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ENLARGE
Are you a new woodland owner? Not a woodland owner, but still interested in forest management? Do you need a management plan?
As a landowner, you should think about your objectives. Whether long-term or short-term, whether maintaining trees, wildlife or pasture, you should have an idea what you want to do, or not do, with your property.
A management plan gives you the road map to your property’s future. These plans can really help you decide what to do with your land, especially if you are undecided. Consider what you want to happen with your land, what it might produce, and how much time and money will be required to get there. At the very least, you will have eliminated some options and be closer to defining your objectives.
As with most resource management, you may face a number of constraints, ranging from time, money and equipment, to steep slopes, poor soils and insect or disease problems. It is important to become familiar with your property, so take a walk and get a feel for what you have. You may opt to conduct a formal resource inventory.
Another advantage of a management plan is that you determine ahead of time what will be done, plus how and when to do it. This should keep you on track, minimizing wasted time, money, energy and resources. Management plans help demonstrate to others your commitment and intent in continued woodlot management.
Management plans are also useful in organizing your records and keeping track of activities on your property. This will help you determine what you have done that worked well and what you would not do again. For example, reforestation records should include notes about site preparation, planting dates, tree species, seedling source, herbicides, etc. Complete and accurate financial records are necessary for completing tax forms. Lending agencies, corporations, assessors and planning commissions often require proof of your commitment to long-term forest management.
Writing a management plan may seem a daunting task. But you don’t have to do it all at once, and there’s plenty of help available. The plan should contain written goals and objectives, maps and aerial photos, stand or vegetation descriptions, and an action plan, at the least. Other information that should be included is the landowner name and address, tract name and legal description, acreage, land use classifications, fire protection district, seed zone, etc. A general description of the site’s history is also valuable. Maps and photos are available from the Douglas County Assessor’s office.
To learn more, join us for our Basic Forestry Shortcourse series this fall. Classes start on Aug. 13 and cover many components of management planning. For a full schedule or more information, contact our office at (541) 672- 4461 or e-mail mary.hoffman@oregonstate.edu by Aug. 11 to register.
Raini Rippy is an Extension Forester for OSU Extension Service in Douglas County. She can be reached by e-mail at raini.rippy@oregonstate.edu or at 541-672-4461.
As a landowner, you should think about your objectives. Whether long-term or short-term, whether maintaining trees, wildlife or pasture, you should have an idea what you want to do, or not do, with your property.
A management plan gives you the road map to your property’s future. These plans can really help you decide what to do with your land, especially if you are undecided. Consider what you want to happen with your land, what it might produce, and how much time and money will be required to get there. At the very least, you will have eliminated some options and be closer to defining your objectives.
As with most resource management, you may face a number of constraints, ranging from time, money and equipment, to steep slopes, poor soils and insect or disease problems. It is important to become familiar with your property, so take a walk and get a feel for what you have. You may opt to conduct a formal resource inventory.
Another advantage of a management plan is that you determine ahead of time what will be done, plus how and when to do it. This should keep you on track, minimizing wasted time, money, energy and resources. Management plans help demonstrate to others your commitment and intent in continued woodlot management.
Management plans are also useful in organizing your records and keeping track of activities on your property. This will help you determine what you have done that worked well and what you would not do again. For example, reforestation records should include notes about site preparation, planting dates, tree species, seedling source, herbicides, etc. Complete and accurate financial records are necessary for completing tax forms. Lending agencies, corporations, assessors and planning commissions often require proof of your commitment to long-term forest management.
Writing a management plan may seem a daunting task. But you don’t have to do it all at once, and there’s plenty of help available. The plan should contain written goals and objectives, maps and aerial photos, stand or vegetation descriptions, and an action plan, at the least. Other information that should be included is the landowner name and address, tract name and legal description, acreage, land use classifications, fire protection district, seed zone, etc. A general description of the site’s history is also valuable. Maps and photos are available from the Douglas County Assessor’s office.
To learn more, join us for our Basic Forestry Shortcourse series this fall. Classes start on Aug. 13 and cover many components of management planning. For a full schedule or more information, contact our office at (541) 672- 4461 or e-mail mary.hoffman@oregonstate.edu by Aug. 11 to register.
Raini Rippy is an Extension Forester for OSU Extension Service in Douglas County. She can be reached by e-mail at raini.rippy@oregonstate.edu or at 541-672-4461.
