Spotlight: Updating Management Plans
We have been asked recently by several inspectors, “How should management plans be updated to ensure that they are still eligible under the Tree Farm program?” A forest management plan is only as useful as it is current, but what does it mean to have a management plan that is “active, adaptive, and embodies the owner’s current objectives?” (See AFF Standards of Sustainability; Standard 3, Indicator 3.1.2)
A plan update can be as informal as a dated handwritten note in the margin indicating you have completed a management activity or a short amendment describing why you have chosen to defer a harvest. More formal updates may be needed as landowner management objectives change or if all management activities prescribed in the plan are completed. Remember to always include a date in any updates and initial or sign the update.
As an inspector, encourage landowners to review their plans on a regular basis. A management plan should be used as a living guide for the landowner, so make sure it isn’t hidden away and forgot in a drawer somewhere.
Case Study: What would you do?
Tree Farmer, Mrs. Allen, recently took ownership of her family’s farm in Virginia. Her late father had planted several stands of loblolly pine which will be ready for a second thinning in three years. Tom, Jeff, and Dave, Mrs. Allen’s three sons are avid deer hunters and would like to establish food plots on the property. Mrs. Allen is a bird-watcher who volunteers for the American Bird Conservancy in tracking species of concern such as the migratory Cerulean Warbler. Mrs. Allen notices that although the management plan was updated five years ago, it does not include any wildlife management recommendations as her father did not identify wildlife as a primary management objective for the property. Does she need to update her plan?
The management objectives for this property have changed significantly from the time when the plan was written, and a full update is likely necessary to remain in the Tree Farm program. Joe, a Tree Farm inspector and consulting forester, works with Mrs. Allen to draft a new management plan that includes long-term objectives for the loblolly stands, deer management recommendations to meet her sons’ objectives, and bottomland hardwood management recommendations to support her work with the Cerulean Warbler.
Case Study: What would you do?
Inspector Caroline has worked with landowners Bill and Kathy for many years as their county forester. Their management plan calls for a full harvest of one of their Douglas fir stands this year, but Bill and Kathy would like to hold off because of the state of the markets. The markets are so low that to harvest as planned, Bill and Kathy would not be able to cover the cost of the operation. Bill and Kathy are also interested in a small thinning on another stand to test out the logistics of joining a local firewood cooperative that is selling bundles to grocery stores in the nearby city. Caroline assists the landowners in setting up the thinning operation but recognizes that this action was not in the original management plan. Caroline advises Joe and Kathy to add a short addendum to the plan that states why they chose to delay the full harvest and provide details on the thinning operation.
If you have any questions about the AFF Standards and ATFS program requirements, please visit our website at www.treefarmsystem.org, or contact staff by email at questions@forestfoundation.org.
