Performance Measure 1.1 Guidance for Forest Management Plans
Certified Tree Farmers must have a written forest management plan that addresses all of the topics listed below. Management plans may be a single comprehensive document or a collection of documents that together cover the required elements. There is no mandatory format for forest management plans, so plan writers have a lot of discretion as to how plans are written and organized, as long as the documentation covers the required elements. Plans should be updated or amended when the landowner’s objectives change, the conditions on the ground no longer align with the management plan description or when the recommended dates for prescribed management activities have passed.
- Landowner Objectives: Landowner objectives are concise, high-level statements of what the landowner hopes to accomplish through forest management activities.
- Map of the Property: The map should depict significant forest-related features such as roads, property lines, rights of way, timber stands, buildings and water resources. The map should include special sites unless there is a concern about disclosure.
- Soils: Soil types must be provided in either a soils map or a list.
- Water: Ponds, streams, rivers, etc. should be shown on the property map, and the management plan should include a statement about compliance with Best Management Practices (BMPs) for water quality during management activities.
- Forest Condition and Health: Forest conditions may be described in general terms, including forest type, age, species composition and forest history. The description should reflect conditions at the time the plan was developed. Any changes in condition or health over time should be noted in the plan with handwritten notes, attachment of additional pages or in an addendum to the original plan.
- Invasive Species
- Pesticide Usage
- Wood and Fiber Production: Describe the products that the landowner is growing and provide a schedule of management activities that will help achieve the landowner’s goals.
- Management Prescriptions: The plan should include management strategies and recommendations for achieving the landowner’s objectives. The prescriptions can be for the entire property or for specific stands. The N.C. Tree Farm Program recommends, but doesn’t require, a schedule of management activities that describes when, where and how management activities will occur.
- Threatened and Endangered Species
- Special Sites
- Forest of Recognized Importance
When present, relevant to the property and consistent with landowner’s objectives, the plan should consider, describe and evaluate the following resource elements:
- Fire
- Wetlands
- Desired Species
- Recreation
- Conversion (removal of natural or historical vegetation cover to convert land use from forest to non-forest or from non-forest to forest)
- Forest Aesthetics
- Biomass
- Carbon