PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF
Sustainable use of our State Forests,
for the multiple benefits they provide, requires planned management in such a
way that the needs of today are met without hurting the ability of future
generations to meet their needs.
Maryland’s
Commitment to sustainable Forest Management
The
Annotated code of
“Forests, streams, valleys, wetlands, parks, scenic,
historic, and recreation areas of the state are basic
assets. Their proper use, development, and preservation are necessary to
protect and promote the
health, safety, economy and general welfare of the people of the state.
It is the policy of the state to
encourage the economic development and the use
of its natural resources for the improvement of the
local economy, preservation of natural beauty, and promotion of the
recreational and leisure interest
throughout the
state.”
To recognize further the importance of
its State Forest System, the DNR established a corresponding management policy
in the code of Maryland Regulations 08.07.01.01 as follows:
“The state forests are
managed to promote the coordinated uses of their varied resources and
values for the benefit of all people, for all time. Water, wildlife,
wood, natural beauty and opportunities
for
natural environmental recreation, wildlands experience, research demonstration
areas, and outdoor
education are major forest benefits.”
A statewide system of renewable resource
planning ensures that benefits are realized by and resources are protected for
future generations through the Annotated Code of Maryland, Natural Resources
Article 5-214:
“The Department shall
develop a system for long-range renewable forest resource planning.
The public and private forestland resources of Maryland, indicating, but
not limited to, wood
fiber, forest recreation,
wildlife, fish, forest watershed, and wilderness potential, shall be
examined and inventoried periodically. As part of the forest planning
process, the Department
periodically
shall develop, review, and revise a resource plan that should help to provide
for a
sustained yield of forest resource benefits for the citizens of
shall
be made available for public and legislative review and comment.”
Sustainable forestry and Forest
Certification
Sustainable forestry is a broad term for
management techniques that respect the full range of environmental, social, and
economic values of the forest, and seek to meet today’s needs without losing
any of those values. Sustainable forests maintain all components (trees,
shrubs, flowers, birds, fish, wildlife, etc.) as well as ecological processes
(nutrient, recycling, water and air purification, ground water recharge, etc.)
so they can remain healthy and vibrant into the future. A basic part of
sustainable forestry is adaptive management, which means that forest managers
watch and monitor the forest carefully so that, if future conditions change and
the forest shows signs of stress or decline, new management actions can help
restore sustainable conditions.
Forest Certification is a way to verify
sustainable forest management. The international community through the Montréal
process has agreed on the elements of sustainable forest management. Maryland
will use the internationally recognized criteria of sustainable forest
management in planning, implementing and monitoring uses of our State Forests.
A goal of
the DNR is to become a national model of certified sustainable forestry. To
meet this goal, each of our State Forests will seek a combined third party
certification
under both the Sustainable Forest
Initiative (SFI) standard and the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) standard. It is DNR’s belief that an independent
review and certification of our State Forest Management plans and practices
will improve the management of the State Forest and build public confidence in
the quality of the management. In 2005, Chesapeake Forest became the first
State Forest to obtain dual certification under SFI and FSC.
Achieving meaningful results in
sustainable forest management requires a long-term commitment by DNR. Forests
are complex and dynamic ecosystems; only better knowledge, experience, and
understanding can lead to approaches that are more effective to forest
assessment and management.
The decision by the Department to apply
the Montréal Process Criteria and Indicators reflects a recognition of their
value and their utility for measuring process; ultimately, they will be
meaningful only if we are committed to using them to make needed policy changes
in response to trends in the indicators.
v
Montréal process
v
FSC
v
SFI
v
Northeastern Area
Association of State Forest Planners Metrics
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Current website
forest certification info http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/forestcert.asp