Woodland Advisors

Woodland Advisor Training Program Update

Where do many private woodland owners go to get the information and assistance they need to manage their forestland? If you’re a private forest landowner, the answer to this question may not be surprising. The answer is simply "other forest landowners". According to a recent survey of Minnesota's private forest landowners, nearly as many landowners get assistance from their neighbors as they do from professional DNR foresters. This phenomenon is the reason Minnesota's Woodland Advisor Training Program exists. Minnesota Forestry Association (MFA) administers this important landowner information and training program in cooperation with the Minnesota Extension Service and the DNR Division of Forestry. Local woodland committees serve as hosts to plan and conduct the Woodland Advisor Training.

Through the Woodland Advisor Program, landowners can receive up to 40 hours of training in various aspects of forest management. The cost of the training is minimal – usually $25 or less. In exchange for the training however, participants agree to spend at least 40 hours sharing the information they gained from the training with their neighbors and friends. The result is better management of privately owned forestland.

Over the past few years, many things have changed about the way we approach forest management. Ecosystem based management, landscape planning, and timber-harvesting guidelines are a few examples. To make sure landowners are aware of these new management techniques and philosophies, MFA is leading and effort to revise the Woodland Advisor program curriculum to incorporate all the changes. In addition, we will be creating and producing training aids and handout materials that will make the training easier to conduct and more uniform in content. As a result, more landowners will have the opportunity to become Woodland Advisors and they will receive the latest information to pass along to their neighbors! If you would like to learn more about becoming a Woodland Advisor, contact your local woodland committee chairperson, visit the Minnesota Forestry Association (MFA) website or call the MFA office at (800) 821-8733.