Forest Stewardship: Options for Forest Owners

Forests provide their owners with many things: beauty and privacy, a chance to see and hear wildlife, harvestable forest products and much more. While any forest provides some of these things, a forest that's actively cared for by knowledgable owners will invariably provide even more.

Knowledge is Power (and pleasure!)

The first step towards becoming a proud and happy landowner is knowledge: learning some basics about forests in general, and yours in particular. Here are some good local sources:

1. Your UConn Extension Forester is just a call (860) 345-5232 or e-mail (thomas.worthley@uconn.edu) away. He can provide you with some excellent information, answer your questions and get you pointed in the right direction in the care of your forest. Lots of good information is available directly from the Extension Forestry Homepage.

2. Your Connecticut Division of Forestry Service Forester can come out on the ground and provide you with up to one full day of one-on-one, professional advice and information. For more detail go to Connecticut's Cooperative Forest Management Program or call (860) 455-0699.

3. The Eastern Connecticut Forest Landowners Association is a local, non-profit educational organization run by forest landowners for forest landowners. They offer an excellent quarterly newsletter and several educational programs each year, many out in the forest. See www.ecfla.org for more information and a membership form.

Stewardship Planning

Once you've learned a bit about your forest, you may decide you want to develop a forest stewardship plan. Stewardship plans are developed jointly by you and a professional forester to serve as a giudepost to your specific forest goals. Do you want to know what kind of wildlife live in your forest, and where? Would you like to improve their habitat? Do you want to cut (or have someone else cut) a few cords of firewood and improve your habitat at the same time? Do you want to earn some income from timber management, as long as it's done in an environmentally sound manner? A stewardship plan can turn these kinds of goals into reality.

The Connecticut Forest Stewardship Program can help get you started with a good stewardship plan. To learn more, contact Connecticut's Forest Stewardship Program Coordinator Tom Worthley at (860) 345-4511, thomas.worthley@uconn.edu or visit the Extension Forestry Homepage.