Backyard Forestry

You may not own your land to harvest or plant trees, but tree harvest and planting may be a part of the care of your forest. For example, landowners along the Gunflint Trail, near Grand Marais, Minnesota are now harvesting trees blown down by the July 4, 1999 windstorm. These owners typically own an average of 9 acres and never had intentions of cutting or planting trees. This is a dramatic example of how forests naturally change.

White Pine in SnowYour forest may be a part of your backyard, part of the farm or part of your recreation property. The care or management of your forest will help you meet your goals and may help you pay for expenses related to the upkeep of the property.

The care of your forest begins with an examination of your objectives matched with what is possible given the resources you own. A plan developed with the assistance a forester, wildlife biologist ecologist or similar professional will help you met your goals. This article describes steps that may help you discover opportunities and take actions to meet your goals.

How and Where Do You Start?

Identify and list your goals. This may be a list of answers to the question "Why do you own the property?" If the woodlot is just part of a larger farming operation then you may not have specific goals and may wish to ask, "How are the woodland areas on my property being used?"

Conduct a resource inventory. This information is critical to knowing if what you have will produce what you want. It is also important for determining your Federal taxes should you decide to harvest trees in the future. It might also be used to determine the casualty loss from a windstorm or tornado. A resource inventory should include information about the forest understory (plants growing under the trees), soils, wildlife and trees. With the help of a professional, this can be a Department of Natural Resources Forester, Natural Resource Conservation Service Resource Person, Soil and Water Conservation District staff or a consulting forester, consulting biologist or other professional conduct and analyze your resource inventory. For a list of consultants check out the Forestry Extension Web Site and follow the links to the consulting forester list.

Arial photo of landscapeDevelop a Site map identifying the land use, soils and forest or crop types. You can get information on soils at your local Soil and Water Conservation District and may be able to get aerial photograph of your property from the Farm Service Agency office. If you have access to the internet you may be able to get aerial photographic coverage for your property from the TerraServer site or from the Minnesota DNR. This step is fun.... You can use a plastic sheet to delineate areas that need different types of care. This map can be mounted and hung on a wall and used to show others your plans.

Identify opportunities and problems. You may have identified a desire to have a white pine forest, and you may have white pine seedlings growing on your property however, given problems with white pine blister rust and pine shoot borer you must tend the trees so that they will mature. How you tend the trees becomes a part of an action plan.

Make and implement decisions. Some items you can accomplish yourself, others will require the help of a professional.

Evaluate success and adjust as needed. Periodically you may need to conduct inventories and adjust plans to meet your goals.

As part of your goals you should include plans for your estate. Passing farm and forest property to the next generation is complex. Consult with both tax and legal professionals.

For Help

The University of Minnesota Extension Service offers forestry publications, seminars, and field tours. A list of publications is available here. Your local Extension Service office is listed in the blue pages under State government in the phone book.

Tree, Cloquet Forestry Center, University of MinnesotaThe Minnesota Department of Natural Resources provides on-site technical advice for the development of Stewardship Plans on acreages of larger than 20 acres.

The local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provide conservation planning that includes forest management.

For further information on backyard forestry, please contact Mike Reichenbach.