Forest Management Plans

In 2024 WeConservePA, the statewide association of land trusts of which we are a member, offered a new grant program to develop forest management plans on protected properties. The announcement explained:

“Conservation easements have an excellent track record in Pennsylvania as tools to block landowners from taking actions that would harm the conservation values of the land. However, there is more to conservation than simply blocking bad actions on the land. Due to invasive species, deer over browsing, climate change, and other factors, the land often will need proactive management steps to be taken to actually improve forest health, wildlife habitat, and water quality. Moreover, it’s likely that without some proactive management, the land conserved could actually experience a loss in conservation values over time. This presents a challenge as land trusts typically lack the funding, information, tools, and other resources to meaningfully advance proactive management on lands they have under easement; landowners, for their part, are unlikely to act proactively in the absence of guidance and incentives.”

 “This grant program is intended to explore the ways that land trusts, landowners, and forest professionals might work constructively together to better understand conserved lands and ultimately produce better conservation results on the land, including better forest health, habitat improvement, water resource protection, and sustainable timber production.”

“By funding the assessment of conservation values on eased properties and identifying affirmative, actionable measures that can be taken on each individual property to improve upon these values, the grant program aims to arm land trusts and landowners with the information and plans they need to improve forest resiliency, wildlife, and water quality outcomes over time.”

After reaching out to our Conservation Benefactors with significant forestland, sixteen responded with interest. The Land Conservancy was awarded approximately $26,000 from WeConservePA and subsequently hired Timber Ridge Forestry to write the plans, which were completed in December as required by the grant. Covering over 1,200 acres of Adams County woodland, the plans include an inventory of species present, describe concerns the owner may want to address, and recommend a schedule of proposed practices. The forest management plans meet the standards of the Natural Resources Conservation Service to be eligible for cost-share assistance to implement practices, should the owners decide to act on the recommendations. We hope this was an informative experience for our property owners, and we look forward to hearing how they decide to use their plans!