Where Can You Get Assistance? RESOURCE DIRECTORY

Free, objective information and advice is New York State available from the following sources to Department of GOT TREES? help you avoid pitfalls resulting from Environmental short-sighted forestry practices. Conservation • MFO Volunteers: Private forest Central Office: “Just Say No” to owners trained though Cornell 625 Broadway Cooperative Extension. They provide Albany, NY 12233 non-technical assistance to help you (518) 402-9425 High-Grading think through your management objectives. They also can point you Cornell Cooperative Extension, in the right direction for other helpful Department of Natural Resources sources of information. Master Forest Owners/COVERTS Volunteer Program: Cornell University AN EDUCATIONAL GUIDE TO 108 Fernow Hall FOREST MANAGEMENT FOR Ithaca, NY 14853 WOODLOT OWNERS (607) 255-2824 Free assistance is available to help 9 Check your phone book for local forest landowners make informed DEC and Cornell Cooperative Extension office phone numbers. management decisions.

• NYS DEC Professional Foresters: Woodland Owner Associations: Trained professionals that can provide New York Forest Owners Association: you with free technical expertise and (800) 836-3566 guidance on forest management. They Catskill Forest Association: can provide a directory of cooperating (845) 586-3054 professional foresters and cooperating timber harvesters in your region. Thank you Additional information is available from for your landowner groups that promote sustainable forest stewardship! practices, such as the Catskill Forest Brought to you through Association (CFA)and the New York Cornell Cooperative Extension Forest Owners Association (NYFOA). www.ForestConnect.info Due to favorable timber prices and Why Should You Avoid A Desirable Method: maturing forests, harvest activity in New High-Grading? A Sustainable Silvicultural System York State has increased. Some forestry practices, such as high-grading, can limit Trees best suited to a particular site grow A professional forester selects trees for long-term options of forest owners, and faster, bigger, and taller. These are the harvest. The specific trees marked for should be avoided. winning trees that you want to produce harvest depend on numerous factors. These seed for the next forest. Taking only the factors include landowner objectives, prior What Is High-Grading? winning trees leaves the losers for future management, tree species, the number of forest growth and seed production. These trees in the woodlot, and tree health. High-grading is harvesting the best trees losing trees also grow slower and lengthen Professional foresters are trained to of highest value from a woodlot, leaving the time until the next harvest. This will integrate these factors into a sustainable the low-value, often diseases and reduce forest quality and value. silvicultural system. malformed trees behind. Few people admit they high-grade, rather they use terms like How to Avoid High-Grading: diameter-limit cutting and selective Carefully select professional foresters and cutting. Regardless of the label, removing trained loggers. Ask for references. only the best trees degrades the forest. Consider potential conflicts of interest. Does the forester participate in continuing education programs? Has the logger completed the “Trained Logger Certification” program? Visit forests where they have worked in the past. Remember - the forester or logger that offers the best price may not provide the best land treatment. In addition, have a written managment Why do People High-Grade? plan that clearly states your objectives. Funding Provided By: Look for creative solutions to remove Forest owners that high-grade usually give low-value trees along with some of the • USDA Renewable Resources little or no thought to the effect this will higher value trees, and seek assistance to Education Act have on the quality and value of their develop long-term objectives as part of forestland. They are interested in the your management plan. • immediate profit that can be made by Cornell University College selling large quantities of high-value of Agriculture and Life Sciences timber. They are often misinformed, or Prepared by Jessica Tabolt and Peter Smallidge have short-term goals that are inconsistent through the Cornell University Extension Forestry with sustained production. Program. Ithaca, NY. (9/99)