Growing valuable timber is about more than yields—it’s about stewarding complexity. We approach timber management as both an ecological and an economic challenge, using thoughtful silviculture to strengthen stands, grow higher-quality logs, and build forests that are more resilient to storms, pests, and market shifts. The result is woodlands that steadily increase in both financial and ecological value.
Leaders in High-Value Silviculture
Forests of the Northeast are both ecologically and economically complex. Dozens of species produce a wide variety of timber products that vary from site to site. The most valuable forests arise from management strategies that embrace this complexity rather than simplify it. At Pekin Branch Forestry, we combine practical forestry with innovative research to refine silvicultural techniques, economic frameworks, and decision-making tools that improve outcomes for landowners and for the land itself.
Our work extends beyond daily practice into projects that push the field forward:
Financial Engineering — Developing better financial models for forest planning, including ways to account for the true cost of capital.
Market Analysis — Studying long-term timber market dynamics to inform better planning and investment.
Growth and Yield Modeling — Building AI-driven models that more accurately represent multi-aged, mixed-species forests than conventional tools allow.
Forest Simulation & Optimization — Designing a neighborhood-scale growth simulator to project outcomes under irregular management and identify strategies for long-term value production.
Silvicultural Rehabilitation — Improving recovery in high-graded stands with better prescriptions and tools that reduce tree-marking costs.
Logging Cost Analysis — Evaluating costs and residual stand impacts to make silviculture more economically efficient and sustainable.
Bringing Care and Attention
While we pursue innovation in the office and through research, the most important work still happens in the woods. Timber management is ultimately realized tree by tree, stand by stand. Our role is to bring the same rigor and curiosity we apply in our research into the field—designing and overseeing harvests, marking with care, negotiating fair contracts, and ensuring the forest is left healthier and more productive.
What distinguishes our timber management is this blend of scientific insight and practical stewardship. By looking closely at each forest’s complexity, we help landowners grow high-quality logs, increase long-term returns, and build forests that remain resilient for generations to come.