BASIC SKILLS FOR DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING A
FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN
Forest Management Plans are useful guides to keep us on
track in improving and maintaining our forest
ecosystems. To develop our plan, we can pay a
consulting forester, or badger our district forester, or
do it yourself. Of course, when we are just starting
out, the forester can do a much better job.
About five to ten years later though, we begin to see
that the original plan is insufficient - we know more
and our goals are better defined.
At this point, we
can pay a consulting forester or update the plan
yourself. The skills needed to write or revise a plan
are relatively simple; they just take some time and
effort. Most of these skills fall under the topic
"Figure Out What You Have," that is, what species, how
much volume and growing stock, what kind of sites and
soils. So, these skills fit into step 2 of the process
for developing or updating your plan:
(1) decide what you want - your goals,
(2) figure out what you have,
(3) select your silviculture methods/practices,
(4) assess your financial and labor resources,
(5) develop a schedule, and
(6) keep good records.
Your Goals
Hopefully, you have a good idea about what you want from
your forest. If not, there are some resources might help
you to prioritize your goals - two books
and one computer program. "The Woodland Steward" by
James Fazio is a good general reference and starting
point for forest landowners. "Woodland Stewardship" by
the University of Minnesota addresses all six steps of
the planning process as well as being a good general
forestry reference. In addition, the Forest Stewardship
Planning Guide is software that helps you determine and
prioritize your goals as well as select applicable
management practices. This software can be downloaded
from the Internet at
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/burlington/index.htm
What You Have
Now, back to the skills you need to take charge of your
plan. To figure out what species you have, of course you
need to work on your tree identification
skills - these are frequently offered by the Northwest
Illinois Forestry Association, at the Tri-State Forest
Stewardship Conference in March, and by the Illinois
Tree Farm Committee.
Your Soils
To figure out your soils and sites just requires a bit
of research - someone else has done most of the work for
you. Visit your local NRCS office and ask
for a copy of the county soil survey. If that is not
available, then ask for a soil map for your land.
Either of these will show the type and location of
soils. The NRCS people should also give you information
on your soils characteristics (this is included in the
soil survey). You should study this information (even
though this sounds like homework, it is your land).
If your land is not flat, you should overlay the slopes
onto this map, at least mentally. As you look at the map
and think of the slopes, keep in mind compass directions
- certain trees do better on north and east aspects,
others are more appropriate for south and west aspects.
The soil survey will also indicate the percent of slope; if you're uncertain about
this, ask NRCS.
Management Units
Now, you want to divide your land into management units
- so that a set of management practices apply evenly
within each unit (a unit can be one acre or
more than 40 acres). A management unit will be distinct
from your other units because of its tree species, the
age of the stand, its slope or aspect or
soil type, whether it is a plantation or a natural
forest, or because you want to manage it differently
from neighboring units.
This is a good time to walk your
land with a copy of the map in hand. Mark the unit
boundaries on the map and on the ground. For each unit,
you will want to inventory the growing
stock and volumes. These numbers will help you decide
whether to thin or harvest, whether the species mix is
what you want. If done periodically - every five or ten
years - it also gives you a good idea of growth rate.
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