Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Program

Forests for the Bay

Educating Landowners about Healthy Forests and Clean Water

The Alliance coordinates Forests for the Bay, an education and outreach program for landowners who are interested in actively managing their woodland and/or restoring woods on their property.

Forests for the Bay training, events, newsletters, and workshops actively encourages woodland owners to continue providing natural benefits for themselves and their neighbors through management, easing access to conservation funding, and developing educational initiatives. Workshops include “Your Woods and Your Wallet,” “Real Forestry for Real Estate,” “The Woods in Your Backyard,” “Discover your Woods,” and “Family Succession Planning.”

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Water drains from 64,000 square miles of land in 6 states and flows through over 100,000 miles of streams and rivers before reaching the Chesapeake Bay.

 

  • Woods historically covered 95% of this Chesapeake Bay watershed. Despite 400 years of harvesting for agriculture, fuel, timber, and other uses, forest land still comprises 58% of the land in the watershed.

 

  • Woodlands in the watershed have disappeared at 100 acres a day to development since the mid-1980’s.

 

  • There are currently 900,000 private family forest owners that own nearly 80% of the total Chesapeake forests. The majority of these landowners own less than 25 acres.
A thinned forest in Somerset County, PA. The flush of understory vegetation after thinning will increase insect populations, resulting in improved foraging habitat for bats. Photo by Ryan Davis

Explore

Forests for the Bay serves as a clearinghouse of information and resources to help landowners improve the vitality of the woodlands, increase wildlife habitat and protect water quality, generate income, and overall enjoyment of their property.

Newsletters

Resources

Professional Contacts

Learn More About Our Forests

A large part of this collaborative effort to educate and provide resources for forestry landowners is the Forests for the Bay newsletter. This monthly newsletter is bursting with stories, regional events, trivia, and more! Sign up or read past newsletters by clicking the links below.

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