What Starker Forests does

Starker Forests, Inc. is a fifth-generation, family-owned forest management company headquartered at 7240 SW Philomath Blvd., Corvallis, Oregon. Founded in 1936 and privately held without parent or PE ownership, the company owns, grows, and harvests timber across more than 70,000 acres spanning Linn, Benton, Polk, Lane, and Lincoln counties in western Oregon. Its commercial operations center on sustainable timber and wood products — primarily structural lumber from species such as Douglas fir, western hemlock, grand fir, western red cedar, and spruce — sold through direct channels to mills and building-products manufacturers. Annual reforestation runs at approximately 500,000 seedlings planted per year.

The company's underlying technology is conventional forestry practice rather than a software platform: timber cruising, stream surveying, prescribed burning, fire management, and silviculture under Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Oregon Tree Farm System certifications. There is no public API, software product, or proprietary technology stack. Free public recreation access — hunting, hiking, fishing, cycling, and nature observation — is offered through a permitting system issued at the Corvallis office, and is treated as a community/brand asset rather than a revenue line.

Starker Forests' revenue model is hardware_sales of timber and wood products to enterprise buyers (mills and manufacturers), with recreation permits provided free of charge (freemium-style community engagement at zero price). Customer segments are horizontal: enterprise timber buyers and a broad public recreation user base, with secondary engagement through youth organizations (scouts), OSU College of Forestry interns, and K-12 forestry students. Go-to-market is direct, with community events (summer tours, Tree Planting Day), an intern program, and organic social channels forming the public-facing motion. Leadership includes CEO Randy Hereford (appointed 2019) and CFO Nicole Wallace (appointed 2020), operating under Chairman Bond Starker of the third-generation ownership.

Name

Starker Forests

Legal name

Starker Forests, Inc.

Website

https://starkerforests.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1936

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Starker Forests, Inc. is a fifth-generation, family-owned forestry company founded in 1936 that owns, grows, and harvests timber across 70,000+ acres of western Oregon, selling wood products to mills and offering free public recreation access through a permitting system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forestry and Timber Management

NAICS

Forestry and Logging (113), Timber Tract Operations (11311)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Timberland & Forest Asset Management (IMAMAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Timber Tract Operations & Forest Ownership (Timberland) (IMAMAAAA), Timberland Asset Management (Institutional/Private) (AFAMAKAA), Timberland Leasing & Contract Administration (Hunting, Grazing, Recreation) (AFAMAKAD)

Keywords

• Timber harvesting
• Forest management
• Sustainable forestry
• Wood products
• Recreation permitting

Headquarters

HQ city

Corvallis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Timber and Wood Products: Starker Forests grows, harvests, and sells timber and wood products. The company produces structural lumber and wood frame building materials from sustainably managed forests in western Oregon.
2. Recreation Permits: Free recreation permitting system providing public access to forest lands for hunting, hiking, fishing, cycling and other outdoor activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Starker Forests, Inc. owns, grows, and manages more than 70,000 acres of forestland in western Oregon, harvesting and selling timber and wood products (including structural lumber) to mills and manufacturers. The company also provides free public recreation access to its lands through a permitting system and runs educational programs such as summer forest tours, Tree Planting Day events, and a summer intern program.

Product overview

Starker Forests is a fifth-generation family-owned forestry company that operates as a single unified business focused on forest ownership, growth, and management. The company offers forest management services as its core product, complemented by public recreation access permitting, educational programs including summer tours and the Tree Planting Day event, and a summer intern program. The company manages over 70,000 acres of forestland in western Oregon, plants nearly 500,000 seedlings annually, and provides wood products while maintaining forest stewardship commitments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forest Management Services Owns, grows, and manages forests in western Oregon, providing timber products and forest resource stewardship across more than 70,000 acres in Linn, Benton, Polk, Lane, and Lincoln counties. Primary tree species include Douglas fir, western hemlock, grand fir, western red cedar, and spruce.
• Timber and Wood Products Harvests and sells timber and wood products, including structural lumber and wood-frame building materials, produced from sustainably managed forests. Sold directly to mills and manufacturers.
• Public Recreation Access Free recreation permitting system providing public access to Starker Forests' private lands for hunting, hiking, fishing, cycling, and nature observation. Permits are issued at the Corvallis office Monday through Friday until 4 p.m.
• Forest and Mill Tours Free guided forest tours every Wednesday in July and August, including optional Georgia-Pacific Mill tours. Tours involve 1/4-mile walks explaining forest management practices.
• Tree Planting Day Annual tree-planting event established in the early 1990s where youth participants plant seedlings, learn forestry practices, and earn merit badges. The company plants nearly 500,000 seedlings annually.
• Summer Intern Program Annual internship program offering forestry students hands-on experience in forest management, including stream surveying, timber cruising, firefighting, and various field operations.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oregon Department of ForestrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStarker Forests works closely with ODF for fire protection, forest practices compliance, and regulation. The company is part of Oregon's complete and coordinated fire protection system and participates in the West Oregon Protection District.
• Oregon Forest Resources InstituteminorOthersOFRI was created by the Oregon Legislature in 1991 to improve public understanding of forest resources. Starker Forests references OFRI as their go-to organization for forest and forestry facts in Oregon.
• Sustainable Forestry InitiativeminorOthersVoluntary third-party forest certification system that began in the 1990s in response to market concerns about forest management and illegal logging.
• Oregon Tree Farm SystemminorOthersPromotes conservation and growing of forest resources in a sustainable manner on Family Forests. Starker Forests supports this system.
• Oregon Forest Industries CouncilminorOthersTrade association representing Oregon forestland owners and forest products manufacturers. OFIC represents members who own more than 90% of Oregon's private large-owner forestland base. Starker Forests is a member.
• Georgia-Pacific MillminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint tour program where Georgia-Pacific Mill tours are combined with Starker Forests forest tours on select dates, providing education about the complete timber supply chain from forest to mill.
• Philomath High School Forestry ClassminorOthersHigh school forestry students serve as helper tree planting instructors during Tree Planting Day events, paired with youth participants.
• Oregon State University College of ForestryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOSU College of Forestry is a world leader in teaching and learning about forests. Starker Forests employs OSU forestry graduates and hosts interns from the program.
• Society of American ForestersminorOthersProfessional organization of foresters. All foresters at Starker Forests are members of the Society of American Foresters.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hancock Natural Resource Group: Timberland investment management organization (TIMO) managing timberland assets for institutional investors globally, with U.S. Pacific Northwest exposure. Closely comparable to Starker as a third-party/private timberland asset manager, though Hancock operates on a fee-based TIMO model across many clients rather than a single family-owned asset base.
• Molpus Woodlands Group: Timberland management company acquiring and managing timberland assets for institutional clients across the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest. Comparable to Starker as a dedicated timberland asset manager with a long-horizon stewardship focus, though organized as an institutional TIMO rather than a single-family operator.
• Forest Investment Associates (FIA): One of the oldest U.S. TIMOs, managing timberland investments across the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest for pension funds and institutions. Comparable to Starker as a long-horizon timberland asset manager, though structured as an institutional manager rather than a single private family owner.
• Wagner Forest Management: Timberland investment manager and operator managing over 1 million acres of U.S. timberland for institutional investors. Comparable to Starker as a Pacific Northwest-oriented timberland operator and steward; differs by being a third-party TIMO serving outside capital.
• Roseburg Forest Products: Private, family-owned Oregon-based forest products company with timberland ownership, sawmills, and engineered wood products manufacturing in the Pacific Northwest. Highly comparable to Starker as a privately held, family-controlled Oregon timberland/wood products operator with vertical integration into lumber.

Broad incumbents

• Rayonier: Timberland REIT (NYSE: RYN) with ~2.7 million acres in the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest and a specialty cellulose business. Directly comparable in business model to Starker as a timberland-owning operator, but at public-REIT scale and with downstream processing exposure.
• PotlatchDeltic: Timberland REIT (NASDAQ: PCH) owning ~2.2 million acres across the U.S. South, Pacific Northwest and northern Idaho, with wood products manufacturing. Comparable to Starker as a long-duration institutional timberland operator, though far larger and publicly traded.
• Weyerhaeuser: One of the world's largest private timberland owners and a timberland REIT (NYSE: WY) with significant western Oregon acreage and vertically integrated wood products. Comparable to Starker as a large-scale timberland owner/manager, but with public-company scale, REIT structure, and a much broader geographic and product footprint.

Regional players

• Seneca Sustainable Energy: Oregon-based owner of sustainable timberlands and a wood pellet/biomass facility in the Pacific Northwest. Comparable to Starker as a regional Oregon timberland operator with sustainability branding, though focused on biomass energy rather than sawlogs and structural lumber.

Others

• Oregon Forest Industries Council: Trade association representing Oregon forestland owners and forest products manufacturers (members own >90% of Oregon's private large-owner forestland). Relevant to Starker not as a direct competitor but as the principal industry association in which Starker participates and through which its regulatory and policy exposure is mediated.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/starkerforests
• Instagraminstagram.com/starkerforests
• Xx.com/starkerforests

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Starker Forests