T oday’s Forest • Tomorrow’s Legacy T oday’s Forest • Tomorrow’s Legacy these factors can lead to serious and and federal forestry agencies and organiza- Deer Impact expensive mistakes. tions. Rhode Island forests, as Forests take decades to grow, but can be destroyed in just a few days of poorly USDA Natural Resources Conservation with much of the northeast Service Working for Renewable conducted cutting. Landowners can region, can regenerate (401) 828-1300 • www.ri.nrcs.usda.gov abundantly through the avoid these pitfalls by retaining a profes- • Obtain the Soil Survey Map of Rhode Island Forest Resources natural growth of sprouts sional forester who can identify which and assistance with the identification of and (coppice) on tree stumps. trees to be harvested, determine the vol- information about the soils on your proper- This form of natural forest ume to be removed, and how much ty; technical assistance with conservation imber, firewood, wildlife, amount, tree harvesting associated with regeneration has been value or income the landowner should planning and practices; and local conserva- clean water…We can have our commercial forestry operations repre- tion district contacts. greatly impacted by high receive. Foresters have been proven to forest and cut it too! There are sents less than one-fifth of the timber deer populations that heav- be well worth the money. Research has ways of managing forests to being removed in the state. The remain- ily browse the new sprouts Southern New England Logger Education shown the average landowner makes ing four-fifths of timber removals are on and older tree seedlings. Program Tassure that they remain ecologically Fencing and other methods more money from a timber sale adminis- Forest and Wood Products Institute sound while also meeting the needs of land that is being converted to some use for discouraging deer can tered by a competent forester, than by www.mwcc.mass.edu/HTML/FWP/ our society. The way we do this is other than timberland, such as land be costly and labor inten- selling the timber on his/her own. default.html through the application of the science of cleared for development or restricted sive. Contact RI DEM Call your public service forester, RI (978) 630-9334 forestry. Many woodland owners take from timber harvesting. If the state were Division of Forest DEM Division of Forest Environment at • Information about logger education pro- pride in managing their property while to maintain the current acreage of tim- Environment and Fish and gram, certification, and scheduled work- (401) 647-3367 for advice and assistance shops. at the same time allowing the forest to berland and manage it sustainably – har- Wildlife for more informa- with achieving your woodland goals in a Timber Access retain its diversity and beauty. vesting by best management practices tion on deer population way that protects and enhances the Northeastern Loggers’ Association Forestry that incorporates the full and taking no greater volume of wood control. Equipment access for tim- value of your property. Your public serv- www.loggertraining.com • (315) 369-3078 ber harvesting can often complement of environmental benefits is than grows each year – Rhode Island ice forester can provide you with: pose a practical, logistical known as “ecosystem management.” could increase both annual net growth of ¢ Forest cutting/harvesting regulations- USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, problem for many small This means managing forests to meet trees and production of wood products -assistance with the Intent to Cut State and Private Forestry acreage forest owners. human needs while maintaining healthy, several times over. application process. www.na.fs.fed.us Many small acreage forest diverse ecological conditions. This Links to Durham, NH Field Office ¢ Best Management Practices and over- properties are fronted by approach reflects an understanding of Sustainable Harvesting (603) 868-7600 site when working in forested wet- homes, garages, sheds, how forests function, and the recognition www.fs.fed.us/na/durham lawns & gardens, Managing the forest for forest products lands. Refer to factsheet Working for of the growing importance landowners • Information on Forest Stewardship, Fire stonewalls & patios, wells, and managing for biodiversity are com- Clean, Plentiful Water for more infor- Management, Conservation Education and and society place on non-timber values. and septic systems leaving patible goals. We can have our forest and mation about wetland laws. Sustainability, Economic Action Program, The goal of ecosystem management is to no area large enough to per- cut it too! The reason for this is simple: ¢ on-line library. maintain complexity, mimic natural dis- A list of consulting foresters and mit access to most standard both quality wood products and ecologi- types of large equipment. turbance, and work at a landscape scale. licensed wood operators. Cornell Cooperative Extension, Department cal health require a mature, diverse for- ¢ Ways to manage your woodlands in of Natural Resources Where one nearby property owner has enough road est. Timber harvesting traps carbon for an ecologically sustainable manner. (607) 255-2115 Renewable Forest Resources frontage or other access decades (or even centuries) in the form The decision to cut trees on your www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/ext/index.htm Wood is a renewable resource and wood of boards, while back in the woods new publications: roads to allow for large property is an important one; don’t be products are often environmentally supe- trees go on absorbing carbon dioxide, an Programs and activities are available to www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/ext/publications.htm equipment, it may then all persons without regard to race, color, rushed into a bad decision. CALL require passage through one rior to alternatives, such as steel and con- important step in combating global sex, disability, religion, age, sexual ori- • A Guide to Logging Aesthetics, other publica- entation, or national origin. BEFORE YOU CUT! tions on timber and firewood production or more neighboring proper- crete, which require far more fossil-fuel warming. on small acreage woodland plots. ties to ultimately reach your energy to produce than lumber. Rhode This project is a collaboration of the property. This situation Southern New England Forest Where to do I turn for more Islanders, like all Americans, are large There are two parts to managing 1 presents an opportunity for Consortium, Inc. , and the University information and help? A Forest Landowner’s Guide to Internet consumers of wood products. Americans of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension Resources: States of the Northeast several forest owners to par- for quality timber products: 2 consume 25 percent of all the wood prod- Home*A*Syst Program . Written by ticipate jointly in a tree har- intermediate thinnings and 2 www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/misc/ir/index.htm Holly K. Burdett , Christopher RI DEM Division of Forest Environment ucts produced in the world! Yet, while Modisette1, Alyson McCann2 and (401) 647-3367 • www.dem.ri.gov • Publications and factsheets for: Economics vest, reducing costs and regeneration harvests 2 Rhode Islanders consume more and more Brianne Neptin . Special thanks to all •Talk with a state service forester of Forest Investments; Tree other obstacles. Refer to publication reviewers. Funding for this wood products, our own forest produc- • Obtain information and assistance with for- Identification/Species Info; Forest Health factsheet Working With project was provided by the USDA and Protection; Tree tion declines – not because our forests are Improvement Thinning Forest Service in cooperation with the est management, forest harvesting opera- Your Neighbors— Rhode Island Department of Planting/Regeneration; Forest tions and laws; a list of consulting foresters Reconnecting Forest depleted—but because we choose to Young trees grow in dense stands or Environmental Management Division Management Planning; Sustainability and Fragments for more ideas import all we can. Some imports come of Forest Environment and the USDA and licensed wood operators; Best Certification; Silviculture; Forest Sampling groups, filling the gaps created in the Renewable Resources Extension Act, Management Practices for Rhode Island: Water involving group projects. from as far away as British Columbia and URI Cooperative Extension. and Inventory; Forest Harvesting forest after some type of disturbance Quality Protection and Forest Management Operations; Timber Sales; Special Forest the rainforests of Indonesia. (fire, harvesting, insects, storms). Most Guidelines. Products; Riparian Forest & Wetland Mgmt; Rhode Island forests can grow Glossaries of Forestry Terms; Miscellaneous trees gradually die out of the stand superb timber. However, they are cur- through competition over time. Forestry Rhode Island Forest Conservators rently producing far less than their Organization (RIFCO) practices known as improvement thin- potential capacity. Furthermore, few nings present an opportunity to periodi- (401) 568-3421 • www.rifco.org Rhode Island woodlands are being man- • Educational programs and events, newslet- cally thin the stand, removing some trees ter, Rhode Island Tree Farm Program, links aged to grow the best wood. so that others can grow better. Growth to numerous publications and local, state, Currently, we are only harvesting can be concentrated on those remaining 12% of our annual growth. Of this T oday’s Forest • Tomorrow’s Legacy trees that have the best