Learning to Buy Timber Land & other large tracts

[Glenn Rand]

I am new here, and have very little real estate knowledge.  I have been reading a little here and it sounds like a lot of people begin investing in real estate with duplexes - quadplexes, which makes sense and seems like a good way for me to begin too.

But, I also am interested in the opposite extreme, buying large tracts of timber land.  I'm especially attracted to timber land in the mountains, because I live in the mountains and really enjoy riding motorcycles & ATVs on the logging trails near me.  I've been riding on private property, that was foreclosed for a few years and I fantasized about being able to purchase it.  It's 8000 acres, so seemed out of reach.  (But why not dream big?)  

I couldn't imagine who would want to buy such a large tract that had been partially logged, and looked so bad.  Well, the new buyer happened to be the owner of the golf course community, at the North end of the ridge...So, it made perfect sense why he would want the land.  

I met him, and he doesn't mind letting me ride on the trails that aren't too close to the golf course.  

That's great, but I'm still fantasizing about buying a place like that.  Do any of you have experience buying large tracts of land?  Any advice about how to finance it?  Good info to read about it?  What are some ways to profit from it, without selling too much of it, or logging it excessively?  Are there any especially good books to recommend?

For the above 8000 acres I think the bank was asking about 8$ million.  I wonder how much it actually sold for, and the details of how much down, etc.  ?

I've read we are supposed to enter investing with "goals".  I can see a lot of potential with raw land, from many angles.  Financially, environmentally, and socially.  There is room for a multitude of uses, and I'm sure if planned wisely I could profit personally, and at the same time help the local economy, and people of all social classes.