Monthly Highlight:

More than 12 million acres of private woodland in New England are owned by families and individuals. In the Westfield and Deerfield River watersheds of western Massachusetts, the majority of woods are in the hands of people in that category. We know that many or even most of them don't have professionally prepared management plans, or receive the advice of a consulting or Service forester.  Periodically, these owners find themselves in a position to make a decision about their land. Someone makes an unsolicited offer to buy timber or land, or, circumstances arise when there is a need for cash (e.g., the tuition bill arrives, health insurance doesn't cover a procedure, or the family car dies). For whatever reason, woodland owners are in a position to make a decision, yet they don't have all the information they need to make an informed one. The result is a reactive decision, which often doesn't serve the owner well, or their land.