There are 3.2 million acres of privately and publicly owned forest land in Massachusetts of which 310,000 acres are State Forests, Parks and Reservations. Municipal watershed lands cover 245,000 acres and there are 351 municipalities with associated urban trees and forests. The Bureau serves all of these owners and the forest they care for through the programs listed below. If you have questions or simply care about the forests of Massachusetts this is a good place to start.
Service Forestry Program
The Service Forestry Program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners and municipalities in forest resource planning, forest management, and forest protection.
Urban and Community Forestry
The Urban and Community Forestry Program offers technical assistance and grants to communities to build long-term support for the protection and management of public trees and forests. This would be a good place to start to learn about trees in towns and cities, their, care, and how you can help.
Management Forestry Program
The Management Forestry Program is responsible for the planning and implementation of forest management activities on the State's 310,000 acres forest and parks system. This would be a good place to start if you are interested in learning more about forest management on these lands for both forest products and the public's enjoyment.
Forest Health
The Forest Health Program monitors and assesses factors that influence the health of Massachusetts's forests. This would be a good place to start if you are interested in learning about common insect and diseases that threaten trees and forests in Massachusetts.
Forest Health - Big Trees
The Department of Conservation and Recreation Forest Health Program formally recognizes the largest known tree of each species growing in the state with the Massachusetts Big Tree Registry.
Marketing & Utilization Program
The Forest Products Utilization and Marketing Program assists landowners, foresters, timber harvesters, sawmills, manufactures, and recyclers in the promotion and expansion of the forest products industry in the Commonwealth and the Northeast Region. This would be a good place to start to learn more about the wood industries and wood based initiatives.
Forest Legacy Program
The Forest Legacy Program is a partnership between participating States and the USDA Forest Service to identify and help protect environmentally important forests from conversion to non-forest uses. The main tool used for protecting these important forests is conservation easements. The Federal government may fund up to 75% of program costs, with at least 25% coming from private, state or local sources.
Community Forest Program
The Community Forest Program is a US Forest Service competitive grant program whereby local governments, qualified nonprofit organizations, and Indian tribes are eligible to apply for grant funding to establish community forests. Community forests provide many benefits, such as:
- Wildlife habitat
- Clean air and water
- Economic benefits from timber resources
- Recreation
- Forest-based educational opportunities and models of effective forest stewardship
Private forest land is purchased through fee simple acquisition from a willing seller; conservation easements are not eligible for this program.
