Forest Estate and Management Planning

Forest estate and management planning is the act or process of making a plan to achieve set goals for your forestland.

Owning and managing forestland takes business sense. Get involved with a landowner organization. Increase your knowledge of estate and forest management planning. Learn about financial and technical assistance, as well as new technologies, available for forest landowners and managers.

Groups for Forest Landowners and Natural Resource Professionals

Get involved! Membership in natural resource organizations gives landowners a say in how their forestlands will be regulated and professionals the opportunity to be the best qualified.

Forest Landowner Organizations

Articles and Publications

Web Resources

• Idaho Forest Owners Association (IFOA) promotes private forestry and legislation to meet Association goals.
• National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA) is a publicly supported non-profit. It conducts charity, education and research for the responsible use and conservation of renewable resources.

Natural Resource Professional Organizations & Societies

Web Resources

• Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP) is a national group for Cooperative Extension Service (CES) professionals in related wide range of natural resource disciplines. Members are active and retired employees.
• Society of American Foresters is the national organization for the forestry profession. It is the largest professional society for foresters in the world. Members include: natural resource professionals in public and private settings, researchers, CEOs, administrators, educators and students.

Estate Planning

Estate planning is something we should all do. Instead, we tend to avoid it.

Plan for the future. Learn about conservation easements, forestland taxes and landowner organizations.Start by reading this article from the USDA Forest Service. Refine your knowledge with selections from the topic areas below.

Certified forests

Articles and Publications

Web Resources

• American Tree Farm System is a network of 82,000 family forest owners. They sustainably manage 24 million acres of forestland. ATFS is the largest and oldest sustainable woodland system in the United States. It is internationally recognized, meeting strict third-party certification standards. The American Tree Farm System is a program of the American Forest Foundation.

Forestland taxes

Articles and Publications

• The Forest Landowners Guide to the Federal Income Tax (Ag. Hdbk #731)
• Federal Income Tax on Timber: A Quick Guide for Woodland Owners (PDF)

Web Resources

• Idaho State Tax Commission
• The National Timber Tax Website teaches timberland owners and professionals who work with them about the taxation of timber related activities.

Land Trusts and Conservation Easements

Land trusts protect land permanently and directly. They take donations, buy land or help landowners create legal restrictions to limit harmful use.

America’s nearly 900 land trusts have protected over 2 million acres. These include farms, wetlands, wildlife habitat, urban gardens and parks, forests, ranches, watersheds, coastlines, river corridors and trails.

Land trusts are non-profit organizations.

Articles and Publications

• NEW - Idaho Land Trusts and Conservation Easements (PDF)

• Conservation Easements Can Benefit Landowners (PDF)

Web Resources

• Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands is Idaho’s oldest land trust serving the entire state. It promotes getting, conserving and keeping open spaces and their ecosystems.
• Idaho's Forest Legacy Program is a tool to combine the desire of private landowners to capture the value of their lands with protecting the underlying values that those forests provide. These values include wildlife, scenic and timber values.
• Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (INLC) works with private landowners to conserve their land for its natural, recreational, scenic and productive values. INLT works mainly in Kootenai and Bonner counties and five counties in Washington.
• Land Trust of Treasure Valley recognizes lands with special natural, scenic, recreational and agricultural values. It then works with owners to conserve these lands through acquisition, easement, education and good stewardship.
• Palouse Land Trust works to conserve the open space, scenery, wildlife habitat and water quality of the Palouse. Its service area covers the western slope of the North Rocky Mountains and the historic grasslands of the Palouse Region.
• Southern Idaho Land Trust (SILT) is managed by local residents. It protects natural, historic, productive, recreational and open space values in south-central Idaho. SILT offers owners opportunities for conservation easements, donations or transfers.
• Teton Regional Land Trust works to preserve important agricultural lands and fish and wildlife habitat in eastern Idaho.
• The Lands Council works to preserve and renew Inland Northwest forests, water and wildlife through advocacy, education and community engagement.
• Wood River Land Trust protects and restores land, water and wildlife habitat in and near the Wood River Valley.

Forest Management Planning

Learn how to write a forest management plan. Find out about forest certification and landowner organizations.

Know your land. Think about and set clear objectives. Plan management activities that will help you achieve your goals. These are the steps of successful forestland owners.

Forest stewardship

Articles and Publications

• NEW - Permission to Recreate Please (PDF)

• Is New Forestry Really New? (PDF)
• What is Stewardship? (PDF)
• Forest Stewardship: What is the Right Thing to Do? (PDF)
• Culture and Stewardship: Nez Perce Forest Management and Use (PDF)

Management planning

Articles and Publications

• Evaluating Private Forest Ecosystems for Silvicultural Prescriptions and Ecosystem Management Planning (SB 59)
• Evaluating Wildlife Habitat for Managing Private Forest Ecosystems in the Inland Northwest (SB 60)
• Management for Traditional Objectives (PDF)
• Management Planning for Woodland Owners (PDF)
• Integrating Wildlife Improvements into Your Woodland Plan (PDF)
• Logger Credentials (PDF)
• Re-examining Timber Management Assumptions (PDF)
• Rx for Good Forestry Decisions (PDF)
• Timberrrr! (PDF)

Web resources

• Idaho Department of Lands Forestry Assistance Bureau Private Forestry Specialists and the Forestry Assistance Bureau staff provide technical and educational assistance to forest owners. Assistance may include management planning and advice on harvesting, thinning, planting, hazard fuel reduction, water quality and wildlife habitat improvement.

Marketing your forest products

Articles and Publications

• Marketing NIPF Timber: A Contractual Decision (PDF)
• Selling Your Forest Products (PDF)
• Increasing Timber Sale Profits: Beyond Getting Good Scale (PDF)
• Measuring Logs and Understanding How Logs are Sold (PDF)

Natural Resource Consultants

Consultants offer a range of independent services. Consultants can give more in-depth services than public agencies. A consultant works for you and should be in business to do the best job possible for you.

Choosing a natural resource consultant is similar to choosing other experts to work for you.

• Ask for references. Talk to other landowners who hired the consultant.
• Discuss the job and fee before committing.

Want to be listed in our Directory?

Please complete the Idaho Natural Resource Consultant Directory sign-up form and return to Chris Schnepf, Area Extension educator - Forestry, UI Extension, Kootenai County office, 1808 North 3rd Street, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814-3407.

Articles and Publications

• Consulting Foresters Can Help with Your Forestland (PDF)
• Choosing a Consulting Forester (PDF)
• CIS 1226: Working with a Professional Forester(PDF) helps landowners work with a variety of natural resource agencies and organizations and also guides them through the process of selecting a professional natural resource consultant. This publication includes the newly updated Natural Resource Consultant Directory.

Web resources

• Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF) mission is to advance the practice of professional consulting forestry. ACF consulting foresters must have a bachelor degree and five years’ experience in practical forestry administration. They must follow strict ethical practices and meet continuous education requirements.
• The Society of American Forests Certified Foresters program's mission is to: set a competency standard for foresters; recognize a forester's education, experience and commitment to the pursuit of knowledge; promote continuing education; and increase public awareness of forestry professionals.

Financial and Technical Assistance for Forestland Owners

Find a person, agency or organization to help you with the technical side and see if you are eligible for a cost-share program. Many sources offer forestry assistance to Idaho landowners. Whatever your situation, there is probably an organization or individual that can help you.

• Working with a Professional Forester (CIS 1226)

Financial and technical assistance (cost-share programs)

Web Resources

• Habitat Improvement Program (HIP), sponsored by Idaho Fish and Game, goals is to secure the future of upland game and waterfowl in Idaho by creating and improving habitat. HIP provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners and public land managers to enhance upland game bird and waterfowl habitat.
• Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits. EQIP promotes outcomes such as: better water and air quality; conserved ground and surface water; less soil erosion and sedimentation; and new or better wildlife habitat.
• Idaho Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps producers maintain and improve their conservation systems. Participants earn payments for conservation performance. The higher the performance, the higher the payment. Eligible lands include private and Tribal agricultural lands, cropland, grassland, pastureland, rangeland and nonindustrial private forest land.
• Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a land conservation program managed by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). In exchange for rental payments, farmers plant species that improve environmental health on environmentally sensitive land instead of using it for agricultural production. Land is enrolled in CRP for 10–15 year contracts. The long-term goal is to re-establish land cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and reduce loss of wildlife habitat.
• Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is an offshoot of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). CREP targets high-priority issues determined by governments or non-governmental organizations. In exchange for removing environmentally sensitive land from production and introducing conservation practices, farmers, ranchers and agricultural land owners are paid an annual rental rate. Participation is voluntary, and the contract period is typically 10–15 years.
• Idaho Department of Fish and Game programs provide financial and technical assistance to landowners. Any private landowner is eligible, depending on the program. Idaho Fish and Game biologists can coach landowners about improvements they can make. Benefits range from improved hunting for your family to increased land value. Habitat biologists give technical assistance at no cost.
• Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) forestry assistance professionals provide technical assistance to forest landowners, other IDL programs and local, state and federal officials. There are specialists in forest management, entomology, pathology, fisheries and wildlife biology, hydrology, geotechnical engineering and community forestry. They advise urban and rural forest landowners in management of forest resources and enforce the Idaho Forest Practices Act, which regulates forest operations in Idaho.
• Idaho Forest Products Commission (IFPC) was created by the Idaho legislature in 1992. The purpose of the Commission is to spread information about the forest products industry and about managing public and private forestlands. IFPC provides a variety of statewide communication activities, educational programs and informational materials. They address decision makers, educators, students and the public.
• Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission focuses on three main areas: financial and technical assistance supporting Idaho's 50 conservation districts conservation incentives; low-interest loans to purchase equipment or engage in conservation projects; and conservation programs
• Idaho Association of Conservation Districts works with Conservation Commission and NRCS to provide technical and cost-share assistance. Today, Idaho has 50 conservation districts. The districts are key contacts to assist private landowners and land users in conserving, sustaining, improving and enhancing Idaho’s natural resources.
• Natural Resource Conservation Service — Idaho Conservation Technical Assistance delivers conservation technical assistance through its voluntary Conservation Technical Assistance Program (CTA). CTA is available to any group or individual interested in conserving natural resources and sustaining agricultural production.

Technology for Forestland Owners and Managers

Discover new gadgets for forest landowners and managers that make tasks a bit easier to accomplish. After all, there’s probably an app for that!