USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) also encourages riparian buffer tree plantings and proper woodland management. However, most NRCS staff members have limited experience in large-scale forest management.

Therefore, woodland landowners have three options in this area:

• Hiring a private consultant,
• Contact a PA Bureau of Forestry's Service Forester,
• Or a combination of the two.

If you choose to contact a PA Bureau of Forestry's Service Forester, please call 570-922-3344 at the Bald Eagle State Forest headquarters near Laurelton along PA 45. The Bureau of Forestry is part of the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR).

If you wish to hire a private consultant, call the Bald Eagle State Forest headquarters at 570-922-3344 to secure a list of certified forestry consultants.

Forest stewardship plans begin with a meeting between the consulting forester and the landowner. The consulting forester collects information on the property and makes recommendations on how to manage the land in the future to meet the landowner's goals. Plans generally written with recommendations for the landowner need to be re-evaluated every ten years.

The Snyder County Conservation District has recently had a forest stewardship plan developed for the Selinsgrove Center Grounds with a private forestry consulting forester. For details about the development process, go to the SCCD Forestry Stewardship Plan Fact Sheet under the "Forest Stewardship Planning Downloads" section of this web page.

For more information about forest management plans in general, contact the PA Bureau of Forestry's Bald Eagle District Forest office near Laurelton at 570-922-3344.

Contact the PA Bureau of Forestry's Bald Eagle District Forest office near Laurelton at 570-922-3344 or go to the AFF's American Tree Farm System website for details.

Note: The Central Susquehanna Woodland Owners Association (CSWOA), the Pennsylvania Tree Farm Program, along with the Conservation District, sponsored a tour of the woodland at the Selinsgrove Center Grounds in Penn Township, Snyder County on May 2010. Go to our Selinsgrove Grounds web page for more information.