Your Woodland is Your Legacy
Each year I love to try out something new in my garden. Occasionally I am surprised with success. Other times my efforts fail miserably. The great part about it is that even if I do fail, I can pull out my dead plants, replenish the soil, and know that I have a clean slate to try again next spring. This is because the story of my garden is short, unlike the long story of a forest. When it comes to your woodland and management decisions like timber harvesting, you may only get the opportunity to make the wrong decisions once. However, if you make the right management decisions, there is a good chance that you will have the opportunity to do so again. Maybe even a few times. Having a good plan, working with professionals, and thinking long-term will ensure that you are leaving behind a healthy, resilient, and quality forest for the future.
Timber harvesting and forest management are beneficial tools to improve forest health, continue the growth of desired trees so that they can achieve their full potential, and to provide a sustainable and renewable resource. Careful planning will consider water quality and minimize the potential for soil erosion by following best management practices. Good management can create a mixture of both young and old forest habitats that are essential for many wildlife and their young. Forest management with a long-term vision includes addressing invasive species and being responsive to new infestations. Lastly, managing your forest means tending to it in all of its wonderful stages to ensure that the tree species we are harvesting are continuing to regenerate and progress into the forest canopy for the future.
Unfortunately, the effects of bad management decisions can last for decades, if not a lifetime. High grading or only harvesting high value trees, many of which have likely not reached their full potential, while leaving only lesser valued trees will quickly lead to a low-quality forest as well as drastically reduce its future value. Not taking provisions to close out and maintain roads properly will lead to soil erosion and impact water quality. Not being proactive about invasive species will only cause the problem to increase exponentially for the future to deal with. Invasive species reduce habitat and food sources for wildlife and make it hard for our native plants and trees to continue to grow and thrive. Harvesting certain trees like oak and not making provisions to help new oak trees rise up through the layer of dense, shady beech and maple trees that are flourishing in our oak woodlands will only heap another burden onto this struggling forest community.
It can be hard for a landowner to know who to listen to, where to find help, and what to do first. Fortunately, there are several great resources out there that can help you get started and stay on track. The single best resource to guide you on your path is a forest management plan. A forest management plan is a document that is prepared by a professional forester and tailored to your woodland, its needs, and your objectives. It covers the past management activities, current resources, existing issues, and objectives. It considers these factors and lays out management actions for you to focus on to help meet your goals and keep your woods healthy.
If your woodland is enrolled in the Indiana DNR Classified Forest & Wildlands program you likely already have a forest management plan from your DNR District Forester. Part of this program includes periodic invitations to join your District Forester on forest inspections. These inspections are great opportunities to learn more about your woods, ask questions, receive technical advice, as well as to discuss future management activities. You can find your District Forester or learn more about this program at https://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/private-forestland-management/district-foresters/.
Financial assistance is also available to hire a professional forester to prepare a forest management plan by working with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). They administer several conservation programs that are funded by the US Farm Bill. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is one of those programs. It offers financial assistance to hire a specially trained professional forester to work with you to prepare a detailed forest management plan. NRCS also partners with conservation groups like the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) to provide additional assistance to private forest landowners through the National Forestry Initiative. Contact your local USDA Service Center to connect with your NRCS District Conservationist to learn more about these programs at https://www.farmers.gov/service-center-locator.
While a plan is invaluable to get you started, its usefulness doesn’t stop there. When you are ready to turn its ideas into action, it is the key that opens the doorway to allow you to apply to NRCS financial assistance programs. These programs can help to cover a large portion of the costs. Conservation activities may include practices such as such as invasive species control, forest stand improvement, temporary forest openings, new tree plantings, and controlling erosion on forest trails.
Unless you have spent a fair amount of time working in the woods, many of these activities may be unfamiliar. Luckily there are a wealth of experienced private consultant foresters throughout Indiana that are ready to help. Private consulting foresters have an educational background in forestry from a university accredited by the Society of American Foresters. Many consultant foresters also maintain memberships with the Association of Consulting Foresters. This professional organization stresses strong ethical standards and continued education among their membership. Private consulting foresters offer a variety of services to help improve your forest that may include and are not limited to invasive species treatment, timber appraisals, timber marking and marketing, detailed timber harvest contracts, timber sale administration, tax documents, and post-harvest forest improvement work. To find a directory of professional foresters and their services please visit www.FindIndianaForester.org.
For more information on issues facing private forestland owners, please check out and consider joining the Indiana Forest and Woodlands Owners Association (IFWOA) at www.IFWOA.org. They have up to date information about current issues, educational events, and resources specifically for Indiana private forest landowners.
Belgian botanist Léo Errera once remarked on the altruistic nature of forest management by stating that “We reap what we have not sown. We sow what we do not reap.” The decisions that you make today directly influence the forests that the next generation inherits.
What do you want your legacy to be?
Amy Spalding is a Forester for the National Wild Turkey Federation and works in a partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Services known as the National Forestry Initiative. She offers technical assistance to private woodland owners in Brown, Morgan, Monroe, Owen, Greene, Martin, Lawrence, Orange, Washington, and Jackson counties and can be reached at aspalding@nwtf.net