Forest Stewards

The Need for Forest Stewardship:
A legacy of resource exploitation has left many forests degraded and lacking in overall diversity.
Present and future forest threats, whether related to pollution, urbanization, climate change, invasive exotic plants, insects, or disease, are typically un-natural and are likely to have more severe impacts than many stresses of the past.
Positive and proactive forestry can improve the forest condition by making our forests more resistant to these stresses, and enhance their ability to satisfy the needs of society for future generations.

Our Stewardship Philosophy:
Ecological Forest Stewardship: Ecological stewardship employs management strategies that improve or maintain ecosystem function while attempting to mitigate against current and future forest stresses.
Social Forest Stewardship: Appalachian forests have value to all segments of society. These values include clean air, abundant and clean water, productive soils, diverse plant and animal communities, traditional land use, outdoor recreation, hunting, and a sense of place. Forest Stewards recognizes all stakeholders and works to include their views and protect their values.
Economic Forest Stewardship: Southern Appalachian forests provide abundant resources that have supported traditional rural economies for generations. Forest Stewards recognizes the need to sustainably harvest both timber and non-timber forest products to support employment opportunities throughout the region.