Southern Maine Forestry Services
Southern Maine Forestry Services is a privately held consulting forestry firm in North Windham, Maine, employing 5 licensed foresters who manage ~100,000 acres of timberland for ~800 private, corporate, conservation, and government clients across Maine and New Hampshire.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1981
- HeadquartersWindham, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Southern Maine Forestry Services does
Southern Maine Forestry Services (SMFS Inc.) is a privately held, founder-owned consulting forestry firm headquartered in North Windham, Maine, founded in 1981 by Rene Noel, Jr. The company delivers professional forestry services — timber sale administration, forestry consulting, land management, invasive species and hardwood control, and logger contracting and negotiation — to private non-industrial forest landowners (its primary segment), corporate landowners, land trusts, municipalities, and water districts across Maine and New Hampshire. A team of five licensed professional foresters (including the founder) manages approximately 100,000 acres for around 800 clients, applying tree-by-tree silvicultural marking, GIS/GPS mapping, and licensed pesticide application (including a Kubota UTV-mounted mistblower) as core technical methods.
The business operates on a hybrid professional-services revenue model: hourly billing for consulting and timber cruise work, percentage-based fees on administered timber sales (logger contracting, marketing, and mill negotiation), and recurring monthly retainers for ongoing land management. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set engagement by engagement. Distribution is exclusively direct — licensed foresters meet landowners on-site, source clients through professional affiliations (Association of Consulting Foresters, Society of American Foresters, American Tree Farm System) and content marketing (website articles, twice-yearly newsletters, a Facebook page), and book appointments through phone and email inbound channels.
Ownership remains concentrated with founder Rene Noel, Jr., who is still actively practicing; Chip Love (joined 1999, licensed 2001), Erik Grove, and Nick McDougal (joined 2014) round out the technical team. The firm has no external investors, no subsidiaries, no app, and no API; its strategic moats rest on tenured licensed talent, an accumulated logger-performance database for buyer matching, and the fiduciary ethics required of ACF membership.
Southern Maine Forestry Services firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Southern Maine Forestry Services
- Legal name
- Southern Maine Forestry Services
- Website
- https://someforest.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1981
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Southern Maine Forestry Services is a privately held consulting forestry firm in North Windham, Maine, employing 5 licensed foresters who manage ~100,000 acres of timberland for ~800 private, corporate, conservation, and government clients across Maine and New Hampshire.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Southern Maine Forestry Services industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Forestry Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Timber Tract Operations (113110)
- SIC
- Forestry (800)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Timberland Asset Management & Consulting (AFAMAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Timberland Operations Planning & Contractor Management (AFAMAKAE), Timberland Valuation, Appraisal & Timber Inventory (AFAMAKAC), Forest Management & Silviculture Services (Cruising, Planning, Compliance) (IMAMAAAD)
Keywords
Where Southern Maine Forestry Services is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Windham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Southern Maine Forestry Services business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Consultation Services: Hourly rate charged for consultation services including timber cruise, woodlot assessment, forest management planning, and expert opinions.
- Harvest/Timber Sale Services: Percentage-based fee for harvest-related activity including timber sale administration, logger contracting, monitoring, and marketing.
- Land Management Retainer: Recurring retainer-based rate for ongoing land management activity including timber stand improvement, boundary maintenance, and plantation management.
- Timber Appraisal Services: Timber value determination for property purchase/sale, depletion accounts for tax purposes, and timber trespass incidents.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Hourly Consultation Rate |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Percentage-Based Harvest Fee |
| Subscription | Monthly | Retainer-Based Land Management |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Southern Maine Forestry Services product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Southern Maine Forestry Services is a consulting forestry firm providing timber sale administration, forestry consulting, land management, invasive species control, and logger contracting services. Its team of 5 licensed foresters manages approximately 100,000 acres for around 800 private landowners, municipalities, land trusts, water districts, and corporate landowners across Maine and New Hampshire. Services span pre-harvest woodlot marking, volume tallies, logger oversight, forest management plans, timber appraisals, Tree Growth Tax planning, and silvicultural treatments.
Product overview
Southern Maine Forestry Services is a forestry consulting and land management company offering a suite of interconnected professional services for private landowners. The core offerings include Timber Sale Administration (for maximizing income and managing complex timber sale tasks), Forestry Consulting (for comprehensive forest management planning and timber appraisals), Land Management Services (for timber stand improvement and land enhancement), Invasive Species and Hardwood Control (for vegetation management using licensed applicators), and Logger Contracting and Negotiation (for sourcing quality loggers and overseeing operations). The company manages approximately 100,000 acres for around 800 clients with a team of 5 foresters.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 30% more income per acre of timber sold when hiring a consulting forester (North Carolina study cited)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Southern Maine Forestry Services
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Southern Maine Forestry Services technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Southern Maine Forestry Services partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Southern Maine Forestry Services competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Forest Society of Maine: Forest Society of Maine is a regional nonprofit conservation organization providing forest management services and landowner education across Maine. Comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in serving Maine-based private landowners, municipalities, and land trusts with stewardship-oriented forestry work, though operating as a nonprofit rather than fee-for-service consulting.
Others
- Maine Woodland Owners: Maine Woodland Owners is a statewide landowner association serving Maine's private woodland owners with education, publications, and policy advocacy. Not a direct competitor but an ecosystem peer — Southern Maine Forestry Services draws referrals through this organization (and similar affiliations), and the two serve overlapping NIPF audiences.
- Trust for Public Land (TPL): Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit that works with private landowners, land trusts, and government agencies to conserve working lands including forestlands. Comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in serving land trust and municipal clients with forest stewardship objectives, though TPL focuses on conservation real estate transactions rather than ongoing timber sale administration.
Direct peers
- Wagner Forest Management: Wagner Forest Management is a forestry consulting firm serving private and institutional landowners across the Northeast with timber sale administration, forest management planning, and timberland due diligence. Directly comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in service mix and target client base (private NIPF and institutional owners), with a similar consulting-forester delivery model.
- Fountains Land: Fountains Land is a timberland real estate brokerage and forestry consulting firm operating across the Eastern US, providing timberland sales, acquisitions, and forest management advisory services. Comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in timberland transaction support, appraisal services, and consulting work, but with a heavier brokerage focus and broader multi-state reach.
- Steigerwaldt Land Services: Steigerwaldt Land Services is a Midwest-based forestry and land management consulting firm offering timber sale administration, forest management planning, and right-of-way services. Directly comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in consulting-forester service delivery, timber sale administration, and forest management planning, though operating in a different geography.
Broad incumbents
- Forest Investment Associates (FIA): Forest Investment Associates is a timberland investment management organization operating in the US South and Northeast, providing acquisition, asset management, and forest management services. Comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in forest management service delivery but oriented toward institutional TIMO mandates and large-acreage institutional ownership rather than private NIPF clients.
- LandVest: LandVest is the largest timberland real estate and forestry consulting firm in the Northeast, offering timberland brokerage, forest management, and timberland investment services. Comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in core consulting, timber sale administration, and forest management planning services, but at materially larger scale and with a broader regional footprint spanning New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and beyond.
- Resource Management Service (RMS): Resource Management Service is a large institutional timberland investment manager and forestry services provider, managing timberland assets on behalf of pension funds and institutional investors. Comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in delivering forest management and timber sale services, but oriented almost exclusively toward institutional TIMO clients rather than small private NIPF landowners.
- American Forest Management: American Forest Management (AFM) is one of the largest forestry consulting firms in North America, providing timber sale administration, forest management plans, and timberland investment services to private and institutional owners. Directly comparable to Southern Maine Forestry Services in core offerings but with a far larger footprint, more institutional client mix, and broader geographic coverage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Southern Maine Forestry Services social profiles
Digital presenceSouthern Maine Forestry Services financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Southern Maine Forestry Services leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Southern Maine Forestry Services funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Southern Maine Forestry Services M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Southern Maine Forestry Services
What does Southern Maine Forestry Services do?
Southern Maine Forestry Services is a consulting forestry firm providing timber sale administration, forestry consulting, land management, invasive species control, and logger contracting services. Its team of 5 licensed foresters manages approximately 100,000 acres for around 800 private landowners, municipalities, land trusts, water districts, and corporate landowners across Maine and New Hampshire. Services span pre-harvest woodlot marking, volume tallies, logger oversight, forest management plans, timber appraisals, Tree Growth Tax planning, and silvicultural treatments.
Is Southern Maine Forestry Services a public or private company?
Southern Maine Forestry Services is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Southern Maine Forestry Services founded?
Southern Maine Forestry Services was founded in 1981. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Southern Maine Forestry Services based?
Southern Maine Forestry Services is headquartered in Windham, United States, in the North America region.
How does Southern Maine Forestry Services make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Consultation Services are the primary driver. The others are harvest/Timber Sale Services, land Management Retainer and timber Appraisal Services.
Who are Southern Maine Forestry Services's main competitors?
Forest Society of Maine is listed as a regional player. Others are Maine Woodland Owners and Trust for Public Land (TPL). Direct peers are Wagner Forest Management, Fountains Land and Steigerwaldt Land Services. Broad incumbents are Forest Investment Associates (FIA), LandVest, Resource Management Service (RMS) and American Forest Management.
Does Southern Maine Forestry Services have an API?
No public API is recorded for Southern Maine Forestry Services.
What industry is Southern Maine Forestry Services in?
Southern Maine Forestry Services's product category is Forestry Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAMAAAI, Timberland Asset Management & Consulting, with a secondary code of AFAMAKAE, Timberland Operations Planning & Contractor Management. Its NAICS code is 1153 and its SIC code is 800.