Small Forest Landowner Office
The Small Forest Landowner Office serves as a resource and focal point for small forest landowner concerns and policies. With a mission to promote the economic and ecological viability of small forest landowners, the office will seek to develop policies that conserve Washington's privately owned non-industrial forests. Recognizing the significant contributions small landowners make to protecting Washington's public natural resources, the office will strive to equip landowners with all the necessary tools and information they need to keep their land in forestry use.
Small Forest Landowner Office (SFLO) Survey
The Small Forest Landowner Office wants to gain a strong understanding of the people we work for. Your answers to this survey will help us direct our work to support the missions and goals of your forest. This information will be used within the Small Forest Landowner Office.
Subscribe to Forest Stewardship Notes
It’s free. On the subscription page, be sure to select “Forest Stewardship Notes” as your newsletter choice (and any additional DNR newsletters, too). You will receive a confirmation e-mail after signing up. Read the inaugural issue of Forest Stewardship Notes.
OBJECTIVES
- Promote, implement, and manage the Forestry Riparian Easement Program.
- Promote, implement, and manage the Family Forest Fish Passage Program.
- Provide expertise in the management of small forest landholdings.
- Provide expertise of government programs applicable to small forest holdings.
- Promote Long Term Forest Practices Applications.
- Develop alternative management and harvest plans for small forest holdings.
- Collect demographics on small forest landowners and their land holdings.
- Recommend incentives to improve management of small forest holdings for water quality and other environmental and economic goals.
Background
In 1999, the Washington State Legislature responded to the Endangered Species Act listing of several salmon species by passing the Salmon Recovery Act , which authorized the Forest Practices Board to adopt rules for salmon recovery. These rules increased the size of riparian buffers and created further measures to protect water quality and restore salmon habitat. Recognizing that these rules would have a disproportionate effect on small, family-owned forests, the legislature also authorized a Small Forest Landowner Office to be created within the Department of Natural Resources to begin assessing ways in which policies could be crafted to support small landowners. The Office was directed to serve as a "resource and focal point for small forest landowner concerns and policies". With a goal to improve the economic viability and environmental quality of small forestland holdings.
SMall Forest LandOwner Resources
The SFLO resource page is a revolving cabinet of information that you may find useful for managing your forest property. We will be updating this page with the best information we can find over the next coming months, which will include links to other partner’s websites and DNR's recommendations for managing your small forest.