About Us
Branch Timberlands was founded in 1999 by Jim Branch for the purpose of providing a brokerage and timberland investment services for clients wishing to invest in or sell timberland and large agricultural tracts. We have assisted clients in acquiring and selling large tracts of land. We are accustomed to handling all of the intricacies of the sales and acquisitions for our clients so that it is a pleasant and profitable experience.
Our contacts in the forest products industry have proven invaluable in locating quality timberland. We have successfully marketed many tracts overseas to clients that wish to invest in high quality timberland and agricultural land in the southern United States.
Natural Resource Consultants, LLC is our forestry consulting and management company. We currently manage over 20,000 acres in Georgia. Providing personal attention is very important to us. We are committed to insuring that, through prudent forest management, each client's individual needs are met. Whether the goal is to maximize biomass production, enhance biodiversity through conservation of native species or simply create an aesthetically pleasing property, we work to ensure that management goals are met.
Jim Branch served two years as an Airborne infantryman with the 82nd Airborne prior to graduating from Emory University in 1994. He received his Masters of Forest Resources from the University of Georgia in 1997. He is a Georgia Registered Forester and a licensed real estate broker in Georgia. Jim worked as a consulting forester for Georgia Farm Bureau, a development and acquisition superintendent for an Atlanta-based development company and consulting forester for Weyerhaeuser Real Estate and Development Company, and other family offices. He has extensive experience in land acquisitions and sales as well as timberland management.
Elizabeth Branch received her Masters of Science in Wildlife Biology in 1998 with a certificate in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development. She earned her B.S. from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Elizabeth has experience in timberland management and acquisitions.
Steven McCarty oversees the grading operations for Branch Timberlands. He has over fifteen years experience operating heavy equipment. In addition Steven has several years experience in farm management and development.
David Thompson, contract forester for Natural Resource Consultants, is a Georgia and Alabama registered forester as well as a certified Master Timber Harvester. David graduated from Auburn University in 1979 with a B.S. in Forestry. He has worked as southwest area manager for Vardaman Forestry Services and as a timber buyer for Steed and Bristol Timber Companies.
Scott Wilkinson, agricultural consultant, for Natural Resource Consultants, graduated from Georgia College 1984 with a B.B.A in Accounting and Business Information Systems. He has a very diversified background with over 30 years of agricultural experience running his family’s dairy and beef cattle farms as well as spending 20 years as a C.P.A in private industry. He also has extensive experience in timberland acquisitions, sales, and management as an investor.