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Program Purpose
Approximately forty-five percent of all forestland
in the United States, or 354 million acres is under nonindustrial
private ownership, contributing significantly to America's
clean water and air, wildlife habitat, recreational resources
and timber supplies. Authorized by the Cooperative Forestry
Assistance Act of 1978, the Forest Stewardship Program (FSP)
provides technical assistance, through State forestry agency
partners, to nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners to
encourage and enable active long-term forest management. A
primary focus of the Program is the development of comprehensive,
multi-resource management plans that provide landowners with
the information they need to manage their forests for a variety
of products and services. For more details on how the Forest
Stewardship Program operates, see the National
Standards and Guidelines.
Forest Stewardship Management Plans
Since its establishment
in 1991 through 2006, the Program has produced more than 270,000
multi-resource management plans encompassing more than 31 million
acres of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land.
Forest Stewardship plans lay out strategies for achieving unique
landowner objectives and sustaining forest health and vigor.
Actively managed forests provide timber, wildlife habitat, watershed
protection, recreational opportunities and many other benefits
for landowners and society. Forest Stewardship plans motivate
landowners to become more active in planning and managing their
forests, greatly increasing the likelihood that their forests
will remain intact, productive and healthy, and that the social,
economic and environmental benefits of these lands will be sustained
for future generations. For guidelines relating to Forest Stewardship
plan development, see Caring
for your Forest with a Forest Stewardship Plan and Planning
for Forest Stewardship: A Desk Guide.
 The
Spatial Analysis Project (SAP) is a GIS-based strategic
management tool that allows participating State forestry agencies
to identify and spatially display important forest lands (rich
in natural resources, vulnerable to threat), tracts currently
under Forest Stewardship Plans, and areas of opportunity to
focus future Forest Stewardship Program efforts.
Landowner Participation
Participation in the Forest Stewardship program
is open to any non-industrial private forest landowners who
are committed to the active management and stewardship of
their forested properties for at least ten years. The FSP
is not a cost share program. Cost-share assistance for plan
implementation may be available through other programs such
as the Forest Land Enhancement Program. To find out how you
can participate in the Forest Stewardship Program offered
by your State, please contact your State Forester's office.
For a list of State Foresters, click
here.
Rural Forestry Assistance
The Forest Stewardship Program also assists
State forestry agencies with a variety of programs to further
support NIPF owner planning and management efforts including
tree improvement and seedling production, and landowner education
programs. The Rural Forestry Assistance component of the Forest
Stewardship Program also provides for tree planting and timber
stand improvement projects on non-federal forest land the
development of discrete, resource targeted management prescriptions
or practice plans for landowners.
For more information on how this program is managed nationally,
contact Karl R. DallaRosa, Program Manager at kdallarosa@fs.fed.us.
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Forest
Stewardship Program