Since 1991, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Forest Stewardship Program has assisted over 200,000 landowners in preparing multipurpose management plans for areas encompassing more than 20 million acres of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF). These plans promote the long-term sustainability of private forests by balancing future public needs for forest products with the need for protecting and enhancing watershed productivity, air and water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and threatened and endangered species. This guide offers assistance to writers of the plans and includes instructions, requirements, excerpts from well-written plans, and specific recommendations for developing a plan. Plan writers vary among States and include State foresters, private consultants, and, through a coached planning process, landowners themselves. Not all subjects discussed will apply to every property or forest stewardship plan. A major principle for organizing a plan is that each State must retain the greatest amount of discretion in identifying the needs of NIPF landowners in its region, developing plans that reflect those needs, and putting to use those practices that best achieve their resource objectives. As the writer of a plan, you must be flexible in your thinking, allow for future changes, and incorporate, as it becomes available, new knowledge about dynamic ecosystems.

Fundamental changes have occurred in all aspects of forestry over the last 50 years, including the underlying science, societal expectations of forests and their management, and the evolution of a globalized economy. This textbook is an effort to comprehensively integrate this new knowledge of forest ecosystems and human concerns and needs into a management philosophy that is applicable to the vast majority of global forest lands. Ecological forest management (EFM) is focused on policies and practices that maintain the integrity of forest ecosystems while achieving environmental, economic, and cultural goals of human societies. EFM uses natural ecological models as its basis contrasting it with modern production forestry, which is based on agronomic models and constrained by required return-on-investment. Sections of the book consider: 1) Basic concepts related to forest ecosystems and silviculture based on natural models; 2) Social and political foundations of forestry, including law, economics, and social acceptability; 3) Important current topics including wildfire, biological diversity, and climate change; and 4) Forest planning in an uncertain world from small privately-owned lands to large public ownerships. The book concludes with an overview of how EFM can contribute to resolving major 21st century issues in forestry, including sustaining forest dependent societies.

Part 21 of the 24-part Forest Stewardship Series. The Forest Stewardship Series is a 24-part free online publication that provides owners of California forestland with a comprehensive source of information pertinent to the management and enjoyment of their lands. This information will help you formulate and implement strategies for achieving your personal goals as a landowner. The series provides an introduction to the lifelong study of forest stewardship that is part of owning forest property.

Part 18 of the 24-part Forest Stewardship Series. The Forest Stewardship Series is a 24-part free online publication that provides owners of California forestland with a comprehensive source of information pertinent to the management and enjoyment of their lands. This information will help you formulate and implement strategies for achieving your personal goals as a landowner. The series provides an introduction to the lifelong study of forest stewardship that is part of owning forest property.

Part 5 of the 24-part Forest Stewardship Series. The Forest Stewardship Series is a 24-part free online publication that provides owners of California forestland with a comprehensive source of information pertinent to the management and enjoyment of their lands. This information will help you formulate and implement strategies for achieving your personal goals as a landowner. The series provides an introduction to the lifelong study of forest stewardship that is part of owning forest property.

Part 4 of the 24-part Forest Stewardship Series. The Forest Stewardship Series is a 24-part free online publication that provides owners of California forestland with a comprehensive source of information pertinent to the management and enjoyment of their lands. This information will help you formulate and implement strategies for achieving your personal goals as a landowner. The series provides an introduction to the lifelong study of forest stewardship that is part of owning forest property.