This article covers:

• • Best practices for sustainability of forested land

  • Harvesting trees while maintaining the health of the forest

  • How to come up with a sustainable forestry plan for your woodlot

Managing your woodlot in a way which promotes healthy growth, maintains the ecology of the area and allows you to harvest and make a profit from your land can be a lot to balance.

But it's also why sustainable forestry practices are so important, to protect the natural resources of your property, protect any potential wildlife habitat and safeguard the forest's health for future generations.

The Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA) has written extensively on careful logging practices and how to be a responsible woodlot owner. Forest managers should consider adopting some of these practices and help to become stronger proponents of sustainable forestry.

Whether you plan on utilizing your wooded property for milled lumber, firewood, building materials or for other purposes, you may want to take note on how to be a good steward of the land, so the land can continue to offer its resources for many years to come.

One of the first things you can do as a woodlot owner is have a harvesting guide to determine the overarching plan for your property.

"A harvest plan should ensure that operations are appropriate for the individual woodlot and are carried out according to the landowner’s objectives, relevant legislation, principles of good forestry practices and recommended careful logging practices," says the OWA.

Their guide also outlines what should be in a woodlot management plan, which includes:

• • a property and forest stand map

  • a description of the woodlot (including legal description) and its history

  • a statement of the woodlot owner’s management objectives

  • information on the type, location and quality of resources in the woodlot (e.g., forest inventory, wildlife habitat, significant features)

  • a schedule of activities that are planned to take place, typically for a five to ten-year period

"Proper planning for harvesting and the layout of roads, trails and landings will protect woodlot values and improve the financial bottom line of the logging operation," it adds.

That also means hiring the appropriate consultants, engineers, surveyors and loggers to help provide an accurate assessment of your property.

While some woodlot owners may have the skills and experience to fell trees on their property while maintaining the overall forest health, that specialized skillset is something arborists and loggers spend their whole lives doing.

It may make sense then to hire a professional to help harvest your forest resources, while also employing the best sustainable logging practices.

Whether you plan on selling standing trees, or want to harvest and mill them up yourself, the OWA outlines some best practices before hiring a logger:

• • Check their references and visit other woodlots they've worked on

  • Write out a contract that clearly explains the work they're doing, and also outlines the overall forest management strategy

  • Ensure they are fully licensed and permitted, and have all the pertinent safety equipment

  • Be on-site to oversee the work, and/or hire someone to manage your forest operations on your behalf

Part of a sustainable forest management plan is taking into account both natural and manmade factors which impact your property.

The OWA has guides for managing how streams and roads, and how to carefully log around those facets of your property. Here are just a few of their many pieces of advice:

To gain access to the natural resources of your forest, you will need an entryway to your land, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a road.

"First, consider whether access road construction is absolutely necessary. Instead of constructing a new road, use adjacent fields, existing trails or other forest openings. This will save money and reduce the risk of site damage or disturbance," says the OWA.

Some landowners have purchased property which was once carefully managed, but over decades of neglect has fallen into disrepair. Perhaps there are some overgrown roads you can clear and revitalize to provide a low impact pathway through your acreage? Reusing these old roads and trails is recommended, as this would help to keep the potential damage of your forest health to a minimum.

If a new road does need to be constructed, the OWA says you should consider, "the value of timber to be harvested relative to road construction costs, the duration and season of the cut, haul truck and logging equipment requirements, safety, road maintenance costs and any water and wetland crossing requirements. Remember, well-planned road networks can be used for future logging operations and for other activities in the woodlot, such as trail riding and cross-country skiing."

Your local woodlot association or ecological protection agency may have more guidance on what are some of the best steps to take when building a new access road.

While sustainable logging is an important aspect to enact across your entire property, it's especially important around bodies of water. As mentioned above, many landowners may want to consider buffer zones around water features of their property, to prevent soil erosion and protect water and plant species.

"Timber harvesting can occur in riparian buffer zones with little negative environmental impact, provided that some basic guidelines are adhered to and that operations are conducted with care," says the OWA, noting those guidelines include:

• • Log only during periods when soils are dry or frozen to avoid rutting and erosion.

  • Limit machine travel in the buffer to minimize soil disturbance and erosion. When feasible, use cables and a winch to extract timber.

  • When cutting, keep felled trees and slash out of the water. Avoid damaging the shoreline or exposing soils, which may erode into the water.

  • Avoid locating roads and landings in the buffer zone (except to access a water crossing)

  • Do not allow ditches or other water diversion structures to drain directly into the wetland or watercourse. Divert runoff onto undisturbed areas of the forest floor.

  • Properly close all roads and trails leading into the buffer zone

  • Do not fuel, service or wash equipment near water

Maintaining forest cover in these buffer areas is also important, as "cutting too many trees can lead to dramatic changes in the composition and structure of the forest. This may adversely affect the quality and quantity of water entering the riparian area, resulting in sediment entering the aquatic feature and altering the hydrologic function of the riparian area."

While the exact amount of tree cover depends on the features of the site, there should be about 50 to 70 percent canopy closure maintained in the buffer zone.

Log Landings are an important feature for many woodlot owners, as they're the staging area for storing your logs, splitting your firewood, milling your lumber or preparing any other forest products.

Because machinery like loaders, tractors, backhoes and other equipment are used there, landowners must be cautious around fuel spills and other emissions which could potentially harm the natural environment. While these areas may require some land clearing to prepare, sustainable practices should still be considered.

"Special care must be taken when planning, constructing and using landings to ensure safe operations and to minimize disturbance to the residual stand and the environment. If landings are not located properly or are poorly constructed, large areas of soil may be exposed or disturbed, leading to erosion and sedimentation problems," says the OWA.

Landowners taking taking the sustainable logging mindset into account should try to reduce the amount and size of these landings, or reuse pre-existing landing areas that could be cleaned up and reclaimed. It's also possible you may be able to use an off-site area, thus removing that potential issue from your woodlot entirely.

If there is a landing area you no longer need, you should follow the best careful logging practices and stabilize the site by applying seed or mulch, allowing grasses or shrubs to grow and monitoring the site for erosion problems.

Sustainable logging protects your land, not just for your use, but for future generations. That means your children, grandchildren and future landowners can continue to make the most out of your property, including harvesting its resources while continuing the sustainable forestry legacy you left behind.

The first steps involve making a plan for your property, considering all of its features, knowing how best to handle them, hiring experts to help manage it and knowing the best ways to make changes to your land, if you must.

If all of this is done well, you can continue to harvest your forest resources while knowing the sustainable logging practices you're enacting will ensure the health of your woodlot for many years to come.

The Ontario Woodlot Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting owners of privately owned forests and is committed to sustainability. Its members promote, through education and mentorship, the benefits of a healthy ecosystem thereby increasing the enjoyment of our forests. For more information visit their website. You can also read more on this topic here.