Hi,
I got a letter in the mail from the forest service asking if they can take an inventory of the tree species on my property as part of their forestry inventory and analysis program. Has anyone got any experience with participating in this program, and are there pros/cons to participating?
Thanks
Alec
It's just asking permission to measure a sample of the trees on your property. There is no obligation to "continue with the plan" because there isn't any plan. The purpose of FIA is simply to track what is happening to the forests of the US. For you the landowner, you should treat your land however you want and disregard the fact that there is an FIA plot out there.
Clark
I'd ask if this is the USDA US Forest Service, as there are State Forest Service agencies going by the Forest Service name.
Then, I'd ask for some good detail and explanation from them (similar to what Clark mentions) as to their intent and use of your data and your land in the future. They may figure they have permission to drop by and visit their plot(s) any time and that might not be what you want.
Private ownership of woodlands is frustrating for the State and Federal Gov't types, as they don't have control like they'd want. But they are figuring many clever backdoor ways to gain that control, and among those ways is the Certification enactments that continue to grow and expand and encompass decisions made by landowners... be it soil, water, air, cutting, managing, etc.
In WI (and I think in other states as well) we have MFL (Managed Forest Land) programs that have lured the landowner with tax breaks... started out as a very benign requirement to not burn, and not graze. It grew to where now we cannot write our own management plan but have to hire forestry consultants to write the plans (about $2000), and forced timber cutting (care not that the value of product removed doesn't cover the cost of removal), and excessive acreage assessments to entice and keep landowners signed up in MFL. A real catch 22 that gives Gov't the control that they want.
End of rant..
I'm not extremely knowledgeable about FIA, but I know that the FIA foresters in nc, go out to each of the plots they have every 5 -10 years ( exact number may be different ), and measure the tree data in the given plot. They try to call the landowner ahead of time to keep them in the loop. They don't return very often, I think there are 3 pairs of foresters for our entire state. They take the data and compile it to give a representation of the loss or gain of forested acres, tree species and look at the percentage of forest in the different wood product classes across the state as a whole. I'm sure that I'm leaving out something, but I scan over the reports every year on email.
The USFS FIA program is the Continuous Forest Inventory program of the USFS. They establish and remeasure plots throughout the US to look at species composition, volume, growth and such. They report the results on a regional and National Forest level, and possibly county level.
Since there are no National Forests in Mass. they supplement their data with numbers from private lands. They will probably take 1 cluster plot of 5 subplots and be on their way. At least that is how it used to be done.
Allowing the inventory is likely a net zero. There will not be enough plots for you to get any useful information about your property. Taking the information should not have impact on your management.
What Clark and clearcut said.
I don't know anything about it but I don't give the government any info if I can help it.
A good friend of mine bought some woodland a few years ago in Western NY and built a new house on the property. Last year a fellow showed up at his door and wanted permission to survey plots that had been recorded in the past. He went with him and learned a lot about his woods. There were specific trees that were marked and recorded in the past. He felt very lucky that he was home and able to walk the woods with him. I assume that he was a part of the same federal program.
Info published for Michigan available from the National Inventory. Many find this to be very useful information concerning their forest lands.
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/forestry_inventory_and_analysis_data_provides_comprehensive_look_at_forestr
The E-Forester
As it turned out, the parcel that the forest service wanted to survey was not on my land, but rather on an adjacent parcel. A number of years ago, the previous owner of my property did own the adjacent land as well, but when we bought it, it had been divided into a few smaller parcels. The largest piece of the former owner's parcel ended up being bought by the town as conservation land, and that's where the foresters went. In the middle of a red maple swamp. I assume they got out ok!
Thanks for all the feedback. I have to go now, and register my drone. >:(
They (our provincial government) do them here as forest development surveys on established plots or make new ones. The landowner has no obligations and even if the plot has been cut of it's trees nothing becomes it. Around these parts, most times the landowner doesn't even know it's been measured. Most folks here never get offensive over it, it's not our nature.