Helpful forms or documents to assist with management planning (for beginners)

[Piston]

I am just starting to learn about basic forestry management and will be hiring a forester to help come up with a management plan.  I wasn't really sure what type of information to give the foresters to help establish a plan for my land.  I found this 'outline form' pretty helpful for helping me put my goals on paper that I will eventually give to whichever forester(s) I choose. 
It may be helpful to other 'less educated' people like myself ;D
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000972_Rep1094.pdf

Also if anyone else has any basic educational or helpful recources that can be found online please post them here.  I would love to see some more .pdf documents that I can print out and read later when I don't have internet access.

I found tons of helpful info on the UNH extension website, I'm sure other's are very helpful as well. 

[Magicman]

Becoming a Certified Tree Farm is also helpful.  A management plan is part of the process and it's all free.  Your county forester will have all of the information.

[Ron Wenrich]

That's a pretty good form.  It seems to cover all the areas of property ownership.  But, I wouldn't put the amount of income you expect to get off of the property.  That opens up door for overcutting and high grading. 

If income is an objective, then you should be using the worst first scenario where the worst quality of trees are removed to allow your better quality of trees to put on more growth.  Timber cutting is compatible with many other forest practices.

I would also suggest talking to more than one forester.  Find the one that can best fit your needs in the long run. 

[Ron Scott]

Contact your State's DNR Service forester or Stewardship Coordinator for a list of names of forester's "certified" in writing Private Landowner Forest Stewardship Plans. They should have all the information, applications, and forms required to get you approved and started in getting your Stewardship Plan completed and approved for implementation of the management direction recommended to meet your objectives.

There may also be some cost sharing allowed for completion of the management plan.

[Piston]

I'm gonna fill out that form the best I can and think about what I really want to do and then contact multiple foresters (I'm sure I'll post on here for some recommendations when the time comes) and go from there. 

I don't care about the income the woodland would produce, but I think just by caring for it, following a plan, and keeping it healthy it sorta goes hand in hand.

[Tom]

Piston,
It's not just the value of the wood on the land that might be anybody's business but your own.  The one good reason to become a certified tree farm is property taxes.  You need the management plan signed by a certified or degreed Forester for most taxing authorities to consider you for Agricultural tax benefits.  The difference in tax assessment can amount to hundreds of dollars per acre.

Florida calls this "Greenbelt" and, in my county, it is the only thing that makes land viable for agriculture. I'm not sure how Maine handles it, but your County Forester is definitely the first one to talk to.

I've tried to get Foresters to talk about this in detail, almost to the point of inciting riot and a civil war, but there is a difficulty in getting them to say anything but "it's good for you, trust me."  There is a negative side to it that causes many landowners to bypass it.  Certification makes you responsible to a third party when it comes to management of your land and sale of your timber.  Many landowners are of the mind that there is already too much government telling them what to do with their private property and are stepping back and taking a long look at the current efforts to certify Forests.

The real fact is, though, that belonging to a Stewardship plan or being a certified Forest, is about the only way to get the Tax Assessor to back off and give you some breathing room.  It's one of the few things that a landowner should give into.  There is more to gain, at the moment, than to lose.  It will still be smart to pay attention to what you sign and to whom you give the rights to judge your life.  Your County Forester may be the only link that will stand between you  and the tax man, if  he is worth his salt.

Just the savings on property taxes can make owning cropland affordable.

here's some of the many threads on certification that exists here on the forum:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=search2
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,40096.msg587038/topicseen.html#msg587038
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,44776.msg644164/topicseen.html#msg644164
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,32480.0.html
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,810.msg9136.html#msg9136

[clearcut]

While you asked for online references, a book that may be useful is Working with Your Woodland: A Landowner's Guide by Mollie Beattie, Charles Thompson, and Lynn Levine ISBN:     0874516226 : 9780874516227

It is written for New England forests.

You may also want to look up information on Chapter 61, Massachusetts tax law that gives a property tax break for forest land under management.

[Piston]

Thanks guys.  I will keep busy looking into my options.  Just to clear it up the land I'm getting is in NH and it is currently in current use status.  I believe this must be similar to what your talking about Tom.  Basically they base the taxes on the 'current use' of the land, and not on the true value of the land.  This cuts taxes down enough to allow a normal working family to keep the land in the family instead of selling it off as real estate.  My plan is to keep all the land in current use status (except about an acre which I will build a cabin on)

I am really interested in the tree farm certification and will look into it more. 

I really don't think there is much value in the timber that is there, but I really don't know the first thing about it either, which of course is why I'll get a forester to come up with a management plan with me.

I just printed and bound this 230 page doc http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000294_Rep316.pdf
That should keep me busy for a few days  :D

I'll certainly check out the book mentioned especially since it is geared towards New England.

[John Mc]

In NH you do not have to be a certified tree farm to be in current use (though the Tree Farm program is a good one, and a good way to learn more about the subject). You do have to have an approved Forest Management Plan, however.

[WDH]

Go to the American Tree Farm System website if you would like to reference another management plan template.

[Piston]

I just finished reading my little 'pamphlet' and ordered that book Clearcut recommended.  There sure is a lot to forestry management and I feel like the more I learn the more I get confused.  I can see why hiring a forester is such a good idea now. 

It's pretty interesting to read about how all the different aspects of the forest relate to each other, and how certain changes effect different things, such as better wildlife or more diversity for example.

I'm starting to wish I went to school for forestry management instead of marine transportation! ;D

[Phorester]

A couple more things;  Educate yourself, but don't make definite decisions before you talk to your forester or foresters.  In my job as one of the foresters who you would talk to, I have found it very difficult to change the thinking of a landowner who has already made his mind up as to what he wants to do in his woods.  If you've already made your mind up, then you don't need to talk to a forester.  You have also shut yourself out of his expertise and knowledge of properly managing your woods based on biology and sound forest management techniques.  Keep an open mind when talking to foresters.

Selective harvests, thinnings, clearcutting, etc., are not goals, and they should not be though of as goals.  They are management practices to reach your goals.  In other words, landowner goals are - more deer on my property, more turkeys, trout in the creek, a healthy forest to pass on to my family, income from a timber sale every 5 years, etc.  Not - I want to selective harvest next year, I don't want to clearcut anything, I want to clearcut everything, etc.

Management practices are the way to reach goals, they are not goals themselves.

[WDH]

I'm starting to wish I went to school for forestry management instead of marine transportation! ;D

You are a young guy.  It is not too late.......

[Piston]

A couple more things;  Educate yourself, but don't make definite decisions before you talk to your forester or foresters........If you've already made your mind up, then you don't need to talk to a forester.  You have also shut yourself out of his expertise and knowledge of properly managing your woods based on biology and sound forest management techniques.  Keep an open mind when talking to foresters.

This shouldn't be a problem, since I have absolutely NO idea what I want  :D

Selective harvests, thinnings, clearcutting, etc., are not goals, and they should not be though of as goals.  They are management practices to reach your goals.  In other words, landowner goals are - more deer on my property, more turkeys, trout in the creek, a healthy forest to pass on to my family, income from a timber sale every 5 years, etc.  Not - I want to selective harvest next year, I don't want to clearcut anything, I want to clearcut everything, etc.

Management practices are the way to reach goals, they are not goals themselves.

I will definately remember that!  I'll try scanning and attaching what I have filled out so far.

[Piston]

Shoot, I tried attaching the file as a .pdf but it is too big? hmmmm