Pennsylvania's 17 million forested acres support a $4.5 billion per year forest products industry that employs 90,000 people. Recreation and tourism generate additional revenue and employment. Pennsylvania's extensive forest land makes the state the nation's leader in hardwood timber production and an important supplier of non-timber forest products. The environmental benefits of forested acreage, such as high-quality water resources, diverse animal and plant life, and influences on climate and air-quality, are an invaluable consideration for the entire populace. Nearly three-quarters (12.5 million acres) of Pennsylvania's forest land is owned by more than a half-million private owners who generally are unaware of their management opportunities. Following the period of exploitive harvesting that characterized turn-of-the-century logging, these forests are again reaching economic maturity. Unfortunately, poorly conceived and executed timber harvests are threatening the future of the state's forest resources, both commercial and non-commercial. A recent assessment across both publicly and privately held forest land shows that fewer than half of recent harvests followed guidelines necessary for sustainable forests that can meet both our immediate and long-term needs. The same study suggests that the Best Management Practices, already established for Pennsylvania forests, could change this situation quickly.

Fewer than 25 percent of Pennsylvania's private forest landowners (PFLs) know where to get professional resource management assistance or are aware of the management options that can improve their returns from and enjoyment of their land. Many landowners conduct relatively high-impact activities such as timber harvesting without the kind of long-term planning that would ensure the sustainability of timber, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, water resources, and other economic and environmental benefits of productive forest land. Studies conducted several years ago suggest that most landowners would practice sustainable management if they knew what to do or where to go for help. For that reason alone, effective educational programming in natural resource management for private landowners and the natural resource professionals who serve them is essential in a state that depends so heavily on its forest resources.

Numerous and diverse issues affect how we currently manage forest resources; additional issues that will affect future forest-use decisions and options continue to evolve. Extension staff must be able to identify the issues and be able to help landowners and the general public make decisions that beneficially affect the allocation and wise use of our natural resources. Some of the current issues that demand our immediate attention are increasing numbers of private ownerships coupled with decreasing parcel size; forest fragmentation at the urban and rural interface; state and federal tax laws; estate planning options; and the need for coordinated land-use planning processes across the state. These issues alone make it imperative that discussions and education about the prudent and sustainable use of forest resources reach all Pennsylvania citizens, including youth, urban as well as rural communities, forest landowners, forest users, local decision makers, and natural resource professionals.

SUB POW: 4.D.1. Management on Private Forest Lands

(Unless otherwise stated, condition is within a one-year period)

Objective: 4.D.1.1. Participants will know the benefits of using a resource professional to achieve their objectives and of having and implementing a management/stewardship plan on private forest lands.

Objective: 4.D.1.2. Participants will know basic forest ecological principles, how historical, physical, and biological factors affect forest growth and management approaches, and silvicultural methods to improve residual stands and ensure regeneration.

Objective: 4.D.1.3. VIP-Coverts volunteers will share outreach ideas and problems and strengthen working relationships among themselves to improve effectiveness of local/regional natural resource educational outreach efforts.

Objective: 4.D.1.4. Participants will know the advantages of keeping accurate tax records, be aware of the tax law as it relates to woodland management, know the advantages of using appropriate professionals, and know the importance of developing an estate plan.

SUB POW: 4.D.2. 4-H/Youth and Sustainable Forests

Objective: 4.D.2.1. 4-H and other youth will indicate an understanding of forest resources skills.

SUB POW: 4.D.3. Sustainable Forestry for Resource Professionals

Objective: 4.D.3.1. Resource professionals will improve their ability to practice sustainable forestry by knowing the economic and biological effects of certain practices and situations (e.g., high grading, excessive deer populations, and non-point source pollution) on forest productivity, and will share an understanding with timber harvesters of their mutual roles in achieving desirable timber harvesting outcomes.