Financial Optimization
Forest Econometrics is where forestland owners and managers come to gain financial optimization understanding. Forestland physical site characteristics gain clarity in economics. Forestlands grow trees, with some sites being more productive than others. We use technologies to gain a firm understanding of what ‘productivity’ means for all resources of the land. This is where forestland financial optimization is discovered. We make actionable guidance to achieve forestland ownership goals.
Timber
Commercial forestlands are located in market areas where timber logs are bought and sold in competitive markets. Whether forestlands are on highly productive, or marginally productive lands, they are financially supported by the landowner. Private and corporate landowners pay property taxes, maintenance fees, forest health management, and planning. This is where we focus attention.
Non-Timber
Forestlands produce more than just logs to be milled into lumber, chipped into pulp, or burned for heat. Forestlands are part of the landscape. They protect soils, filter precipitation as it flows as river water. Precipitation serves as part of wildlife habitat. Forests sequester Carbon in the tree stem, roots, branches, and needles/leaves. Forestlands also provide aesthetic beauty for people to enjoy and feel the sense of continuity.
Forestlands have served as part of indigenous peoples’ culture since time immemorial. They have always served partly as protection barriers, partly as fuel sources, and partly as the anchor to spiritual ethos. Forestlands, with rivers, mountains, valleys, fish and wildfire, define indigenous norms and traditions.
Advanced Analysis Techniques Delivered to Your Forestlands
Tree characteristics are each unique. Today we discover how
- trees,
- wildlife,
- birds,
- fisheries,
- aquatic systems,
- soils,
- water,
- indigenous traditions and norms, and
- livelihoods of all people of the region are interrelated.
All forest ecosystems have a temporal as well as a spatial dimension. Forest ecosystems, generate wood production, create habitat and recreational values. They continue indigenous population traditions and norms while providing wildlife habitat. To a large degree these depend on the underlying ecosystem structure. This is made more specific especially on its micro-structure. Ecosystem managers collect specific data to help guide activities on the land. Much of these data are collected with timber production as the primary goal. But, this can eclipse these targets to embrace so much more.
This is what we do
Forest Econometrics defines the focus of finding value in the forestland investment. In these terms, VALUE, comes in many forms:
- Traditional forest products harvested from the landscape,
- ‘Value’ of carbon sequestered in growing trees,
- Realization of anadromous fisheries productivity linked to their natal spawning habitat,
- Wildlife habitat enhancement for primary and secondary purposes,
- Recognition and enhancement of indigenous traditions and norms,
- Creation and sustainability of the livelihoods of all people of the region.
Neil Raden, analyst and consultant at Hired Brains said, “the ‘users’ of these tools are increasingly people who are one or even two generations younger than those of us who started this party. They will not tolerate the quality of the legacy tools. Their experience is not in enterprise software, it’s the consumer web, where things are engaging and actually work …” FRASS is one of these solutions. It is geared to move data into an operational status for people to make decisions. Sharing it with co-workers, clients, and investors makes it actionable.
Now let’s do it!
A Fresh Look at Your Familiar Forest Resource
To capture this broad canvas, we create technologies blended with traditional forest management techniques. The strategies we carry forward have sustained the test of time and reason. This aids resource managers in the task-at-hand. We use a combination of new technologies to articulate forestland resources:
Your Forestlands, Your Data
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Spatial polygons to indicate roads, streams, features, and habitat.
- Digital raster imagery collected from traditional techniques and up to date collection of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surface features at resolutions greater than 1 meter per pixel.
- Aerial photography.
- Satellite image collection from a broad span of spectral layers capturing visual and hyper-visual images of the features of the earth.
- Forest Biometric processes modeling forest vegetative activity using species, habitat types, age, density, position on the landscape, and forest health vegetative responses, modeled through years, decades, and centuries into the future.
- Forest Econometrics application of the microeconomy and macroeconomy to realities of individual forestland owners and the markets they are a part of.
Online Access to Discover New Opportunities
These features are tools in the work-belt of the professional resource manager. Professionals seek the highest financial returns from their forestland investment. These are the tools we apply in the Forest Resource Analysis System Software (FRASS) platform. The approach is presented on this web domain (http://forest-econometrics.com/). But the operational platform is running on real Pack Forest properties, managed by the University of Washington.
Dr. William Schlosser of D&D Larix, LLC, is the originator of the FRASS program. The program’s input design, econometric processing algorithms, and report deliverables give clear view to management professionals. The platform is applied to forestlands owned by people, companies, Indian tribes, and governments. The secure site sequesters physical site conditions of the properties evaluated, allowing access only to authorized people.
We give interested clients a tour of the FRASS demonstration site. Access to the online site after the tour gives individuals time to experiment and examine. Users discover how this helps to guide activities on specific forestland properties.
Welcome to the Forest-Econometrics web site! Here, visitors learn about the FRASS platform, what it does, and how these solutions work into your forestland management plans. THIS is the new technology you want in your arsenal of tools to apply to your forestland investment. Read through this site, explore the tools we make available. When you are ready, contact us to schedule your no-cost virtual tour through the FRASS Demonstration Site.
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