Property Master Plans - Common Questions

A: The master plan provides a comprehensive vision of what we'd like the forest to look like 15 years down the road. The forest has a lot of moving parts, and we want our plans and our mission as providing ecological, economic and social benefits of forests to work together. Planning assures that we make the best use of our resources and takes into account the way the forest and it users will change in years to come.

A: Master plans go beyond the day to day management. Master Plans start with a comprehensive assessment of existing conditions including; recreation facilities, forest cover types, transportation networks, water resources, endangered and threatened species, user needs, etc. The master plan takes all these elements unto account and makes all of those elements work in harmony to create a sustainable forest.

A: The master plan is a way to ensure that we guide future development and management to meet the ecological, economic and social needs of current and future generations. Future improvements and management need to be considered and developed by balancing the many values, use needs and benefits.

A: Public input is critical in our process. We hold public meetings across the state for each plan and worked with a range of stakeholders to determine trends and issues and priorities are and how we can best address them. We hope people take advantage of the meetings to express their thoughts about our State Forests future.