Family Forest Owners Take Good Care of Land

A follow-up story to my blog post from October 21, 2010 entiteld Forest landowners Encounter New Challenges appeared in the Portland Insight on November 4th (see below).  I thought I would share this with my readers.  Granted, this is written in Oregon, but again, the same applies for much of Pennsylvania.  We have more that half a million owners of forestland in the state.  Many of our owners are very concerend about proper land management, they seek out information and guidance from professionals, and they practice proper stewardship of the land. 

Pennsylvania also runs a program entitled the Forest Stewarsdhip Program.  This program provides funding for landowners who wish to receive a forest managment plan.  This program is administered by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service with technical advice provided by the Bureau of Forestry (BOF).  For information on this program contact your BOF service forester.

Pennsylvania now has 27 Forest Landowner Assiciations.  These associations plan many education events, host workshops, and field days.  Joining a landowner association is a great way to get educated about forest management.  For example, if you are in need of information or recommendations on a consulting forester, landowner association members certainly can help you out.  For a map and a complete list of landowner associations in your area click here.

My View • Article gave wrong impression; private forests are doing fine:

Last month’s Sustainable Life story, “Tree farmers encounter new eco-challenges” (Oct. 14), could leave the reader wondering, “Why be a family forestland owner?” The story gloomily recounts that harvested lands sometimes aren’t replanted; that the timber sometimes is harvested and the land sold for development.  To read the full sory from the Portland Insight, November 4, 2010, click here.