Muskingum Valley Woodland Services

James Stafford, Owner

Over the last eight years, Muskingum Valley Woodland Services (MVWS) has expanded from just managing the sale of timber to a business that will manage your woods. Where it once consisted of just one man, MVWS now employs two full-time employees and a collection of part-time employees.

The services provided by MVWS include the following:

• marking timber for harvesting
• Timber Stand Improvement work (chemically treating grapevines or invasives such as Ailanthus and crop tree release)
• tree planting
• developing management plans for Current Agricultural Use Value tax relief and the American Tree Farm program
• long-term forest property management

MVWS is owned by James Stafford, who graduated from Ohio State University in 1976 with a degree in forest resources management. His 30-plus years of field experience include work with the Alabama Forestry Commission, Champion International, the US Forest Service and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. In June 2008, the Ohio Society of American Foresters honored Stafford for his 30 years of service to the organization.

Located in Zanesville, MVWS serves the 10-county Muskingum River valley, which includes the Mansfield area over to the Ohio River valley, south to Marietta and west to Pataskala and Lancaster. Woodland landowners with at least 10 acres of forest can contact the company through their website, muskingumvalley@muskingumtrees.com. Initial visits are free of charge, and the forester will walk the forest with the landowner to discuss their goals and the options available to meet them.

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