“I wanted to let you know that the UConn foresters have been walking in the Hoffman Preserve, and everyone has been really impressed with the work that Hull did – they say everything looks really healthy and is coming back extremely well. We are thankful for your good work to restore this beautiful forest!”
—Teresa Eickel, Avalonia Land Conservancy
“Thank you for the professional way you logged our land, and for your very prompt payment.”
—Richard and Shirley Marchand
“Thank you very much for hosting the scouts from troop 43. The scouts, leaders, and parents were greatly impressed with your operation and management practices. One scout now thinks he might want to be a forester. Nick was considerate of the sweltering day. He provided ear plugs for our group. He was very knowledgeable. Thank you!”
—Muriel Bonnie Achtermeier
“As we head into the Thanksgiving season, I wanted to write and let you know how pleased I am with the work Hull Forest Products did for us at our farm in Salem CT. Chris Casadei was our Forester and did a superb job all around. He was very thorough and professional and fast became a trusted adviser as we converted old farmland and forest into a modern Christmas tree farm with an adjacent sustainable timber tract that we can harvest for years to come. His guidance has been essential to the timber harvest and set the stage for clearing and planting. He and I went through the entire 80-acre tract again and again looking at what to cut and how to save as much as possible to support future growth. I truly believe Chris cares for those trees as much as I do. Matt LaPrise did an outstanding job with the actual harvest and made great progress without unduly disrupting the land or disturbing adjacent property owners and most importantly without anyone getting hurt. Very impressive guy – even worked right through after getting married- did not take any time off. Every member of your team was first class and you should be proud of the job they did. To say I am very pleased is an understatement, and I wanted you to know that. Have some great pictures as the guys worked the project if you are interested. Based on the success of this project I have already recommended your firm to several other land owners throughout New England. I look forward to continuing to work with Chris and Hull in the future. Thank you so much for a job well done.”
—Steve Crosby, Westport, CT
“We wish to express our appreciation for the service you have provided to us in the management of our forest. Your interest and understanding of our desire to maintain the woodland and the selective thinning of our woodlot has made this an enjoyable and educational experience for us.
Gerry Knowlton was the perfect logger for the job. His diligent work and dedication to the task was commendable. It is apparent that he has respect for the land and the property owners as well. We looked forward to seeing him each day.”
–Keith and Kathleen Burton
“I just wanted to let you know how pleased we are by the quality of Hull Forest Products’ work on the recent harvest at the Yale Myers Forest. Lee Baxter has done an outstanding job in minimizing residual stand damage, maintaining a low slash height, and avoiding disturbance to the vernal pool inside the harvest area. Lee even spotted a flying squirrel nest that our marking crew had overlooked and saved the tree from being cut down.
From start to finish, this has been a high-quality harvest performed with a very conscientious attitude, and it ranks among the best work that’s been done at the Yale Myers Forest.
This was a great experience for the Yale School Forests and we hope to do business with Hull Forest Products in the future.”
—David Hobson Forest Manager , Yale University
“We own over 300 acres in East Lyme, CT and decided to sell the timber rights to generate some cash flow while awaiting our financing for the golf course and real estate development. We competitively bid the project and Hull was able to match the timber pricing.
First and foremost, I was extremely impressed with the kindness, consideration, work ethic, and professionalism of Eric Johnson. This was something I had never done before and he was careful to explain how things worked in this process and created a sense of trust.
Second, Eric was very thorough in the amount of time and effort he and his crew spent working in the woods marking trees and making a tally. Furthermore, he was very respectful of the limits I placed on him (only trees in fairways and housing areas were available for harvest). Your competition just did a cursory survey of the site and made an estimate.
Third, Eric has gone above and beyond the requirements in trying to find firewood companies interested in taking the tops and poles as well as informing me of companies he runs into who might be interested in our stonewalls (as he knows cash flow is an important issue for us right now).
Fourth, Eric kept me extremely well informed throughout the process and made several trips to meet with me on the site. In fact, we even walked a portion of the site together to identify trees he might have missed because of unclear property lines and marked a couple hundred more trees after the contract was signed.
In the end, we were paid nearly $7,000 more than the contract called for based on yield.
Finally, we discovered during this process that my now-deceased father had also retained Hull to log this property 20 years ago in 1984. When the project recently completed, Eric gave me a gift of the correspondence between Hull and my father, including several of his letters. That was very special for me.
I hope that I again have occasion to use your company’s services but would like to offer myself as a reference and recommendation for anyone seeking to retain your company. Thank you so much for your help.”
—Jonathan Katz, Principal, Walnut Hill Club, CT
“With the logging operation adjacent to our home now completed, we would like to commend you and your workers on a job well done.
At the Glastonbury Zoning Board of Appeals hearing, we, and many of our neighbors, expressed concerns about the safety of drivers and pedestrians passing by the entrance of the operation and about the noise of chain saws and heavy equipment that threatened to disrupt the peaceful setting of our neighborhood. Thanks to the professional efforts of you and your company, none of these concerns blossomed into problems. Every time we saw the logging truck pull in or out of the right of way (which borders our property), someone from the crew was in the road, ready to direct traffic, and efficient maneuvering of the truck caused minimal delays to anyone traveling on the road.
In addition to ensuring safety on our road, your crew never violated the hours of operation stipulated by the Zoning Board of Appeals, which confined the majority of the noise to times when many people were at work. Living next to the logging entrance, we were subjected to more noise than most of our neighbors, but the commotion of chain saw, skidder, and logging truck was never as horrible as we imagined it might be. Your workers were always willing to give us an update about the progress of the operation, and fortunately, thanks to their efficiency, the job was finished weeks ahead of what had been predicted.
Finally, we thank you, personally, for taking the time to answer our questions when we came to see you at the beginning of the operation and for stopping at our home to tell us that the job was completed. You seemed genuinely concerned about the impact of this project on our lives, and your reassurances helped reduce our anxiety about living next to a logging operation.
We wish you continued success as a forester and hope that people living near future logging operations by Hull Forest Products have the same positive experience we did.”
—Elizabeth Natale, Glastonbury, CT
“I would like to take this opportunity to compliment your employees and their work ethic. Michael Bartlett couldn’t have been nicer in our dealings with your company, from the time I called your company office back in late October, when Michael came to examine what we had in standing timber, to today, when he came back to be sure there was enough hay laid down where the vehicle tracks would go to make sure there would be no washouts in the event of heavy rain. In addition, the skidder operator was well mannered and helpful if I had any questions. Your truck driver was friendly and with a big smile, but he was also very efficient in getting his trucks loaded. I would be happy to recommend your company and its employees. This is our second time around using your services!”
—Donald Stevenson, Somers, CT
“Thank you for taking the time to give tours to all 150 Yale Forestry and Environmental Studies students over the past three weeks. You all provided a wonderful perspective . . . Students consistently spoke highly of the mill tour.”
—Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
“Besides turning trees into lumber, William Hull believes in preserving the forest that produces them. By granting conservation easements, Hull has taken legal steps to ensure that his land will never give way to houses or stores.”
—The Hartford Courant
“Hull Forest Products has granted [hiking] trail easements and given the New England Forestry Foundation conservation restrictions on portions of its land. Such private acts of personal generosity and careful management form the backbone of the conservation and constructive use of what has been called the ‘Yankee Forest’ of New England.”
—Russ Brenneman, President, Connecticut Forest and Parks Association
“Joe Catalano [Director of the Wales, MA Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary] and I were walking Hull land in Wales, MA, and we were both struck by the obviously careful way Hull Forest Products went about its business taking out lumber and firewood. The property is in great shape!”
—Richard Regan, President, Norcross Wildlife Foundation
“When I was a student at Yale, I got the impression that our timber marking practices bordered on tree-hugging in terms of leaving filter strips, retaining den trees, and leaving mast sources for wildlife, and that I’d never see these practices employed in an industrial setting. So you can imagine my surprise when I arrived at Hull Forest Products and found that their foresters were doing all of these things also.”—David Hobson, Forest Manager for Yale University