A Landowner S Guide To Managing Your Woods

Whether you have a few acres of trees in the suburbs or a small commercial forest, you can encourage a healthy and sustainable ecosystem through proper woodland management. This introductory guide shows you how to identify the type, health, and quality of your trees and suggests strategies for keeping your woodland thriving.

A landowner's manual for forest management in New England

Combining today’s issues of creating self-sustaining environments with the age-old sports of hunting, shooting and trapping, Wildlife and Woodlot Management is the ultimate guide to attracting game to your property. Expert outdoorsman Monte Burch teaches a wide variety of techniques based on his own land management practices. Learn to match the vegetation of your land to the type of wildlife you need to attract. Hundreds of diagrams and photographs as well as Burch’s charming, instructional tone make woodlot management easy even for those who lack a green thumb. Wildlife and Woodlot Management offers expert tips on such topics as: Choosing the right piece of land for your needs Maintenance and management practices Improving natural vegetation Attracting bucks, wild turkey, waterfowl, and small game How to love working and helping your land With over 330 pages crammed full of information and chapters covering topics ranging from timber stands to trespassers, Wildlife and Woodlot Management includes all the know-how you need to make your land into a hunting destination. Packed with pertinent details and accurate, easy-to-follow advice, this is a book no land-owning outdoorsman should miss.

Positive Impact Forestry is a primer for private woodland owners and their managers on managing their land and forests to protect both ecological and economic vitality. Moving beyond the concept of "low impact forestry," Thom McEvoy brings together the latest scientific understanding and insights to describe an approach to managing forests that meets the needs of landowners while at the same time maintaining the integrity of forest ecosystems. "Positive impact forestry" emphasizes forestry's potential to achieve sustainable benefits both now and into the future, with long-term investment superseding short-term gain, and the needs of families -- especially future generations -- exceeding those of individuals. Thom McEvoy offers a thorough discussion of silvicultural basics, synthesizing and explaining the current state of forestry science on topics such as forest soils, tree roots, form and function in trees, and the effects of different harvesting methods on trees, soil organisms, and sites. He also offers invaluable advice on financial, legal, and management issues, ranging from finding the right forestry professionals to managing for products other than timber to passing forest lands and management legacies on to future generations. Positive Impact Forestry helps readers understand the impacts of deliberate human activities on forests and offers viable strategies that provide benefits without damaging ecosystems. It speaks directly to private forest owners and their advisers and represents an innovative guide for anyone concerned with protecting forest ecosystems, timber production, land management, and the long-term health of forests. Named the "Best Forestry Book for 2004" by the National Woodlands Owners Association

Forest Management and Planning, Second Edition, addresses contemporary forest management planning issues, providing a concise, focused resource for those in forest management. The book is intermixed with chapters that concentrate on quantitative subjects, such as economics and linear programming, and qualitative chapters that provide discussions of important aspects of natural resource management, such as sustainability. Expanded coverage includes a case study of a closed canopy, uneven-aged forest, new forest plans from South America and Oceania, and a new chapter on scenario planning and climate change adaptation. Helps students and early career forest managers understand the problems facing professionals in the field today Designed to support land managers as they make complex decisions on the ecological, economic, and social impacts of forest and natural resources Presents updated, real-life examples that are illustrated both mathematically and graphically Includes a new chapter on scenario planning and climate change adaptation Incorporates the newest research and forest certification standards Offers access to a companion website with updated solutions, geographic databases, and illustrations

Common Sense Forestry relates thirty years' experience of an environmentally conscious woodland owner. Much of the book is devoted to starting a forest and how to maintain it. It answers such questions as: What seedlings to buy? Should your forest be monoculture or a mixed forest? What is the payback for planting and maintaining a forest? Is seeding a good way to start a forest? What kind of seeds work best? Does it pay to hire a consultant? What should he/she do for you? Does it pay to do much maintenance in your forest? How should I prune? Is timberland improvement worthwhile? How, when and whether to thin? How to herbicide and when? Can the damage done to nature by chemicals be justified by the benefits to your seedlings? What are the economics of woodland ownership? The success and history of German forestry methods is discussed and suggests what can be learned from these age-old practices. It will tell you how to file your income taxes, what equipment to buy, what works--and does not work--and why. It also provides guidance on how to deal with state and federal programs. Although intended for private woodland owners, the book is used as a classroom text in universities. The book is more practical than technical, yet still imparts knowledge of basic forestry, explaining terms such as succession and shade tolerance and how to apply these concepts in practice. Even sophisticated concepts are covered in plain, non-technical terms. Hans Morsbach, the author, believes that forestry is an art more than a science. Competent foresters may apply different methods of managing their forests and achieve comparable results. Still, it is important to be guided by natural forest principles. Doing nothing may sometimes be a better course of action than doing too much. The book suggests ways to gauge your involvement with your woodland to time available and your personal preference. It is most important that you enjoy your forest.

An easy-to-use guide for enhancing wildlife habitat quality, timber values, and the appearance of forest lands.