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Nearly 30 percent of Ohio is forested and more than 90 percent of that land – about 2.4 million acres – is privately owned. Even though many of those owners already harvest wood products from their lands, many more could be reaping the benefits of a timber management plan, according to OSU Extension forestry specialists.

"Except where strict preservation is the primary ownership objective, that periodic harvest of trees can play an important and often necessary role in accomplishing many ownership objectives," according to Harvesting and Reproduction Methods for Ohio Forests, a 2002 Extension fact sheet.

That’s where the Ohio Woodland Stewards Program, a joint effort of the Ohio Division of Forestry and Extension, can step in to provide education and support to develop appropriate timber management plans for woodlot owners throughout the state.

Check the list of Ag Dates on Page 6 to see some of the events the Woodland Stewards program offers. "Our goal is to help woodland owners across the state deal with the ins and outs of owning, caring for and managing forestland here in Ohio," according to Kathy Smith, program coordinator and an OSU Extension forestry associate.

Within the past year, more than a dozen programs have been offered aimed at boosting people’s forestry skills. Course titles include "Crop Trees," "Lumber from Your Woodlot" and "Woodland Owners Workshop."

"Name that Tree," the program’s most popular offering, focuses on tree identification.

"Coverts," conducted in conjunction with the Ruffed Grouse Society and the National Wild Turkey Federation, features forest wildlife management.

And "Tree Planting and Maintenance" tackles just that -- site preparation, planting techniques and other keys to growing healthy trees.

In all, more than 500 people have participated in Ohio Woodland Stewards programs, according to Smith. Those are 500 Ohioans who now know more about good forest management and are eager to put what they know into practice.

"The program is designed to help woodland owners understand the forests of Ohio and how they (the owners) can manage the forest to meet their ownership goals and objectives," Smith said.

"Sometimes they need to understand that even a hands-off approach – letting nature take its course – has an impact on the woods and is therefore also a management decision," she said.

Ohio Farm Bureau will be hosting three timber marketing and landowner education workshops in cooperation with the Ohio Forestry Association next February and March. Details on those programs will be available in November.

For more information on the Ohio Woodland Stewards Program or other Ohio forestry programs, call 614-688-3421 or visit the Featured Links section at www.ofbf.org

"We’re intent on expanding the course options so that we can take a landowner from the novice stage to a point where (he or she) can make sound management decisions," Smith said, "or at least so they know where to get more information in making that decision."