Forest Stewardship begins with landowners who care about their forestland and are willing to take a proactive approach in its management, in a sustainable way. Stewardship principles and concepts are built on the foundation of "sustainability" and play a significant role in learning how your forest functions. Sustainable forests not only include growing trees, but also conserving many other plant and animal communities - from microorganisms in the soil to cavity nesting birds and small mammals to the grazing elk that migrate through or over winter.

Stewardship principles support and define important relationships between resource elements including:

Timber - (forest health/fire hazard reduction) - Range (grasses/forbs - groundcover) - Fish - Wildlife - Threatened & Endangered Species - Soils - Streams and Wetlands - Aesthetic Quality - Recreation - Archeological, Cultural & Historic Sites

Finally, Forest Stewardship is based on broader "ecosystem principles," that integrate sustainability with biodiversity, disturbance and response, and other landscape level functions. It means that management on even small acreage family forests may have a significant impact on the survival of animal species that may use the local drainage, larger valley or surrounding region.

If you would like to learn more information please visit the Information Resource page for available written publications.