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July 2015 Newsletter: Bird and Crawford Forestry
July 2015: Vol. 1 – In This Issue:
LETTER FROM MIKE & SAM
TEAM SPOTLIGHT WITH SAM CRAWFORD
FULL SERVICE LAND BROKERAGE TEAM
LAUNCH LANDOWNER SPOTLIGHT
TEAM SPOTLIGHT WITH CHRIS ADAMS
UPCOMING EVENTS
LETTER FROM MIKE & SAM
As most of you already know, Bird Forestry merged with The Crawford Forestry Group of Shreveport back in February to form Bird and Crawford Forestry. It’s been a busy few months since we last updated you in March. Since then, our team has been diligently blending the resources and talents of both companies and evaluating processes to select the best efficiencies from each company.
We’re thrilled with the results and we know that you will be too. From GIS equipment to database management, we have implemented a number of upgrades that will improve both our efficiency and technological capabilities. All of these improvements, coupled with the existing talent on our staff, will have a lasting positive effect for our clients.
We recently presented at the annual national meeting for the Association of Consulting Foresters. Per our own experience of developing an ownership transition plan for Bird Forestry and Crawford Forestry Group, we spoke to the importance of strategic planning for the future. We shared the top ten benefits of developing an ownership transition plan based on our experience thus far. We’re firm believers that a solid transition plan provides a roadmap to help achieve goals and ensures a solid foundation for our company, our clients and the next generation. We can attest to the fact that it also offers peace of mind along the way. With our vision and plan in place, we are very excited about the future!
This inaugural Bird & Crawford Forestry Newsletter is kicking off a dedicated effort to keep you informed about our company and events we feel are important for our clients and friends to know. Stay on the lookout for occasional emails and quarterly newsletters. True to our roots, we love a good old-fashioned phone call. Reach out anytime. We appreciate hearing from you.
TEAM SPOTLIGHT WITH SAM CRAWFORD
What are your primary duties?
Since the merger, my initial focus has been to analyze, blend and develop standard operating
procedures for the new firm. It has been a fun and challenging organizational task.Day to day, I
assist our Forestry Manager, Chris Adams, in making the smoothest transition possible.
What is the most rewarding part of your job? What gets you excited about work each day?
Being a forester is a blessing and a profession that I am very proud to be a part of. I represent the third generation of my mother’s family in the timber business and it would not be unusual to hear a relative of mine state: “We were born with resin in our blood.” Getting to work with this uniquely talented and intelligent group of foresters has really re-charged my batteries. Seeing the vision I had years ago come to fruition in the way we are helping our landowners is a gratifying feeling and having the advanced tools to use in the process is just awesome.
What are your goals going forward now that the merger is completed?
I like to think about how I’ll feel in 10 years. I look forward to sitting on the back porch with Mike Bird
and reflecting on how much fun we have had. This merger is professionally rewarding and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue helping forest landowners achieve their ownership goals. Forestry is fun- especially when you have been around long enough to plant a tree, watch it grow for
40 years, harvest it and then start over again. I look forward to planting a lot more trees.
NOTEWORTHY: FULL SERVICE LAND BROKERAGE TEAM
We are excited to announce the launch of TerraStone Land Company, a full-service land brokerage firm that provides unique solutions to strategic investors and clients preparing to sell or purchase rural property. The firm will provide customized brokerage services for buyers and sellers with a focus on providing tailored solutions that maximize client investment and increase land revenue streams.
TerraStone Land Company represents the rural real estate division of Advanced Ecology Ltd (AEL) and is a sister company to Bird & Crawford Forestry. This division was created to provide clients with invaluable insight to the true, and often untapped, potential of their land.
Terry Anderson, VP of Advanced Ecology Ltd explains: “We saw a gap in the rural and recreational real estate market that we set out to fulfill. While most brokerage firms focus solely on helping clients buy or sell land, our AEL team saw the opportunity to help clients enhance their property from a land management, wildlife and forestry perspective.”
The AEL family of companies can now help clients buy and sell land, while maintaining and enhancing land conservation and potentially generating additional revenue streams to create added value. At the heart of AEL is our dedicated team of foresters, biologists, wildlife experts and ecological specialists. Each are devoted to helping clients craft a total land solution, in one place, without the hassle of working with multiple entities
Headquartered in East Texas (down the hall from the Bird & Crawford team), brokerage operations and land holdings include Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. However, TerraStone’s market knowledge and network of natural resource professionals is far-reaching – from Texas to Alaska.
WILLIAM C. “BUBBA” RASBERRY, JR. Shreveport, Louisiana
LAUNCH LANDOWNER SPOTLIGHT
William C. “Bubba” Rasberry, Jr. turned his pleasure into his life’s work by becoming a tree farmer after inheriting land from his parents that had been in the family since the 1960s.His tree farm,known as Qua Paw,consists of 2,700 acres located west of Shreveport, La.in Caddo Parish and was named after a creek that runs through the property.
Realizing that his decisions regarding the tree farm would affect the future of the property for years to come, Bubba hired Sam Crawford to assist him in the development of an integrated forest and wildlife management plan for Qua Paw in 1997. Through the implementation of the plan, which included establishing pine plantations on the upland areas and improving the timber and wildlife habitat of
1,000 acres of bottom land hardwoods, Qua Paw is positioned to sustain the family legacy for generations to come.
Bubba is committed to the stewardship and improvement of Qua Paw, which embodies forest management, recreation, wildlife habitat and mineral production. In order to ensure access to every part of his tree farm for proper care, Bubba developed an extensive road system that weaves through and around the entire tract. He also installed a video-monitored, hand-crafted entrance gate, which reflects his emphasis on wildlife management.
In 2012, Bubba was named the Louisiana Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year by the Louisiana Forestry Association (LFA). In addition to being a knowledgeable tree farmer, Bubba has served as Chairman of the Board of Regents for Louisiana, is a successful Shreveport businessman and is involved with several local nonprofits.
TEAM SPOTLIGHT WITH CHRIS ADAMS
What are your primary duties?
Planning, organizing, allocating resources and directing the day-to-day operations of the various
projects we have been trusted to facilitate by our clients/landowners. As part of this responsibility, I have the privilege of working alongside a great team of foresters to ensure we create management strategies that match the needs and wants of the landowners.
What is the most rewarding part of your job/gets you excited about work each day?
That’s an easy one – it’s developing and maintaining the relationships I have with our landowners, including the opportunity to visit so many different properties. Ultimately I get to see something new every day. At the same time, I get to help them solve problems, meet their goals and hopefully provide the value they are looking for on their land. It’s very rewarding.
What are your goals going forward with the merger completed?
Basically, we doubled our responsibilities as a company overnight. So in order to continue meeting our landowners’ expectations, as well as our own high standards, we will be increasing capacity from both the employee and resource management sides to generate added value for everyone. Traditional forest management will always be the foundation of our work with the landowners, but the merger has allowed us to create the added value by looking beyond these traditional parameters. In other words, we will be able to work even harder and more efficiently to find additional ways to assist our landowners and create a more dynamic experience for them without drifting from our standard high-quality services.
UPCOMING EVENTS
