PA FOREST STEWARDSHIP PLAN

Transcription

1 PA FOREST STEWARDSHIP PLAN Instructions And Minimum Standards The Forest Stewardship Plan is used to provide an overview of a woodland property in the context of a landowner's needs and objectives. The plan will acknowledge and describe the range of resource values specified in the 1990 Farm Bill, but in most cases, recommendations will focus on what directly relates to owner objectives. The plan is first and foremost a means of communicating technical information in a concise form that is useful to a landowner. It isn't a college term paper, but a communication to a layperson who has an interest in the land and wants to manage it intelligently. Landowner objectives are very important. We who are trained as resource professionals must be careful not to impose our own values on the landowner and recommend what we would want to do if it were our own land. It is of primary importance to really hear what is important to the landowner and what his long term plans for the property are. Even a technically accurate, well written plan that isn't directed by the landowner's objectives will miss the boat. A Stewardship Plan is to provide an overview, accurate at a general level, but not exhaustive in detail, of the forest resources on the property. The management unit descriptions reflect a reconnaissance level of inventory rather than an exhaustive, statistically supported stand analysis. Management recommendations should provide guidance and direction as to what should be done in each management unit and why it should be clear how the recommended action will help achieve landowner objectives. Prescriptions that numerically detail exactly what should be cut and what the residual stand would look like are not required. The landowner should expect to need more detailed information when ready to follow through with a recommendation, either from the plan writer or from the service forester. Extras such as a timber appraisal or a comprehensive plant inventory, for example, may be added to a Stewardship Plan as an option by agreement between consultant and client. There is no objection to using the Forest Stewardship Plan as a vehicle for obtaining detailed information about subjects of interest, provided (1) the plan meets minimum program requirements for all resources, and (2) the basics of the plan are not obscured by the extra detail. If you must charge more to complete a plan that includes extras the client will have to pay the difference. The landowner questionnaire Developing Management Goals for Your Property is intended as a tool to benefit you and the landowners. It is to help the landowners to articulate what is important to them about the property and what they hope to get out of it. And it is to help you to help them formulate reasonable management goals for the property and clear objectives for each management unit. It is not intended as a substitute for personal interaction between you and your client. If the service forester has met with the landowner before you, the landowner will have a copy of the questionnaire already. Remind him to complete it before your visit so that you can discuss it when you meet. If time permits ask him to send you a copy ahead of time for your review. If you make the initial contact with the landowner, you should provide him a copy of the questionnaire. 1

2 The landowner applies for cost-share assistance for a plan through the service forester, through a simple process. The application is not complete, however, until the service forester receives notification of who the landowner has contracted to write the plan. Cost-share money will be reserved for the plan only after the service forester submits the completed application to the Harrisburg office. A time limit of nine months from the date the request is received in Harrisburg will be allowed for plan completion. If the plan is not complete within the allotted time frame, the application will be canceled and the money released; the landowner will be required to reapply using a different plan writer. The landowner may decide to stay with the original Plan Writer. In this case, cost-share money cannot be reserved. When the Plan is complete, if funds are available, the cost-share payment will be made. The service forester will conduct a computer search of the PA Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) for records of any known occurrences of rare, threatened, or endangered species on the property. You ll need to get the results of the PNDI search from the service forester early in the development of the plan and incorporate them into the plan. The service forester also has stereo aerial photo coverage and a high quality stereoscope available for use in developing plans. You may make arrangements with the service forester to use them in-house at his office. The scale is 1:1320 (1 = 1320 feet, or 4 = 1 mile). As you develop the plan, if problems or concerns arise, contact the service forester to clear them up early rather than later in the process. When you complete the plan, submit a draft to the service forester for review before you finalize it, especially if you are new to the process. The service forester is responsible for ensuring that the plan is complete according to program guidelines, that it accurately reflects the resources present, and that it is in keeping with the landowner s interests and abilities. It s easier on everybody if you can resolve any problems before you present the finished plan to the landowner. Once the service forester approves the plan, present it to the landowner for approval. Provide one copy of the finished plan to the landowner and one to the service forester for his files. 2

3 FOREST STEWARDSHIP PLAN prepared for: Landowner Name Property Address Township County Phone Numbers (work and home) address (if available) Stewardship Acres (acres addressed in the plan: forested acreage, plus any non-forested land that the landowner intends to actively manage for timber, wildlife, or water quality in the next ten years may be included; active pastures and cultivated farm fields may not) Total Parcel Acres (total acreage of the property) Mailing Address: (if different from above) prepared by: Planwriter Name Business Name Address Phone Number Fax Number (if available) Address (if available) County service forester: Service Forester Name Service Forester Address Phone Number Fax Number Address (give district fax and address if service forester has none) Landowner s Management Goals for the Property: 3

4 It is the plan writer s responsibility to help the landowner to develop concise yet specific management goals. Review the landowner s responses to the questionnaire entitled Developing Management Goals for Your Property before you meet with him/her. During your on-site visit encourage the landowner to discuss his interests, values, and long range vision for the property, and listen carefully and without bias. Tour the property (with the landowner, if possible) and ask him to point out areas mentioned in his questionnaire responses. Then provide guidance on what management options are reasonable in light of the resources found on site. The written goals should represent a distillation of the landowner s needs and desires for the land, tempered with the plan writer s professional guidance on what options are viable. Directions to the Property: Start from a marked intersection or landmark. Give road distances and directions. The Property Within the Landscape: Describe briefly the location of the property relative to neighboring municipalities, major roadways, and natural topographic feature give approximate distances and geographic directions. Describe the topography of the area and dominant land uses, comparing the property to the area surrounding it. State whether the boundaries are marked and how. Species of Special Concern: The service forester will conduct a search of the PNDI database and provide the results of the search to the plan writer; the plan writer is to incorporate the information into the finished plan. For properties less than 50 acres in size the search will be of an area 100 acres in size including and surrounding the property; for larger properties an area twice the size of the property will be searched. If a hit occurs you may be asked to provide a topo quad map with an outline of the property boundaries on it for use by PNDI staff. Topographic Quad Sheet Map Where Property is Located Location (inches up and over from the bottom right corner of map) Results In most cases no rare, threatened, or endangered species will be found on the property and the following narrative will suffice: A search of the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory was conducted to determine whether any species of special concern have historically or recently been found on or near your property. No record of an occurrence was found in PNDI. This does not necessarily mean that no rare, threatened, or endangered plants or animals live on your property, only that none has been reported there to date. If the search does result in a hit the service forester will contact the Bureau of Forestry s PNDI staff in Harrisburg for further direction. For the plan narrative, use the same first line as above; the rest will vary according to which of the following scenarios occurs: if the species is indeed present on the property, habitat requirements and management guidelines will be provided, and the plan writer is to incorporate these into the plan if a field check will be necessary to determine whether the species is present or not the date for the field check should be stated in the plan, and the results of the field check included once available. if the PNDI staff can ascertain without a field check that the species is not actually on the property, the plan writer is to incorporate this information and any management guidance provided into the plan 4

5 Map A neat and clear map is an extremely important component of the plan. For the Stewardship Plan you ll provide both a photocopy of an aerial photo with management units delineated on it, and a clean sketch map showing the same. To start you ll need to know where the boundaries of the property are (an approximation is adequate for purposes of the Stewardship Plan). The landowner may be able to provide a survey map. If not, a tax map available from the county tax assessor s office will give you the approximate locations of the property boundaries. Obtain a photocopy of an aerial photo of the property at a scale of 1 :660 (8 =1 mile) from the local USDA Farm Service Agency office at. If the landowner is willing to pay for it, you can order an original photo from FSA. If FSA photo coverage is not available request a copy of the 1 :1320 (4 =1 mile) photo available through the Bureau of Forestry service forester for the county stereo coverage is available for the entire state. On the back of the aerial photo (or copy) write the source (FSA or Bureau of Forestry), year flown, scale, and agency file numbers necessary to locate the original photo again. If a good photo is not available from either source use a topographic map. Delineate property boundaries and management units on the photo and include the photo (or copy) in the plan. Do this carefully, in conjunction with a thorough ground reconnaissance of the property. Make arrangements with the local service forester to use a stereoscope, if you wish. Management units may be forest stands, fields, or other areas sufficiently distinct from one another to be considered separate units. The plan should (preferably) include all forest land, but non-forested areas which will be actively managed may also be included. Make a clean sketch map (or computer generated map) showing the property boundary, management units, and important waterways and roads. Number the management units clearly. Include a north arrow and map legend listing the cover type and acreage of each management unit. Note: noncontiguous units with the same cover type may be combined as one unit if the management recommendations are the same. 5

6 Management Unit Number Cover Type: Acres: (make sure the combined acreage of all management units does not exceed the total covered in the plan) Management History: Describe prior land uses, if known, and any management activities that have been applied to the site. If history is unknown but you are able to make an educated guess from what is presently growing on site, do so. Management Unit Description: Use the Management Unit Reconnaissance Data form to ensure that you consider all resources in your reconnaissance of each management unit. Refer to the aerial photo as well as your own observations to consider what cover types, land uses and management activities are beyond the property boundaries. This is of particular importance when wildlife management is an objective. But it is also important in terms of protecting and enhancing biodiversity, which is an underlying objective of the Forest Stewardship Program. This may mean retaining a cover type that is locally uncommon when it is found on a property, or discouraging the establishment of a particular cover type that is overly abundant locally. Use a county Soil Survey, available through the local NRCS office, to identify the soil series and types present on the property and to characterize their properties and limitations. Make brief notations on the recon data sheets for your use in the field. For forested stands, you will need to take enough plot data to state with confidence the species composition, stand density, timber quality, and availability of regeneration. A full stand analysis is not required for the Stewardship Plan, but you must have enough information to clearly describe the unit and provide an assessment of the timber potential. Space is provided on the recon data form to record minimal information, but for stands that are highly variable in composition, you may need to collect more detailed data. Two systems recommended to guide your data collection are: Quantitative Silviculture for Hardwood Forests of the Alleghenies (SILVAH) and Even Aged Management for Upland Central Oaks. PLEASE NOTE: If a timber sale is held on a Stewardship Property, the consulting forester must conduct a complete stand analysis according to one of the above two systems, and provide a copy of the analysis and written prescription to the service forester prior to the harvest. The recon data form should serve as a guide in writing the Management Unit Description. You need not necessarily mention every resource on the form if there is little to report, but be sure to clearly describe all noteworthy features. It is particularly important to address in more detail those features that are a benefit or a hindrance to achieving the management objective for the unit. The plan is a multiple resource plan, not a timber management plan. It is never acceptable to focus on one resource in the unit description, to the exclusion of others, no matter what the management objective for the unit. Management Objectives for the Unit: Always keep in mind the landowner s goals for the property when deciding on a management objective for each unit. Consider which units could accomplish the goals in the shortest period of time and/or at the least cost. Differences in site productivity, the condition of the vegetation currently on the site, and access to the unit are all important factors to consider. Management Recommendations: 6

7 Recommendations should be clear and specific, but not overly precise. They are recommendations, not prescriptions. They are based on a reconnaissance of the property and minimal plot data, not on a full stand analysis. Make it clear what the recommendations will accomplish-- why the landowner should follow them. Explain how the objective will meet one or more of the goals for the property. If several activities are needed make sure the sequence and timing is clear. If what is growing on adjacent lands or what activities are occurring there affected your recommendation, be sure to explain this. You should have enough data to make management recommendations with confidence. To recommend simply that a full stand analysis be taken is not acceptable. 7

8 Recommendations Schedule This provides a quick reminder of what needs to be done and when. Keep in mind the landowner s goals for the property and limitations of available time, skills, physical ability, motivation, equipment, and finances. The schedule should help the landowner to make the best use of his limited time and resources by identifying as high priority those projects that will accomplish the most toward reaching his goals, or projects most urgently needed. If it is preferable or imperative that an activity be done during a particular season and/or year, give the time frame; otherwise it s not necessary to assign a year or season. Any activity recommended in a management unit should be referenced in the Recommendations Schedule, though many may be low priority practices and should be listed as such. Be sure that the number of high and medium priority practices will not be overwhelming to the landowner. Year & Priority Activity Management Unit Season (if pertinent) 8

9 Signature Page This page must include the following wording verbatim. Have the service forester review and sign the plan before giving it to the landowner for signature. Plan Writer s Pledge: To the best of my knowledge, this Stewardship Plan contains: an accurate representation of the landowner s interests and objectives for the property an accurate assessment of all the natural resources present on the property addressed in the plan management recommendations in keeping with the landowner s interests and abilities, and considering the inherent value of all resources on the property. Author(s) of Plan Date Landowner s Pledge: I accept the recommendations contained in this Stewardship Plan, and will make an honest effort to follow them for the ten year period covered by the plan. Since timber harvesting has a significant impact on my forest resources I agree to complete commercial timber harvests recommended in the plan with the assistance of a professional forester. I understand that the forester is to designate trees to be cut based on a written prescription derived through a careful stand analysis of the management unit(s) involved. A completed Treatment Unit Sustainability Assessment Form (TUSAF) is accepted in place of a stand analysis. I understand that a service forester or consultant will periodically review the implementation of my Stewardship Plan to assist me in maintaining Stewardship Forest status. To enable him/her to carry out this responsibility I will make available copies of plan amendments and/or timber harvesting prescriptions before carrying out a major activity. I understand that I am not obligated to obtain approval from the service forester but that he/she may advise me if prescriptions do not appear to serve the goals of my Stewardship Plan or meet program standards. If I choose to withdraw from the Forest Stewardship Program I agree to return the sign that designates my property a Stewardship Forest to the service forester. Landowner(s) Date Bureau of Forestry Approval: This Stewardship Plan meets the requirements established by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry for Forest Stewardship Plans developed using cost-share assistance. Service Forester Date 9

10 Appendix Include any reference materials here. For the service forester s copy also attach copies of your field data. 10

11 MANAGEMENT UNIT RECONNAISANCE DATA LANDOWNER: UNIT #: ACRES: DATE: SLOPE: flat gentle moderate steep ASPECT: N NE E SE S SW W NW top bottom SOILS: series & type drainage surface series & type drainage surface series & type drainage surface drainage: VP - very poor, P - poor, SP - somewhat poor, MW - moderately well, W - well, VW - very well surface: S - stony, R - rocky, B - boulders DOMINANT TYPE VEGETATION: (eg. hardwood forest, conifer forest plantation, orchard, old field, brush/shrubs, forest wetland, brush wetland, etc.) SITE QUALITY FOR GROWING TREES: poor fair good very good MANAGEMENT HISTORY: (eg. past cutting practices, past uses for the land recent and more distant past) OVERSTORY: (variable radius prism plots for species and BA; for tree count 1/20 acre plots = fixed radius of 26 feet) 1. species: BA: trees/ac: 2. species: BA: trees/ac: 3. species: BA: trees/ac: 4. species: BA: trees/ac: 5. species: BA: trees/ac: (use a check mark to indicate each repeat occurrence of a species in the plot) MAJOR SIZE CLASS: STOCKING LEVEL: very sparse light adequate crowded overcrowded QUALITY (TIMBER CROP POTENTIAL): poor fair good very good excellent INSECT & DISEASE PROBLEMS: UNDERSTORY: TREES, SHRUBS, & HERBACEOUS PLANTS: (circle those most common) INVASIVE PLANTS: COMMERCIAL REGENERATION: DENSITY OF GROWTH: patches sparse medium dense DEER BROWSE: light most stems browsed most stems severely distorted WILDLIFE FOOD & COVER: (1/5 acre plots = fixed radius of 53 feet) TREES WITH CAVITIES & SNAGS: (few = 1 per acre = 1 per 5 plots; many = 1 per plot = 5 per acre) 1. live, hole smaller than 5 : live, hole larger than 5 : dead with cavity: snag: 2. live, hole smaller than 5 : live, hole larger than 5 : dead with cavity: snag: 3. live, hole smaller than 5 : live, hole larger than 5 : dead with cavity: snag: 4. live, hole smaller than 5 : live, hole larger than 5 : dead with cavity: snag: 5. live, hole smaller than 5 : live, hole larger than 5 : dead with cavity: snag: ACORNS, NUTS, & HARD SEEDS(eg. from oaks, walnut, beech, maples, pines, basswood): none few many BERRIES & DRUPES: (eg. from black gum, cherry, dogwood, sassafras, service berry, crabapples, hawthorns, viburnums, spicebush) none few many LOW EVERGREEN COVER (ground to 10 ): species none spotty abundant HIGH EVERGREEN COVER (taller than 10 ): species none spotty abundant WATER & SPECIAL FEATURES: (eg. stream, spring seeps, boulders, rock cliff, large old trees, locally uncommon vegetation, beaver dam, rookery, etc.) AESTHETICS: (eg. opportunities for enhancing flowering trees, wildflowers, fall color, or creating vista) MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVE(S) FOR UNIT: (be specific; be sure it makes sense in light of landowner goals for the property) MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: 11