MEET OUR TEAM
The People Behind the Company
ZACH WOOD
Forester/Managing Partner
Zach is a North Idaho native and was born in Sandpoint Idaho and raised in the mountains north of Priest River ID. The privilege of growing up in the North Idaho woods fostered a great appreciation for the outdoors and was the catalyst for pursuing a career in forest management. Zach earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Idaho in Forest Resources with a minor in wildland fire ecology in 2004. After graduating Zach spent 5 years working in the private sector of forest management and worked for Timber Investment Management Organizations, and with private industrial timberland owners. During this experience he gained valuable knowledge and management skills associated with contracts, logging operations, timber cruising, reforestation, road layout and design, surveying, forest practice laws and permitting, budgeting, and in developing strategic parcels of timberlands for real estate needs.
In 2008 Zach co-founded Rocky Mountain Forestry LLC (RMF), which has grown to be a successful full service forestry consulting company, which operates in North Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Western Montana. Zach is now the managing partner of RMF which continues to grow with new partners Stig Fremstad, Rob Searles, and Matt Bennett. Zach and team are extremely hard working and dedicated individuals who take pride in the “Boots On The Ground” philosophy for forest management, this ethic ultimately provides the very best product for our clients.
Zach takes full advantage of the northwest lifestyle whenever possible, and enjoys fishing, hunting, camping, snowboarding, and riding dirt bikes throughout the Northwest with his family and friends.
STIG FREMSTAD
Forester/Partner
Born and raised in Astoria, Oregon, Stig (pronounced Steeg) was exposed to the local resource rich timber and fishing industries at a young age. Growing up rurally, much of his youth was spent outdoors exploring the rivers and mountains of the Lower Columbia in pursuit of fish and game. This passion for the outdoors, in turn, led to the desire to explore a career in a natural resource field. After graduating from Knappa High School (The Loggers) in 1999, Stig attended Oregon State University (Go Beavs!) where he earned a BS in Forest Engineering in 2004. After graduating from OSU, Stig moved to North Idaho, where he spent the next 8 years working as a forester for Stimson Lumber Company in northeast Washington. After his tenure with Stimson, Stig joined forces with Zach Wood to grow the Rocky Mountain Forestry brand. Stig continues to be an avid sportsman, but also enjoys his time traveling and gardening from home with his family.
ROB SEARLES
Forester/Partner
Growing up in a timber and ranching community in NE Oregon, Rob gained an interest for the outdoors at an early age. He began his natural resource career in 2001 where he worked as a wildland firefighter for two seasons. He then attended the University of Idaho where he obtained his Bachelors Degree in Forest Products/Timber Harvesting with a Minor in Forest Resources. While attending college, he spent three summers with Potlatch Corporation in Headquarters, ID where he quickly became partial to the area and the surrounding communities. After graduating in 2007, Rob started working for Stimson Lumber Company in Newport, WA as an Assistant Unit Manager. In the fall 2008 he accepted a job with Potlatch Corporation in Headquarters, eventually working his way up to a Unit Manager position. In this role he was in charge of all logging and silviculture activities on his management block of 110,000 acres. Rob continued to work for Potlatch until the spring of 2017 when he moved back to North Idaho and joined Rocky Mountain Forestry. In his free time, Rob enjoys hunting, fishing, backpacking, and camping with his family and friends.
MATT BENNETT
Natural Resource Specialist/Partner
Matt Bennett was raised in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and has always had an affinity for exploring the natural world. His interest in the outdoors along with his aptitude for the sciences, lead him to the University of Idaho where he studied Geology with a specialization in Economic Geology. Matt worked for 12 years, all throughout the west, as an exploration geologist, studying the earth and all that lies below its surface. In 2007, Matt traded in his hard hat for cork boots and transferred his earth science skills to a career in forestry. Since then he has been working as a forester and partner with Rocky Mountain Forestry. Matt possesses strong skills in all aspects of forestry, and works hard to manage and protect the timberlands of the Northwest. Matt is also certified as a commercial Remote Pilot UAS, under Part 107 (drone operator), providing RMF clients with aerial surveying, mapping, and inspection solutions. In his free time, Matt shares his love of outdoor recreation with his wife, Jess, his daughter, Fenna, and his son, Juul…never missing an opportunity to teach them about the natural resources of the west!