Richard Carbonetti – 2014 Distinguished Alumni
Richard “Carbo” G. Carbonetti graduated from the University of Maine with a B.S. in Forestry in 1977. He became an SAF member in 1977 after serving as the Student Chapter president and simultaneously achieved his Maine Forester license. During his senior year, Carbo became a member of the Forestry Honor Society, Xi Sigma Pi, and served as Forester of the Gamma Chapter at the University of Maine.
Following graduation, to fill a slot for a teacher on sabbatical, Carbo moved to North Troy, VT to teach Forestry and Shop. In Spring 1978, he opened Round Top Woodlot Management (RTWM), a private forestry consulting firm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont serving non-industrial forestland owners. The objective of his firm was to bring the most up to date and scientifically advanced forestry originally to small woodlot owners. Over time he became determined to have a real impact and to grow his business by expanding services to include working at a landscape level. Continuing to expand, in 1983, he hired more staff so he could serve clients across the region and with much larger ownerships. Carbo developed a regional inventory service that enabled him to work on many of the largest transactions that have occurred in the northeast over the last 25 years.
Round Top Woodlot Management grew to manage over 80,000 acres of timberland in Vermont, developing the skills and staff over its history to provide inventory and timberland consulting for a variety of corporate, consulting, and NGO clients across northern New England and New York. They implemented forest inventory due diligence and valuation projects on millions of acres in the region. During his tenure as the Owner & President of Round Top Woodlot Management, Carbo was a leader in both Vermont and New England forest policy discussions.
A highlight of these efforts was his two tenures on the Northern Forest Lands Council in 1991-1993 & in 2003. Carbo focused on the advancement of sustainable forest practices. He achieved this through active support of the rights of forestland owners to manage timberland with support from government and with the ultimate goal to minimize regulation that restricts forest management options.
In 1995, Carbo joined LandVest as a Vermont Regional Forester. Since 2002, he has served as Vice-President, Timberland Division. Carbo’s current responsibilities within LandVest primarily focus on the forest management and consulting side of the business on over 1,700,000 acres of timberland in ME, NH, VT, NY, & PA, as well as land marketing and staff administration. This management includes the supervision of over 670,000 acres of conservation eased lands and over 880,000 acres of FSC & SFI certified lands. In March 2014, LandVest achieved their FSC Group Certified Manager certificate.
Carbo currently oversees his division’s staff of 36 foresters and 14 administrative staff in 11 regional offices. LandVest has developed a nationally recognized GIS department, a timber products marketing division, LandVest Timber Co, LLC, that is FSC Chain of Custody certified, and serves a variety of LandVest clients in the marketing of both certified and uncertified timber products. With the recent achievement of FSC Group Certification, their goal is to serve the many clients who practice high order sustainable forest management and who can then benefit from the market and economic benefits of green certification.
LandVest has also supported and achieved client’s certification efforts under FSC, SFI & the recently initiated Tree Farm certification program. Internally, the Management & Consulting group including GIS, Biometrics and Inventory teams support LandVest’s nationally renowned timberland transaction services. The integration of its management and transaction staffs sets LandVest apart as a fully integrated forestry-consulting firm.
Carbo’s professional affiliations include: Licensed Forester in Maine (#348) and New Hampshire (#243); Association of Consulting Foresters; Society of American Foresters; Consulting Foresters Association of Vermont; American Forest Foundation; SFI State Implementation Committee for Vermont; Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation 2012-13 Timber Harvesting Study Project; Vermont Dept. of Forests Parks & Recreation 2013-2014 Voluntary Timber Harvesting Guidelines Project; and Center for Northern Woodlands Education.
Carbo and his wife Emily, of 37 years, live in Albany, Vermont, which has been their home since 1980. They have raised two sons, Benjamin and Sam, and have recently become grandparents. Carbo enjoys spending time with family, managing his family’s 1900 acre timber tract, biking, wood working, gardening, fly fishing and maintaining their 1850’s farmhouse.
The School of Forest Resources is pleased to recognize Richard G. Carbonetti as the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus. He has represented UMaine’s Forestry Program with the highest professional standards during his distinguished forestry career. Carbo exemplifies what graduating students from the School of Forest Resources can aspire to achieve in their careers.