect our water, air, and wildlife. Timbervest’s approach also gives extra consideration to special sites such as cemeteries, Indian mounds, and waterfalls located on any of our properties. In addition, we will not invest in areas that do not support sustainable forestry, such as tropical rain forests or in locations where we cannot guarantee the health of the forests in which we operate. Since much of the world does not follow many of the best practices used in the United States, we have chosen to restrict our investments to the continental United States. These rules are not burdens; they are opportunities to show our skills and professionalism. We take pride in the fact that our business model succeeds on a proactive versus reactive strategy in terms of environmental stewardship.

In a successful effort to promote environmental stewardship, Timbervest pays close attention to the biodiversity and wildlife on our forestlands, watercourse crossings, reforestation, and pesticide use. We manage our forestland in a way that recognizes and protects various ecosystems located on and around our forestland. This proactive approach is designed to maintain the land’s biodiversity and the habitat of the wildlife located on our forestland. The land is not the only resource that we set out to protect. Timbervest pays careful attention to the location and installation of any watercourse crossings in order to protect the aquatic wildlife and the natural course of the water. While the natural course of timberland management requires harvesting the trees being grown, the process of reforestation is extremely important to us and to the long-term health of the land. Our timberlands are sufficiently regenerated either by natural regeneration or a quality supply of seedlings that are well suited to the conditions that each forestland offers. As the seedlings grow into mature trees, it may become necessary to use pesticide to prevent the loss of growth or early tree mortality. When pesticides are used, the process is done in a manner that is environmentally responsible and safe for everyone involved.

We will do our utmost to manage our natural resources to fill present needs without sacrificing the needs of the future. We will also continue to reassess better ways to manage our businesses to solve ecological problems, reduce waste, and improve the use of our natural resources.

In conclusion, we agree with and accept the constraints placed upon our management. We operate within both the letter and spirit of the laws to protect our resources for future generations, while at the same time providing exceptional returns for our investors.

We truly believe that appropriately managed, we have the rare opportunity to create a win-win outcome for our clients, ourselves, and most importantly, for our children.