Landowner Goals
Taking a moment to reflect upon the most important goals you have for your land might take some time, but we are here to help you narrow your focus to help put your ownership objectives to work. From protecting and promoting wildlife habitat to conservation, sustainability, and aesthetics we can guide you towards a well thought out and strategic management plan which match your goals!
Forest Health
A healthy forest is a ubiquitous landowner interest. While we all recognize the basic concept of what forest health means, actually understanding and attaining it can be quite complicated. Other foresters often define forest health solely in terms of timber productivity, but here at Meadowsend we take a more comprehensive view which incorporates all aspects of a healthy, functioning forest ecosystem including soil and water quality, wildlife habitat, ecosystem processes such as succession, climate impacts, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, and not least of all forest pests, diseases and invasive exotic species. Our management recommendations include the entire spectrum of taking a hands-off approach to intensive, restorative management actions depending on landowner interests and the specific nature of each forest. At Meadowsend, we hold the health and functioning of forest ecosystems as our highest management principle and will do our best to help our clients navigate this complex issue.
Conservation
The most powerful tool for ensuring the long-term protection of your land is to put all or part of it under a conservation easement. Typically, the process of conserving your land involves gifting or selling, the development rights to another entity, such as a land trust. Conveying the development rights means that the land can no longer be developed, additionally the easement can include language that requires specific management actions and well as precluding certain types of actions. Keeping forest as forest is one of the best ways to help protect our environment and all the important ecosystem services forests provide. Here at Meadowsend we have years of experience with conserving land and helping to manage land that is under an easement. In fact, about 60% of the land we manage is under conservation easement. If you are interested in conserving your land, Meadowsend Foresters can help you navigate this process with skill and experience.
Wildlife Habitat
For many landowners, protecting and promoting wildlife habitat is one of their most important stewardship objectives. Some landowners take a generalized approach, while others have specific interests such as managing for deer or birds. Bird habitat in particular has become very popular over the last decade, and rightly so. Managing for bird habitat easily goes hand in hand with forest management. Just like different sites support different types of trees, different forest types support different bird species. Looking at your forest through the lens of the type of habitat it provides is an exciting and engaging way to strengthen your connection to the land. Meadowsend foresters can work with you to help you achieve your wildlife habitat management goals. Contact us to learn more about opportunities to create, enhance, protect and maintain wildlife habitat on your land.
Sustainability
Long-term, sustainable management is often a high priority of conscientious landowners. At Meadowsend, we view sustainability as the need for the entire ecosystem to be sustained, not just one component of the system like timber and economics which, in and of themselves are very important, but don’t convey the entire picture. If all of the components of the forest are considered, the entire system can function in a sustainable fashion. A number of benchmarks need to be considered for sustainable management, such as:
- Protection of soils and soil productivity;
- Protection of water quality, wetlands and riparian zones;
- Protecting biodiversity;
- Identifying and protecting rare and uncommon species and natural communities;
- Protecting and enhancing habitat for a full range of native flora and fauna;
- Maintaining a healthy balance of forest age classes;
- Managing for a continuous flow of quality forest products.
At Meadowsend, our management is guided by principles of sustainability. We take the long view into consideration, and will eagerly discuss with you what sustainable management looks like on your forest. Contact us for a free consultation!
Aesthetics
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it is probably safe to say we all know a beautiful forest when we see one. Aesthetics almost always hold some level of management interest, but can vary widely depending on each scenario. Aesthetics are typically of higher priority in different sections of your forest; sometimes the view from your house is the most important, or what you see along your trails or from the road. Other times there are special locations within the forest that have a high aesthetic interest for you. In order to protect your aesthetic interests, it is critical that your forester understands what is important to you. It is also important to understand that often active forest management creates a big disturbance to the land and temporarily alters the aesthetic and potentially the sense of place a forest provides. Sound management helps mitigate this by incorporating “best management practices” focused on forest aesthetics. But, sometimes, the best practice is to simply leave an area alone if aesthetics and sense of place are the highest management objective. Balancing aesthetics with the multitude of other management goals is an exciting process, one that involves clear communication between the landowner and their forester. At Meadowsend, we pride ourselves in our ability to navigate this complex issue. We will take the time to understand your aesthetic interests and, if needed, we can visit other actively managed forests with you to see and experience it for yourself. If aesthetics is a high priority for you, be sure to clearly communicate this to your forester.
Recreation
People go into the forest for all manner of reasons. Some go to enjoy the peace and solitude of the forest, others may go to observe wildlife, while others go for the enjoyment of walking, hiking, snow shoeing, mountain biking, horseback riding, hunting, cross country and back country skiing. For some, trails and roads that provide access to ATV’s and snowmobiles are a priority. Whatever your recreational interests are, Meadowsend foresters will work with you to create a plan that incorporates your goals. Recreational trails can be created as a stand-alone project, or worked into an active timber harvest activity. We will help create, modify and maintain the recreational system that meets your specific interests while keeping the health and functioning of the forest ecosystem in mind.