Community-Owned Forests


Around the U.S., more than 3,000 communities in 43 states own and manage forests totaling 4.5 million acres. These forests provide economic, social and environmental benefits to their residents - places for outdoor recreation, protection of water supplies, wildlife habitat, educational opportunites, and timber and other forest products.

Unfortunately, many U.S. communities are now facing large-scale land use changes, changes that may forever change their local landscapes and quality of life. Across the country, timber companies are selling millions of acres of forest lands. Some of this land may be developed for houses or businesses, causing nearby communities to lose the benefits those forests have long provided. Community-owned forests are an opportunity for these cities and towns to maintain their forests and the benefits they provide.

Case Studies
Menominee Tribal Enterprises
Published by the Institute for Environmental Studies and the Land Tenure Center. January 1995.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes / Flathead Indian Reservation

Brushwood Community Forest Initiative
Within the ecologically significant Connecticut River Valley, and spanning the towns of West Fairlee and Fairlee, lies a unique forest of over 10,000 acres in the heart of Orange County, Vermont. Located in a geographic area known locally as the Brushwood Forest, this expanse of forestland is one of the last significant undeveloped forest blocks in the area, connecting communities through an established trail network. Its diverse natural communities, large wetland complexes, and vernal pools offer critical habitat for wildlife, while oak-dominated stands boast highly productive soil for forestry. The Brushwood Forest has linked people to their landscape for generations through a long history of private forest stewardship, recreation and environmental education.

The story of the Randolph Community Forest: Building on local stewardship
The Randolph story describes the process that led one community to acquire the rights to own and manage the major portion of the town’s productive forest land base and secure access for recreational use and forest management activities.

The Randolph Community Forest in New Hampshire
The article discusses the land acquisition of 10,000 acres in the White Mountains to protect traditional working forest practices and provide a sound future for historic recreational uses as diverse as hiking and hunting, snowmobiling and maple sugaring.

Coolbough Natural Areas, Brooks Township, Newaygo County, Michigan
The 400-acre Coolbough Natural Areas contains white pine-white oak forests, remnants of dry sand prairie, the Coolbough and Bigelow Creek trout streams, a 3.5 acre pond and approximately 7 acres of wetlands. The property is managed to promote white pine-white oak reforestation and enlarge and restore prairie areas while enhancing wildlife habitat. Having received 75% funding from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Recreational Trust Fund (royalties from oil and gas extraction from state owned lands), the property must be open for public use but is restricted to non-motorized low-impact recreational activities.

Land Protection and Stewardship in Weston, Massachsetts
Land conservation in Weston turns fifty this year. In 1953, the town established a Committee to Investigate and Report on the Matter of a Town Forest. Within a few years, several small tracts of Town Forest had been acquired, planting the seeds of more than 2,000 acres of open space that we own today. Weston at that time was a town of dwindling farms, fading estates, and a few other seedpods--of residential development. The genetic map by which Weston would unfold was laid down in the early 1950s by two critical decisions: residential zoning, and open space acquisition. The upshot is the suburb we see today: two-thirds detached houses on large lots and one-third schools, golf courses, and protected open space.

Bayfield Wisconsin County Forest
The Wisconsin Legislature passed the Forest Crop Law in 1927 authorizing counties to create county forests from tax delinquent lands. In 1929 the Legislature passed legislation that specifically exempted counties from having to pay the “acreage share fee” that private landowners had to pay. In 1931 legislation was passed providing county forests a payment of 10 cents an acre annually for all acres in County Forests, which was required to be used solely for the development of the forests. In return for this aid counties were required to pay a 75 percent severance tax to the state from forest products cut from their forests.

Arcata, CA Community Forest
The Arcata Community Forest and Jacoby Creek Forest totals 1984 acres of forested uplands and consists of two separate tracts. The City also owner over 600 acres of wetland/riparian lowlands that are within the same small costal watersheds. Much of the acreage was purchased in the 1930’s and 1940’s for municipal watershed/water supply purposes but is no longer used for water supply. The forest is a 120-year-old second growth redwood stand. Other species include Douglas fir, Grand fir, Western hemlock and Sitka spruce.


Strategic Plans for Community-Owned Forests

Management Plans for Community-Owned Forests
Below are links to management plans for several community-owned forests.

Governance Structures for Community-Owned Forests
Funding for this project provided by the Ford Foundation and the Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation.
© 2007 Communities Committee. Site design by gorotron.