Help Available In Westmoreland For Forest Management Plans, Practices

Many local landowners planning to harvest timber have put their sales on hold, waiting for the economy to recover.

Tony Quadro, forester with the Westmoreland Conservation District, says this ”down time” need not be wasted. In fact, it’s an ideal opportunity to develop a forest management plan and, thanks to special funding, to do it at no- or minimal cost.

A forest management plan can ultimately make timber more valuable by suggesting actions that will improve the health and quality of the woodlot. It also helps to insure long-term sustainability, meaning that it will encourage a succession of quality trees that can be harvested again.

Quadro develops two kinds of plans for privately owned, non-industrial woodlots:

-- a brief, forest management plan that provides general recommendations, based on a one-time assessment of the site (this plan is free-of-charge), or

-- a formal Forest Stewardship Plan, with more details and specific recommendations (there is a charge for this plan; however, money is available to cover the majority of its cost).

Once a woodlot has a formal Forest Stewardship Plan, it also is eligible for money to implement some of the practices recommended in that plan, such as purchasing tree shelters to protect seedlings…reducing invasive plants…timber-stand improvement…and so on.

For more information, contact the Westmoreland Conservation District’s Forester, Tony Quadro, by sending email to: tony@wcdpa.com or calling 724-837-5271.