Petrzelka, Robert and Gretchen Cline
About Petrzelka, Robert and Gretchen Cline
Petrzelka, Robert and Gretchen Cline are foresters at Geode Forestry, Inc., a consulting firm in Swedesburg, Iowa. They work with landowners on tree planting and direct seeding, forest management, timber stand improvement, and timber appraisals, harvesting and timber sales. Most of their consulting happens on location, so they can see the land and talk through the project in person. Bob Petrzelka holds a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from Iowa State University, earned in 1979. He has owned and operated Geode Forestry since January 1, 2000. Gretchen Cline joined the firm in October 2001 as a private consulting forester. Each forest plan is built for the land it covers. It includes an analysis of current timber conditions, recommendations, maps, and estimated costs of proposed projects, along with reminders for maintenance and scheduled work. On selling timber, they note that selling straight to a logging company could result in a lower price, and they offer to oversee the sale and harvest through "a competitive bidding process." This suits a landowner who wants a long-range plan for the woods and a forester to handle the sale from start to finish. From geodeforestry.com, read 10 October 2026.
Can they handle a timber sale?
Selling standing timber properly takes three things. Here's what the state register credits this firm with.
Timber AppraisalAn estimate of what your standing timber is worth in dollars, based on how much there is, its quality, and current prices. When you are selling, settling an estate, dividing property, or need a value for taxes or insurance.What does this mean? → — not listed
works out what your standing timber is worth
Timber Cruise & Volume EstimateA field measurement of your standing trees — their species, sizes, and quality — that adds up to how much wood you actually have. Before you sell, so you go in knowing roughly what is out there rather than taking a buyer's word for it.What does this mean? → — not listed
measures and grades what's actually out there
Timber Sale & Contract AdministrationRunning the sale for you: advertising the timber, taking bids, writing the contract, and overseeing the logging so the agreed terms are met. When you want someone on your side handling the whole sale rather than dealing with buyers and loggers yourself.What does this mean? → — not listed
runs the sale and handles the contract
This firm isn't credited with all three, which doesn't make it a worse forester — plenty specialise in management planning, wildlife or wetlands. It does mean that if your goal is to sell timber, you'd likely need someone else for the part that's missing.
Everything they're registered for
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Petrzelka, Robert and Gretchen Cline
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Member of
B.S
Forest Mgmt
Iowa State Univ
1979