Andy Holmes has collected on-the-ground forest measurements in the forests of the Olympic and Cascade mountains and lowlands since the early eighties. Andy got his boots wet starting in the forest as a teen with the Youth Conservation Corps. After graduating with an A.A.S. in Forestry, he worked as inventory technician with Milwaukee Land Company. Several other jobs in the public sector as survey chainman with Department of Transportation, forest fire fighter with Department of the Army, and Forest Worker with Department of Natural Resources, all provided Andy a solid base of experience to start his own business.

Through the 1990s he built his consultancy, Sound Forest Practices, and a list of satisfied private industry clients as a high-production timber sale cruiser and appraiser. With over 300 MMBF in scaled cutouts, Andy has client-produced data which shows his estimated tree volumes to be within 1% of total net recovery, including a maximum variance of just 16% on a single timber harvest! The new millennium brought further expansion as Andy was in varied positions such as timber manager, crew supervisor, data analyst, and land agent at a timberland brokerage firm. Using market research and self-cultivated knowledge of tree growth and volumes, his appraisal skills helped clients assess values of large forest blocks throughout the Pacific Northwest.

In 2004, Andy began working for municipalities in the context of urba forestry. Increasing forest conversions created the need for arborist services such as tree protection plans, property inspections for code compliance, and hazard tree identification. He expanded his client base to include land developers and continued building his knowledge and value as a tree consultant.

After several years as a certified Arborist and Tree Risk Assessor, Timberland appraisal and commercial forest operations brought Andy out of the City and back in the woods. With almost 30 years of observing and reporting on trees from all sides, Andy has developed expertise in his field and a more balanced awareness around issues involving trees and land. In 2013, he teamed-up with Prochnau Forest Consultants to bring his skills to a larger client base.

Andrew G. Holmes, Senior Forester

Prochnau Forest Consultants, LLC