Do you have forest land on your property? Do you consider the forested area as wasted
space or do you see the forested area as real value? I have spoken to many land owners
and most of the time landowners see their forest as real value. In most cases the land
owners are unaware of how to manage the forest to meet their goals and to maximize its
greatest potential. We are fortunate here in Tennessee to have an excellent Forestry
Department who provides services and information free of charge or for a small fee.
Like every public agency there can be a time issue. It may take longer than expected
for someone to make it to your property to give you an assessment of the forest and how
to manage it. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is trying to help alleviate
this by providing some relief to the work load that is placed on the state forestry department.
NRCS provides cost share funds to private land owners on forestry plans and certain forestry
practices. So how does this work? In almost all cases it starts with a forestry plan.
NRCS will cost share for a professional forester to write a plan specific to your property.
The land owner can then use the forestry plan as a guide to manage their forest. At the
request of the land owner, NRCS can use the land owner’s plan to assist them in cost sharing
for some or maybe all of the practices/enhancements that are suggested in the forestry plan.
So how does someone get started with forestry practices? The first thing for a landowner to
do is to come to their local NRCS office and sign an EQIP application and discuss their desires
and ideas with the District Conservationist. This must be done before any practices or
enhancements are started. From there the local District Conservationist or Soil Conservationist
can guide you through the process from getting the plan written to the installation of forestry practices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities
on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status,
familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs,
reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.
(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means
for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's
TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA,
Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call
(800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.