Forest Stewardship Part 1

A Forest Stewardship Plan is a tool that guides management of a variety of natural resources on forestland. While a Forest Stewardship Plan CAN focus on marketable forest products, it must also consider and address other issues such as wildlife, water resources, carbon, and/or historic and cultural resources found on the property. This emphasis on protection and management of noncommercial forest resources is a key difference between a Forest Stewardship Plan and a traditional Forest Management Plan. The USDA Forest Service first began encouraging landowners across the country to develop Forest Stewardship Plans for their woodlands in 1991 under the emerging USDA Forest Stewardship Program. Check out this video taken at Sparta Mountain to learn more about what goes into a Forest Stewardship Plan, why New Jersey is actively managing forests, and how ecological forest stewardship can protect and mitigate against climate change, increase resiliency, enhance critical habitat, and provide natural resources to future generations.