Services | D. Bedford Forestry

Professional Silviculture Services Backed by 29 Years of Experience

At D. Bedford Forestry Services Inc., we deliver high-quality manual silviculture treatments that strengthen long-term forest health, resilience, and value. Whether you’re a woodlot owner, a land management company, or someone looking to improve the sustainability of your property, our team brings precision, expertise, and a deep respect for the land.

Pre-Commercial Thinning (PCT)

Creating Stronger, Healthier Forests

Pre-commercial thinning is the manual removal of excess trees in young, overstocked stands before they have commercial value. This essential treatment ensures your best crop trees have the space, nutrients, and sunlight they need to reach optimal maturity.

What It Does:

Reduces overcrowding and competition
Improves growth rates and timber quality
Enhances forest health and resilience
Reduces risk of disease, wind damage, and pest impact
Supports carbon capture and wildlife habitat diversity

How It Works:
Our operators selectively remove poorly formed, suppressed, or competing trees — leaving behind well-spaced, healthy crop trees (typically 1,600–2,500 trees per hectare). This creates the foundation for a strong, valuable stand for decades to come.

Early Competition Control (ECC)

Protecting Young Seedlings During Their Most Vulnerable Years

Early Competition Control focuses on removing competing vegetation such as shrubs, grasses, or fast-growing pioneer species that threaten the survival of newly planted or naturally regenerated seedlings.

Why It Matters:
Young seedlings struggle when resources are limited. ECC ensures they have what they need to survive and establish strong roots.

Key Benefits:

Improves seedling survival and early growth
Reduces shading and resource competition
Ensures successful regeneration
Prepares stands for later treatments like PCT

How It’s Done:
Our skilled team uses manual tools such as brush saws and clearing saws to carefully remove or reduce competing vegetation while protecting and promoting the crop trees.

Private Woodlot Treatments

Tailored Treatments for Long-Term Value

Every woodlot is unique — which means your management plan should be too. We offer specialized lot treatments that help landowners support long-term forest health, resilience, and value.

Our team assesses your property, identifies stand needs, and applies the appropriate manual treatments to help your forest thrive.

Road Brushing & Fire-Smart Treatments

Improving Safety, Access, and Wildfire Resilience

We provide manual brushing along forest roads and trails to improve visibility, accessibility, and safety for landowners and forestry operators.

We also offer FireSmart-informed treatments designed to reduce wildfire risk around structures and key access routes by removing potential fuel sources and improving spacing around key areas.

Training & Mentorship

Developing the Next Generation of Skilled Operators

Our training model is unlike anything traditionally offered in this sector. Trainees receive paid, hands-on instruction, equipment, and mentorship from experienced professionals — creating a safe and successful entry point into the forestry workforce.

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Our Process

How We Approach Silviculture Work

Assessment & Block Allocation
We receive designated blocks of land that have been assessed as ready for PCT or ECC.
Flagging & Layout
Our team lays out boundaries and establishes flag lines to divide the stand into workable sections.
Treatment Specifications
Each block comes with species preferences, spacing targets, and stand objectives — typically 8-foot spacing for optimal growth.
Professional Manual Treatment
Our experienced operators carry out the prescribed treatments with accuracy and care.
Quality Control
We ensure each block meets high standards for spacing, crop tree selection, safety, and consistency.