Forest Management

What is Forest Management?

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While the term was originally intended to describe techniques used in the forest to improve commercial timber returns, it has expanded to include an overall plan for meeting a wide variety of forest ownership objectives. These days the term forest management can include cutting trails for recreation or to enhance particular wildlife habitat features, improving a timber stand to increase it's long term value, or even not cutting at all!

The point of management is for landowners and managers to make conscious decisions about the future of their forestland based on as much pertinent information as possible.

The way we utilize our forests affects the economy, scenic character, and integrity of ecological systems in the region. We are fortunate to live in a portion of the country with relatively resilient biological systems. Our forests have returned from pasture and our rivers have shown the ability to recover from intense industrial abuses. However, these recoveries took time and resulted in significant economic and social costs, convincing many natural resource managers to work to improve methods of resource use.

By considering the value of clean water, scenic beauty, and healthy wildlife habitat as part of a plan to recover long-term income from forest products, we can encourage forestry as a sustainable activity in the North Quabbin region. These efforts must be the result of collaboration among landowners, foresters, and loggers.

As forestland becomes fragmented, and newer landowners are decreasingly familiar with forestry, less forestland is managed. And yet, our forests continue to grow. Data shows that sawtimber resources in the state are growing at a faster rate than they are being removed. There is ample room for increasing responsible forest management activity in the region.

The North Quabbin Community Forestry Initiative hopes landowners will learn more about the potential affect of small-scale management planning on entire regional economy. These landowners may then decide to become more engaged in their woodlots in order to meet their individual goals and to contribute on a regional level.