Forest Stewardship

The right to own land is one of the most valued rights of Americans. If you are like most landowners, you take pride in your land. As a forest landowner you can also:

  • Improve or maintain a healthy forest
  • Increase wildlife habitat on your property
  • Enhance natural beauty and land values
  • Increase your recreational opportunities
  • Reduce soil erosion and improve water quality
  • Protect your property from wildfire, insects and disease
  • Increase your income from forest products
  • Reduce your taxes

Any of these options are available to landowners regardless of location or present land use. As a forest landowner, it is important that you work with a professional to get the maximum benefit from your property.

Forest Stewardship Program
National Standards and Guidelines

Virginia’s Forest Stewardship Program is a landowner assistance program developed for non-industrial private forest landowners by the Virginia Department of Forestry and the USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry. The Department of Forestry provides the forestry professionals who work with the private landowners and the USDA Forest Service provides program oversight and the grant funding that makes this Program possible. Through the cooperation of these state and federal agencies, a wealth of forest management information, expertise and experience can be at the landowner’s finger tips through a personalized document called a Forest Stewardship Management Plan.

The purpose of the Forest Stewardship Program is to encourage the long-term stewardship of nonindustrial private forest lands, by assisting the owners of such lands to more actively manage their forest and related resources. Read more about the Standards and Guidelines for this program.

Landowner Assistance Available

The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) has professional foresters who can provide you with guidance and direction in setting your forest management objectives. Our goal is to help you develop a healthy, thriving and profitable forest. You, the environment and local economy can benefit from a productive forest.

The VDOF can help you:

  • Evaluate your forest property in consultation with wildlife biologists and other resource specialists as needed to identify your needs
  • Develop a Forest Stewardship Plan giving consideration to your overall goals and objectives

The Forest Stewardship Plan

The first step toward a healthy, productive woodland is a Forest Stewardship Plan. Foresters are available in every county to provide management plans for woodland owners. Some tax benefits and cost-share incentive programs require a Forest Stewardship Plan to ensure landowner's commitment to conservation practices in return for financial benefits. There may be a modest fee for this service.

Stewardship Documents

Each Stewardship Plan:

  • is designed to achieve the specific landowner's objectives
  • provides an inventory of tree species composition, age, merchantability, growth rate, and wildlife habitat conditions
  • considers multiple uses of the total forest resource.
  • provides options for developing wildlife habitat, aesthetics, and recreation opportunities accomplished in harmony with timber production
  • recommends methods of protecting water quality and sensitive natural areas during logging activities
  • includes a map showing location of the various forest types, land uses and natural features such as drainages
  • includes reference information on resource management

Proper land stewardship is the focus of the Forest Stewardship Plan. To maximize the benefits of forest ownership, the Stewardship Plan should be established prior to timber harvesting.

Harvesting Your Timber

Recent studies show that landowners who use a professional forester in their forest management activities gain 40% more in revenue than those who do not.

VDOF foresters provide timber sales assistance including:

  • methods of selling timber
  • suggestions for timber sale contracts
  • lists of consulting foresters who provide timber valuation and sale administration

Timber harvesting recommendations include:

  • thinning immature stands for pulpwood and fuelwood to improve the quality and value of the future stand; reduce risk of insect and disease infestations; provide early financial returns
  • clearcutting mature timber to facilitate desired regeneration of seedlings
  • cutting timber subject to the Seed Tree Law. Where loblolly or white pine trees comprise more than 25 percent of the stand, and more than 10 acres, the landowner has the option of leaving seed trees, clearcutting and planting pine seedlings, or converting the land to agriculture or development

For a fee, consulting foresters will:

  1. Provide timber appraisals
  2. Coordinate timber sales
  3. Inspect logging operations
  4. Act as the landowner's agent

Close supervision of the harvesting operation is necessary with unit sales to ensure that unmarked trees are not cut and that trees are marketed for the highest value forest products.

All timber sales should be bound by a written contract, never a verbal agreement. A written contract protects both the buyer and the seller by identifying the responsibilities of each party. When drawing up a contract, an attorney should be consulted.

There are two ways standing timber is sold:

  1. Lump Sum sales; and
  2. Unit sales.

With Lump Sum sales, all timber that meets certain standards is sold for a fixed single payment, often on a sealed bid basis.

In unit sales, payment is based on an agreed price per unit of measure (cords, thousand board feet or tons) and is paid in installments as cutting progresses. A potential problem with unit sales is that the buyer may cut only the best timber on the area which is the easiest to harvest.

Stewardship Options For a Healthy Forest

Wildlife

If wildlife management is one of you main interests, we can develop a plan that includes wildlife objectives. We might suggest that you select two or three preferred wildlife species. We would then provide detailed information on how to maximize your preferred wildlife habitat, while minimizing conflicts with other desired land uses.

Scenic Beauty

There is nothing more refreshing than taking a stroll in a forest filled with diverse wildlife, vegetation and scenic areas. Our Forester can help you increase the beauty of your forestland by:

  • Maintaining a healthy forest
  • Encouraging growth of diverse and natural landscapes
  • Preserving scenic vistas
  • Preserving historic and cultural resources
  • Protection of rare, threatened or endangered species

Water Quality Protection

The top priority in the Department's forest management program is the protection of water quality through soil erosion control. Best Management Practices (BMP's) have been developed for this purpose.

  • The Department recommends BMP's to loggers and landowners in preharvest planning, focusing on preservation of streamside management zones (SMZ's) of undisturbed timber, proper log road layout, and wetlands protection.
  • The Department, forest industry and consultant foresters cooperate in monitoring harvest operations to encourage:
    • proper stream crossings
    • installation of water diversion devices
    • seeding of log roads in grass cover
    • maintenance of SMZ's

Pine Plantations

  • Low quality hardwood sites, open fields including marginal and steep, erosive farm land and harvested pine sites are generally recommended for conversion to pine plantations.
  • Seedlings can be purchased at cost from the VDOF between mid-December and mid-April.
  • VDOF's loblolly and white pine seedlings are genetically improved and produce trees with excellent growth and form characteristics.
  • The VDOF assists in procuring private contractors for site preparation or planting trees.
  • The VDOF monitors planting quality and checks seedling survival to ensure a successful plantation.
  • Plantations are re-examined one to two years after planting to determine the need for applying herbicide to suppress hardwood brush competition. Herbicides can be applied by ground or aerial application.
  • The VDOF also sells trees and shrub species to enhance wildlife habitat in and around pine plantations.

Natural Hardwood Regeneration

Harvested hardwood stands regenerate prolifically with new seedlings and sprouts from the roots and stumps of harvested trees. VDOF foresters examine hardwood stands to determine:

  • The potential for quality hardwood growth.
  • The species mix most likely to occupy the site following harvest.
  • Cutting practices needed to obtain the desired natural hardwood regeneration.

Forest Investment

If you are interested in using you forestland as an investment, we can develop your plan with financial objectives. In the south, a forest investment can often bring in more revenue than other traditional long-term investments. For example, a typical forestry investment will often provide a greater yield than a bond or savings account over the same period of time.

Financial Incentives

Site preparation and tree planting may involve a large financial investment. There are programs to help in meeting these costs.

  • The state Reforestation of Timberlands (RT) Program and the federal Forestry Incentives Program (FIP) provides cost sharing of site preparation and tree planting for pine plantation establishment.
  • In addition, there are Federal Income Tax incentives for reforestation.
  • Cost-Share Programs (English, MS PowerPoint Presentation, 1.2MB)

Insects and Diseases

Significant timber mortality results from various insect and disease infestations.

To combat forest pests, the VDOF:

  • Conducts periodic aerial and ground surveys to locate and identify pest populations;
  • Distributes information on insect and disease control measures to help landowners protect their timberlands.

Forestry in My County
Learn more about the county where you live.

Forestry Consultants
Find a forestry consultant in Virginia.

Logging Notification
Loggers must notify us of their timber harvests.

Urban and Community Forestry
Do you live in a suburb? Learn how trees benefit cities and towns.

Rain Gardens
These man-made depressions in the ground collect water runoff and store it, so it can be filtered and slowly absorbed by the soil.

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