The State of New York has been gifted with abundance of natural vegetation. The land is covered with nineteen million acres of forest, from which 74% are owned by 700,000 private land owners. These owners strive to provide benefits to the public such as reduction in pollution, conservation of biodiversity, production of forest goods, job opportunities, recreational facilities and enhancement of nature’s beauty. These benefits can be achieved by assisting the private foresters in numerous ways.
Sale of timber– Timber, used mainly for structural purpose is an important forest product in the eyes of a forester. Assistance in its sale can help the landowner to a great extent. This can be done by selling trees as a part of the management plan and boosting the long-term standard and worth of the land and remaining timber. Helping the private forestry in marketing will help them earn more and planning of the harvest in order to protect the other values of the land such as aesthetics, wildlife habitat, quality of water, productivity of forest and increasing financial return will encourage them to look out for assistance. Providing information and knowledge about the tax implications imposed on timber sale would be appreciated by them. By serving as an agent, one could assist them in technical matters which are related to the management of the private forest. In this way, a consulting forester can provide a wide range of facilities from start till the end. Or they may take care only the part which is given to them by the private foresters.
480-a Forest Tax Law– this law came into existence in order to encourage the management of woodlands in the long run by producing forest crops and also increasing the scope of a more stable forest economy. This law was mainly formulated to give tax savings to the land owners for the management of their property. The Forest Tax Law can reduce the private forester’s annual assessment to 20% of the current value. One can enroll to assist them in:
- Submitting a completed application for certification, i.e. one application form, two copies of the management plan and three forest-type maps
- Marking a boundary line of an eligible tract on the ground
- Non-commercial thinning, i.e. removing of the less appealing tree and reducing density to favorable growth pace
- Determining the extent of thinning
- Handling other paper work
Forest Management– Plans relating to Forest Management are implemented to achieve an optimum production from the forestland. For this, a work schedule is made to enhance the value and health of the forest. Being one of the areas of assistance, serving the foresters in planning objectives, boundary lines, wildlife habitat, and recommendations on forestry, thinning schedule, tax maps and forest type maps is greatly acknowledged. These plans should be updated every five years depending on the force of management and the past disruptions.
As a private forestland emerges out to be quite a load for the private foresters, they would be pleased to be assisted in the above mentioned ways as it would help them earn and also be able to share the burden of maintaining their forestland with others who are ready to help and ease out their problem.