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Forest Profiles KEVIN BOLING Western Director of Land Transactions, Westslope Properties Forest Capital Partners forester Kevin Boling considered two career possibilities while growing up in California and Idaho. He could follow his father's example and fly airplanes, or he could take a pathway his grandfather chose---into the forest. He even pursued both, figuring a forestry degree from the University of Idaho would provide a back-up if the flying career didn't work out. "I intended to be a pilot like my dad," he explains, "but spent summers in the woods sitting beside my grandfather on his small dozer setting chokers for him." Kevin also  In 1977, he began his career at Potlatch Corporation, working as a contract-logging supervisor. Over the next 20 years with the company, his duties included management of logging and forestry operations, overseeing purchasing, appraisals and sales biddings, and eventually managing land exchange programs between Potlatch and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and the State of Idaho. He later managed 700,000 acres of Potlatch timberland in North Idaho, headed manufacturing operations for the corporation's wood plants, and served as public affairs director before moving on to spend four years as vice-president of manufacturing for a Wisconsin wood products company. Kevin joined Forest Capital Partners in 2002, as Forest Capital's first Idaho Region Manager. In 2005 Kevin became General Manager for the new Inland Region leading the forestry and logging efforts in three states and 900,000 acres. In 2007, he became Director of Land Transactions for Westslope Properties, the real estate subsidiary of Forest Capital, overseeing transactions associated with the company's forest land investments in the Northwest region, including Washington, Idaho and Oregon. In his personal quest to "build a model real estate program that conserves working forests and rural economies in the region while meeting the investment objectives of our investors," Kevin assumes a wide variety of responsibilities. "In any given week I could be in the woods walking a proposed property sale in North Idaho, working with the Nature Conservancy to protect grizzly bears, negotiating the sale of Mt. Emily (4,000 acres) to the residents of Union County Oregon, " he says. "[I could be] speaking to a group of foresters, logging contractors or small private landowners on the benefits of conserving working forests . . . I find myself in Boise working with the Idaho Legislature on public policy issues and fly 4-6 times a year to Portland or Medford, Oregon, working with our professional staff or our land managers." Kevin heads a seven-member team who identify land suitable for residential development, agricultural/ranch use, recreational and conservation purposes. Always key to their efforts is Westslope's operating principle---adding value to the land and to the community it encompasses. Moreover, a key component to Kevin's leadership is enjoying the satisfaction that "by my effort those around me are more successful than they would have been in my absence." He's most proud of two career highlights. In 1986 he managed Potlatch's Clearwater Forestry and Logging operations from Headquarters, Idaho. "The opportunity to decide how to balance competing production and forestry demands with help from both logging and forestry professionals was a very special experience," he says. He also assisted Forest Capital in successfully purchasing Boise's 2.2 million acres of timberland, describing the experience of helping implement a successful acquisition strategy "a phenomenal opportunity at this stage of my career." In his work as a private sector forester, Kevin is responsible and accountable for all phases of forest management and logging production, while his counterparts, working for public entities, are more specialized. "The forester who designs the harvest unit is not necessarily the person who contracts the sale, administers the logging and replants the trees," he explains. Cost of capital and return on investment generally drive forest management decisions in the private sector. Nonetheless, Kevin says public or private sector foresters share similar goals and responsibilities, "implementing decisions with immediate environmental benefits and costs for our generation and generations to come." As a veteran forester Kevin has consistently welcomed new challenges throughout his 30-plus-year career while applying lessons learned from respected mentors along the way. He encourages young people to consider his profession, stressing that if you "love the outdoors, enjoy hard work, and want to make a positive difference in our environment and the people that surround you, then choose forestry." Want to know more? º Overview of Westslope Properties http://www.wspland.com/ º Overview of Forest Capital Partners, LLC http://www.forestcap.com º A career in Forestry http://forestry.about.com/od/forestrycareers/Foresty_Jobs_Employment_and_Careers.htm º Logging Supervisor http://www.edunetconnect.com/cat/careers/logg.html º Setting chokers http://www.vannattabros.com/iron39.html http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20070527/NEWS/70526009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJDNtJIV5eE Click for larger image: 
 
  
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