Forest Stewardship – The careful and responsible management of forestland entrusted to one’s care to ensure the health and long-term viability of forest resources.
Planning for Success – Forest Management Planning
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin. A slight revision to this famous quote would be, “By failing to plan, you are planning to fail,” and for practicing good forest resources management this can be especially true. Good forest resource management is a long-term endeavor because trees take many years to grow to maturity, oftentimes longer than most human lifetimes. Following a good management plan can help landowners assure success and avoid making management mistakes that can negatively affect their forestland for years.
Forest landowners should seek out help from forestry professionals who are educated and trained to know how trees and forests grow, and what effect each forest management practice will have on the forest. With this education, applied to the forest landowner’s management goals and objectives, a professional forester can develop a management plan that can help the landowner meet their individual goals and objectives while avoiding many pitfalls.
A forest management plan can come in many sizes, but the best plan will consider the landowner’s entire property and provide recommendations for each different forested area. This is often called a “Tract Plan,” this plan describes the current site conditions for all areas within the property ownership and recommendations for how to manage the different parcels or stands to meet the landowner’s objectives. Examples of Tract Plans are Forest Stewardship Plans, Forestry Conservation Activity Plans (CAP106), Tree Farm Plans, and Land Use Plans.
Another type of plan is called a “Stand or Practice Plan.” These are usually smaller plans that address only one parcel or stand within a larger property. These plans usually address and recommend practices for only one specific objective, like reforesting a stand that was recently harvested. Examples of stand plans are Pre-harvest Plans, Reforestation Plans, and Cost-Share Plans.
When landowners LEARN about forests and forest practices, make a PLAN to meet their forest management goals and objectives, then ACT on their management plan recommendations, they will know what to expect, how the forest should react to the management practices, and have a vision of what forest management success will be for them.
Understand your options when choosing a forest management plan.
Get started planning for your forestland.
Landowners should also consider tax planning when setting a plan for their forestland.
Additional Resources
| Image | Title | ID | Description | Content Type | View | hf:tax:document-category | hf:tax:Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Alternate Management Plan | 7.06 | Form | View | forest-management | form | |
| Alternate Management Plan Supplement For… (Transfer) | 7.07 | Form | View | forest-management | form | |
| Century Forest Application | 10.03 | Application to apply for the recognition in the Century Forest Program. | Form | View | forest | form |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Conservation Easement | 10.04 | Application to apply to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program via conservation easement. | Form | View | forest | form |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Fee Simple Purchase | 10.05 | Application to apply to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program via fee simple purchase. | Form | View | forest | form |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Property Proposal | 10.06 | Application Property Proposal is to be submitted as a part of the submission package when applying to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program. | Form | View | forest | form |
| Forest Legacy Program Application – Property Proposal – Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding Supplement | 10.07 | Application Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Funding Supplement is to be submitted as a part of the submission package when applying to be considered for the Forest Legacy Program during IRA funding application cycles. | Form | View | forest | form |
| Forest Management Services Agreement | 7.01 | Form | View | forest-management | form | |
| Forest Stewardship Program Application | 7.10 | Form | View | forest-management | form | |
 | Forests and Water – Get the Most Out of Your Land | P00211 | Publication is directed to landowners to educate about forest buffers, stream water quality, watersheds, riparian buffer tax credit program and other programs that can assist. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | watershed | publication |
 | Landowner Options for Forestland Conservation | P00146 | Brochure provides information regarding options available to landowners for conserving their forestland, including use-value taxation, ag and forestal districts, riparian Buffer tax credit, cost-share assistance, conservation easements, purchase of development rights, grants for fee-simple acquisition and easements, and donations of property. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | forest | publication |
 | National Timber Tax Website | The National Timber Tax Website was developed to be used by timberland owners, as well as a reference for accountants, attorneys, consulting foresters and other professionals who work with timberland owners regarding the tax treatment of timber related activities. | Resource | View | financial-assistance-forest-management forest-management | resource | |
| NRCS Conservation Planning Activity (CPA 106) and Design and Implementation Activity (DIA 165) Application | 7.09 | Form | View | forest-management | form | |
| Open-Space Easement Application | 10.01 | Form | View | forest | form | |
| Open-Space Easement Landowner Checklist | 10.02 | Form | View | forest | form | |
 | Plan Your Forest’s Future | P00205 | Brochure provides information regarding the responsibility of owning forestland and the importance of planning your forest’s future, conserving your forestland, forest planning options, types of plans, elements of a plan, and benefits of a plan. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | forest-management | publication |
 | Services for Landowners | P00112 | Brochure provides information about the services available to landowners from the Virginia Department of Forestry, including forest management and forest health, timber harvesting and water quality, land conservation, tree seedling production, and resource protection. Printed copies available. | Publication | View | fire-and-emergency-response forest-health forest-management forest nurseries urban-and-community-forestry water-quality | publication |
 | Tables For Measuring Timber | P00058 | Pocket card provides tables to assist in measuring and calculating timber volumes. | Publication | View | forest-management | publication |
| Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2021 Tax Year | FS-1188 | This USDA Forest Service publication provides tax tips intended to assist forest landowners and their tax advisors in preparing 2021 Federal income tax returns. It can also help plan for future years. This material is for information and educational use only and is not intended as financial, tax, or legal advice. Please consult with your tax advisor concerning your particular tax situation. | Publication | View | financial-assistance-forest-management forest-management forest | publication |
| Virginia Forest Stewardship Management Plan Template | Standard template to be used as a base document with individual information modified as needed and general format and structure to remain consistent. | Template | View | forest-management | template | |
| Virginia Forest Stewardship Management Plan Template | Standard template to be used as a base document with individual information modified as needed and general format and structure to remain consistent. (Template .dotx file format). Use this file format if you’re having issues with the header on the docx file. | Template | View | forest-management | template | |
 | Virginia Forest Stewardship Plan: Appendix | P00212 | Appendix provides an excellent supplement to an individual landowner’s Forest Stewardship Plan. Subjects include land ownership, forest management, forest products marketing, water quality, forest health, fire, forests and wildlife, forest recreation, forest conservation, natural heritage and historic resources, taxes and financial assistance, forest stewardship program and certification, glossary, and contacts. Printed copies available with DOF Stewardship Plan development services only. | Publication | View | forest-management | publication |
 | Virginia Forest Stewardship Plan: Appendix – Introduction Cover Letter | P00212 | Appendix provides an excellent supplement to an individual landowner’s Forest Stewardship Plan. Subjects include land ownership, forest management, forest products marketing, water quality, forest health, fire, forests and wildlife, forest recreation, forest conservation, natural heritage and historic resources, taxes and financial assistance, forest stewardship program and certification, glossary, and contacts. Printed copies available with DOF Stewardship Plan development services only. | Publication | View | forest-management | publication |
Contact Us
DOF foresters can assist you with your forestland, contact your local DOF forester.
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