Buying land, who do I contact for selling some of the trees?

[bill m]

Most of the time forest trees do not do well after they have been worked around.

I would agree if they were given no forethought or consideration, but seriously disagree otherwise.  How else other then at great expense or waiting a lifetime could you incorporate mature desirable trees into the landscape? If care is taken, forest trees will thrive.

Yes, you have to take into account what you need to do to protect the trees you want to save.  Sometimes even working a few hundred feet away from the trees you want to save can impact them. I have seen where changing the slope / grade of land will change the amount water the tree receives. Sometimes a lot more water and sometimes a lot less. This type of damage may not show up for 8 to 10 years after the work was done.

[optycal]

All excellent advice. Thanks very much to everyone who has taken the time to put in your two cents. I appreciate it!

You need to have a professional forester look at your property and access the timber values in relationship to your home site . On the other hand the septic designer may have been around long enough with experience to know that your trees may have some value.

Contact the local conservation district forester, DNR service forester, extension forester, or a professional consulting forester to look at your timber and advise you on how best to meet yout timber management objectives in relation to your home site. A professional consulting forester may be contacted at www.acf-foresters.org to see if there is one near you. There are several in the state of Washington. The forester can also access the favored tree species to retain in your landscape.

YES! Our designer has been around for almost 40 years and is well-known and respected in this particular area. He costs a little more than the other guys, but he is a super nice fella with great advice. He's done a good job trying to fit our needs with the limitations we have (money included--he gave me a hell of a discount because of my daughter's serious health condition and the fact I have no medical insurance. Bless his heart!)

THANK YOU for the link. I'm going to contact the Washington folks listed there and see if we can get someone out to take a look for us. That was exactly what I was looking for!