NEFCo ADDS ADDITIONAL SERVICES

New England Forestry Consultants, Inc., is happy to announce the establishment of The Maine Forest and Wetland Services Center located in Bethel, Maine.  Donald Murphy has joined NEFCo as the center manager and will be covering Maine as well as other parts of the Northeast.

Donald E. Murphy, Wetland Scientist, recently joined NEFCo as an expert in Wetland Delineation and Environmental Permitting related to Forestry and Land Use practices.  The Maine Forest and Wetland Services Center, in Bethel, Maine provides additional environmental services to the consulting services already provided by NEFCo.  Donald is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire at Durham, with a B.S. in Environmental Studies with concentrations in Forestry and Vocational Education.  In July of 2001, he completed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers course in Wetland Delineation Methodology at the Humboldt Institute in Steuben, Maine.  For the last six years, he acquired extensive Environmental Permitting experience in Wetland, Stream, and Vernal Pool Delineation at Main-land Development Consultants of Livermore Falls, Maine. His responsibilities included Maine State Departments of Environmental Protection, Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, and Land Use Regulation Commission permit applications for involving natural resources.  Federal Environmental Permitting included project applications before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Now, working closely with Maine NEFCo Foresters Don Feeney, Sherm Small, and Fred Huntress; he is presently acquiring his Maine Forester License and assisting forestland owners on natural resource delineation and associated environmental permitting, wildlife habitat management plans, and forest and land use feasibility studies.  He is active in the current field of natural resource impact compensation, forestry related conservation easements, and mitigation banking programs.

Donald is pleased to be assisted by his wife, Sarah S. Tucker, a B.A. in Economics at Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts.  Sarah was a NASD licensed stock broker from 1987 to 2002 and is currently a candidate for a certificate in Geographical Information Systems - Spatial Technology in May 2008 from New Hampshire Berlin Community Technical College.

"NEFCo realized long ago that we need to provide services to our clients that would not normally be considered traditional forestry services.  While traditional forestry is still a very important component of our service menu, and one that we take great pride in, we want to continue  to add to our clients' options.  We do not consider ourselves as just a forestry consulting firm, but as a land management firm.  The addition of Don and the expertise that he brings will allow us to bundle a variety of specialties available to our clients.  Not only do we have foresters on staff, we also have a land surveyor, wildlife biologists, GIS/GPS experts, and with the addition of Don, a wetland and permitting expert," states Tony Lamberton, NEFCo Vice President.

NEFCo is very excited about the addition of The Maine Forest and Wetland Services Center, and are confident that our clients will appreciate our expertise and the high quality service that they have grown to expect from NEFCo.

A WALK IN THE WOODS

Every six months, the foresters of NEFCo meet to discuss our company, make plans for the future, and participate in continuing education classes.  While these meetings are informative and important, the best part of the meeting usually takes place in the evening - after the ordinary business is taken care of.  In the evening, it is not unusual for a number of foresters to relax in a common room and just talk and tell stories of their experiences in the woods.  I was recently reviewing the roster of NEFCo foresters and calculated that we have a combined experience of around 270 years in the forestry business.  Needless to say, 270 years provides for ample opportunities to participate in and witness some unusual happenings.  While time may embellish some stories, most of us have had strange encounters with animals and/or people.  John McClain of the Green Mountain Center recently shared one of his experiences, and I thought our readers would enjoy it.

"About 15 years ago, I was cruising a 400 acre lot in Middlesex, Vermont, for a client who was interested in buying the land.  It was early January and there was about four feet of snow; obviously snowshoes would be necessary.  My assistant and I met at first light and went in opposite directions on the property line with the intent that we would meet at a designated corner at 3 p.m.  I headed down my first line and immediately had to go through an old clearcut that had regenerated to sugar maple saplings as thick as hair on the back of a dog.  It took about two hours just to walk my first line.  My next line went a little better, but I was pushing right along because I was already behind my timeline and wanted to make sure I could meet up with my assistant at the designated time.  As I headed up my third line, the terrain became a cliff that I could not get up.  I walked for hours looking for a break in the cliff that would afford me the opportunity to get up and over it.  Finally at around 3:00 p.m., I found a crack or chimney that I thought I could get up.  The only problem was that a huge red maple had blown over and blocked my path.  As I approached the maple, I quickly realized that there was no way that I could get over the tree.  No problem, I thought, I'll just "dog paddle" my way under it and be able to reach the meeting point, albeit a little late.  I started digging in and got about two feet down when I felt something.  I took one more dig and out popped a huge black paw with some very large claws.  Needless to say, I made a hasty retreat down the hill away from that paw.  By now, it was almost dark, it was snowing and I was soaked.  Understand this was before GPS and cell phones.  All I had was a hand compass and line-of-sight.  I decided to head towards a field that I had seen from the top of the mountain earlier in the day.  After a number of hours of walking, I actually came across a man who was walking his dog.  He got me to a phone and I was able to end my day at around 9 p.m., and no, my client did not buy the tract."

Tony Lamberton

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- Last updated on 19 August 2008-
New England Forestry Consultants, Inc.
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