Wildlife and Woodlands Management: Forest Stewardship Education

Issues:

Forty-one percent of Maryland is forested, with 90% owned by130,600 private non-industrial landowners. These ownerships are becoming more fragmented, threatening forest viability.
The forest products industry is the fifth largest manufacturing industry in the state, providing more than 42,000 jobs and $4.5 billion in total output.

Action:

UME provides seminars, workshops, correspondence courses, websites, publications, newsletters, videos, and other educational efforts.
A network of trained volunteer forest landowners educate other forest landowners, citizens, and communities through the Coverts Project outreach program.

Impacts:

UME produces a quarterly forest stewardship newsletter that provides up-to-date information to 5,000 private forest landowners in Maryland.
Since 1990, 297 private landowners and land managers, called "cooperators," have been trained in a volunteer outreach programcalled the Coverts Project. In a typical year, almost 600 people receive information on forest/wildlife management.
One hundred and fifteen landowners have participated in the Maryland Forestry Correspondence Course. It is estimated the course has saved landowners over $80,000.

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For more information, contact Dr Nick Place

Last updated: 11/13/2009