Serving Virginia since 2008
Virginia Forestry and Wildlife Group (VFWG) has been dedicated to managing farms and forestland under a land ethic for over 30 years. We are a professional consulting firm that provides comprehensive forestland and natural resource management services to landowners throughout Virginia in both urban and rural settings. With our individual expertise, experience, and knowledge in natural resource conservation and management, VFWG offers landowners a comprehensive, multiple-use strategy for managing their land. Our mission is to help landowners find and implement holistic solutions to enhance the health, diversity, and productivity of their forestlands, native habitats, and wildlife communities. Our approach is based on an ecologically-minded perspective that evaluates the many costs and benefits that may result from different management actions.
Meet the Founders
McChesney Goodall— consulting forester
McChesney “Ches” Goodall, co-founder of Virginia Forestry and Wildlife Group, has managed private forestlands in Virginia for more than thirty years and is guided by an ethic of providing responsible stewardship of land. In addition to his extensive background in timberland management, appraisals, and sales, Ches has been coordinator of the Albemarle County Acquisition of Conservation Easements program since 2000. These overlapping and complementary interests give him a broad view of managing land to meet numerous and disparate objectives. He received his Bachelor’s degree in plant ecology from Duke University in 1979 and his Masters degree in forest management and ecology from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke in 1984. He lives in Richmond with his wife and three children.
Brian Morse— certified wildlife biologist
Brian Morse is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and co-founder of Virginia Forestry and Wildlife Group. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from North Carolina State University and a Master’s degree from the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources with a concentration in wildlife management and ecology. Brian’s broad interests have allowed him to work throughout the southeastern United States from coastal swamps and Piedmont prairies to mountain forests with a wide range of both game and non-game species. Brian is a Certified Prescribed Burn Manager in Virginia and is active with the Virginia Quail Council. He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western Albemarle County with his wife and son.
Leif Riddervold— environmental scientist
Leif Riddervold is an Environmental Scientist who joined Virginia Forestry and Wildlife Group in 2012. He provides a wealth of experience in professional land and natural resource management to his clients, with a particular emphasis on integrating sustainable agriculture with natural systems. Leif received his BS degree from James Madison University, which was followed by a MS degree in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia. Leif is also an avid gardener and horticulturalist specializing in the use of native plants in the landscape. He and his family live on a mountain farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Albemarle County.
Our Team
Part of any good organization is having a team of qualified personnel to implement our diverse management strategies from treating invasives to planting trees in riparian buffers to establishing native plants in farm meadows. All our workers have college degrees with background in environmental studies and a passion for the outdoors and natural resource conservation.