How to Sell Standing Timber on Your Property (And Get a Fair Price)

Most landowners who sell timber without professional guidance leave significant money on the table. The buyers who approach you have a strong information advantage — they know what your timber is worth, and you don’t. This guide levels that playing field.

Environmental Forest Products has represented landowners in timber sales across Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties for more than 30 years. The difference between a managed sale with competitive bidding and an unguided direct sale to the first buyer who approaches often amounts to 30% to 60% of the timber value.

The Timber Sale Process — Done Correctly

Step 1: Timber Appraisal

Before any buyer conversations begin, you need an independent assessment of what your timber is worth. This means a certified consulting forester walks your property, identifies merchantable timber, measures volume, and applies current stumpage prices to produce a valuation.

This is not something a timber buyer can do objectively on your behalf. Their estimate will reflect their interests, not yours. An independent forester works for you.

See our timber appraisal guide for a detailed explanation of what this process involves and what it costs.

Step 2: Harvest Prescription and Marking

If the appraisal confirms significant timber value, the next step is a harvest prescription — a forester-developed plan specifying which trees will be harvested and which will remain.

A good harvest prescription balances:

• Short-term revenue — capturing the value of mature, merchantable trees
• Stand health — removing trees that are suppressed, damaged, or crowded, while leaving the best trees to grow to even higher value
• Residual stand quality — ensuring the remaining stand has good species composition and structure after harvest

A forester physically marks the trees to be harvested with paint. This marking becomes the legally binding specification in the timber sale contract — loggers are permitted to take only marked trees.

Step 3: Timber Sale Prospectus

A timber sale prospectus is a document describing the available timber — species breakdown, volume estimates, sale boundaries, access conditions, and sale terms. It is the document you send to potential buyers to solicit bids.

Henry Kowalec prepares timber sale prospectuses for managed sales and distributes them to active buyers in the Hudson Valley and Catskills region — mills and logging contractors who have bid on previous sales and whose performance history is known.

Step 4: Competitive Bidding

A competitive bid process means inviting multiple qualified buyers to submit sealed bids for the timber. The highest qualified bid wins.

“Qualified” matters as much as “highest.” A bidder who has a history of high-grading, leaving sites in poor condition, or failing to complete contracted work is disqualified regardless of bid price. Henry’s long-standing relationships with regional timber buyers mean he knows which contractors perform responsibly and which do not.

The competitive bid process consistently produces higher prices than direct negotiation with a single buyer — because buyers know they are competing. The difference is typically 20% to 40% over the first offer from an uncontested buyer.

Step 5: Timber Sale Contract

Once a buyer is selected, the sale is governed by a written timber sale contract covering:

• Marked trees only — the contract specifies that only forester-marked trees may be harvested
• Access routes — which roads and skid trails may be used, and restrictions on wet-weather operations
• Sale boundaries — precise boundaries to prevent accidental (or intentional) harvest of trees outside the approved area
• Timeline — completion date for harvest and cleanup
• Post-harvest requirements — water bar installation, road reclamation, slash cleanup standards
• Remedies — consequences for breach, including payment for unauthorized tree harvest

A contract without a forester-marked prescription is significantly weaker. The prescription gives the contract physical enforceability — the trees to be harvested are physically identified.

Step 6: Harvest Oversight

For managed timber sales, Henry provides on-site monitoring during the harvest — confirming that only marked trees are being harvested, that equipment access is restricted to approved routes, and that the logging contractor is complying with contract terms.

Harvest oversight catches problems while they are still correctable. A logging contractor who knows a forester is monitoring the job is far less likely to take shortcuts.

What Your Timber Is Worth: Species Pricing Guide

Current stumpage prices fluctuate with lumber markets. The following ranges reflect approximate current conditions in the Hudson Valley and Catskills region — prices change, and a current appraisal is the only reliable number.

Species	Approximate Stumpage Range (per MBF*)
Black walnut	$400 – $800+
Black cherry	$300 – $600
White oak (sawlog grade)	$200 – $400
Red oak (sawlog grade)	$150 – $300
Hard maple	$150 – $250
White ash (non-EAB affected)	$100 – $200
Red maple	$80 – $150
Yellow birch	$80 – $150
Soft maple, poplar, beech	$30 – $80

MBF = thousand board feet. A large-diameter tree might contain 200–600 board feet. These are approximate ranges — actual prices depend on grade, log length, proximity to mills, and current market conditions.

Common Mistakes in Timber Sales

Accepting the first offer. The first buyer to approach you with an offer has chosen to approach you because they believe they can buy your timber below market. The solution is competitive bidding.

No forester marking. A timber sale without forester-marked trees gives the logger broad discretion about which trees to take. High-grading — taking the best and leaving the rest — is the predictable result. It maximizes the buyer’s short-term return while degrading your forest.

Verbal agreements. Any agreement about timber should be in writing. Disputes about access damage, harvest boundaries, or payment terms are nearly impossible to resolve without a written contract.

Ignoring post-harvest requirements. A logging job that leaves roads rutted, slash piled across streams, and skid trails without water bars creates lasting problems. Post-harvest standards must be specified in the contract before work begins — not addressed after the logger has been paid and left.

Assuming low value. Landowners frequently underestimate the value of their timber because they are not familiar with market prices. Red oak, black cherry, and hard maple in the Catskills and Hudson Valley have genuine commercial value — a woodlot that appears ordinary may contain $20,000 to $100,000 in merchantable timber. The appraisal tells you what you actually have.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Environmental Forest Products represents landowners through the complete timber sale process — from initial appraisal through harvest oversight and post-harvest compliance. Henry Kowalec handles the technical work; landowners receive fair market prices and a well-managed harvest.

Call (845) 754-8242 to schedule a free site visit and timber assessment for your Sullivan, Orange, or Ulster County property.