What Does That Mean?

What Does That Mean?

It was early. Still dark.

I was at the gas station filling up the 4Runner before heading off to the mountains for the day. I had a busy morning ahead of me and was probably thinking more about where I was headed and what I needed to get done than anything happening around me.

There was another man at the pump across from me.

After a little while I noticed him looking at the 4Runner.

Not really at me. At the truck.

He was reading the placard on the side.

Modern Forestry Services

And underneath, in red:

This vehicle is conducting forest inventory and analysis.

He looked at it for a while, then looked over at me with a little uncertainty on his face and nodded toward the truck.

“What does that mean?”

Pretty simple question.

I gave him the simple answer.

I told him I was a private consulting forester and explained a little about forest inventory and some of the work we do with landowners.

But he was interested.

He told me he had a fairly large property with some trees and started explaining where it was. As it turned out, I knew the area. It wasn't far from my own home and was within the same general area where I've already been doing forestry work.

So what started with him wondering what the words on the side of my 4Runner meant turned into a conversation about his own land.

Then his phone rang.

He answered it and gestured for me to wait, like he wanted to keep talking when he was done.

I would have liked to.

But I had somewhere I needed to be.

So I handed him my business card, told him I had to get going, and headed toward the mountains.

I thought about his question again later.

What does that mean?

Why It's There

I originally put those placards on my vehicles for a pretty practical reason.

Years ago, I was doing a lot of contract forest inventory work out of an unmarked Tacoma.

And forestry can put you in some strange places.

You might drive down a road most people don't use, park beside a fence or at the end of some two-track, grab your vest and equipment and disappear into the woods.

Sometimes for most of the day.

Sometimes miles from the truck.

I knew exactly why that Tacoma was sitting there.

Nobody else did.

That became especially noticeable working on reservations and in small communities. A vehicle that doesn't belong there tends to stand out. And honestly, that's probably a good

thing. People know their communities. They notice things.

On some projects we had permission letters that could be left on the dashboard. We had documentation showing who we were and why we were there.

But I started thinking there had to be a simpler way to answer at least the first question.

Why is this truck here?

So I had the placards made.

This vehicle is conducting forest inventory and analysis.

I've always known the wording was a little funny.

The vehicle isn't conducting forest inventory.

Usually it's sitting there doing absolutely nothing while I'm somewhere over the ridge trying to find a plot.

But that's why the vehicle is there.

Something forestry-related is happening nearby.

And that little bit of context seemed worthwhile.

It Did Something Else Too

What I didn't really think about was that people would read it.

They read it a lot!

At gas stations. Parking lots. Along roads. Sometimes while I'm standing there trying to organize gear in the back of the 4Runner.

And more often than I expected, somebody starts a conversation. After I give my take on what it is I do, they usually say something like “ I had no Idea that was even a job!”

Forestry is a strange profession in that way. A lot of people live around forests their entire lives and may never have much reason to talk to a forester. They may have questions about their land and not really know who to ask  or even know that someone like us is around.

That morning was a good example.

A man happened to notice a few words on the side of a 4Runner while we were both getting gas before daylight. A few minutes later, we were talking about a piece of forestland not far

from my own home.

I don't know if he'll ever call me.

Maybe he will. Maybe he won't.

Either way, we had the conversation.

And that's made me think a little differently about those placards.

I'm actually due for some new ones now.

The business has changed. The work has changed some too. Forest inventory is still a big part of what I do, but it isn't everything anymore.

So I've been wondering what the next ones should say.

I'm not completely sure yet.

But I think I'll keep something on the truck.

Partly because it explains why a strange 4Runner might be parked at the end of a road all day.

Partly because it identifies who is working out there.

And partly because someone might read it at a gas station one morning and ask:

“What does that mean?”

Sometimes that's all it takes to start a conversation.

And sometimes a conversation is where making a difference on the land begins.