Strategic Plan

Center for Private Forests' Values

We believe…

People and Forests

• That stewardship is best accomplished by working at the intersection of people and forests.
• That forest landowners can contribute significantly to forest health, resilience, and vitality.
• That an engaged community is a powerful force in improving forest health and vitality.
• That we have an obligation to conserve forests and their value for future generations.

Working Forests

• That working forests can provide a broad range of economic, environmental, and social benefits to the people who care for them, the wildlife that inhabits them, and society as a whole.
• That working forests are an essential part of the ecosystem on which all of society depends.
• That working forests require active intervention and management to maintain their health, vitality, and capacity to deliver benefits to society sustainably.

Pathways to Stewardship

• That forest stewardship emerges through dialogue and collaboration among landowners, stewardship professionals, and communities.
• That forest stewardship is best achieved by understanding and connecting landowner values to sustainable practices.
• That research focused on interactions among landowners and professionals with each other and with the land is essential in developing the knowledge to catalyze change in the landscape.
• That peer-to-peer education, which combines individual practical experience with knowledge of best practices, is an important tool for inspiring change.

Six Key Aims

• Create Scholarship - Develop and share basic and applied research and experience to expand understanding of private forest landowners, their land, and the professionals who advise them.
• Inspire Stewardship - Inspire and cultivate a growing community of private forest landowners adopting stewardship values and practices on their land.
• Strengthen Connections - Foster a shared vision and understanding of stewardship among private forest landowners, professionals, and academic faculty necessary for effective collaboration on private forest stewardship.
• Expand the Stewardship Community - Broaden the range of stewardship professionals and organizations advising private forest landowners on the stewardship of their land.
• Inform Policy - Convey knowledge and insights to aid development and implementation of policies and practices that impact private forest landowners and their land.
• Build infrastructure - Build the Center organization, partnering, and financial capacity to impact forest health and vitality.

Outcomes

• Remain at the forefront in advancing research-based insights about private forest landowners, their land, and the professionals who advise them.
• Collaborate broadly across the College, University, and stakeholder communities on basic and applied research opportunities, innovation educational approaches, and policies and programs.
• Enhance understanding of how to motivate and inspire action among private forest landowners interested in stewardship.
• Develop new insights and approaches for strengthening relationships between private forest landowners and stewardship professionals who advise them.
• Strengthen, increase, and broaden a network of professionals available to collaborate with, and advise, private forest landowners on stewardship.
• Build and optimize Center infrastructure, particularly the volunteer infrastructure, consistent with aims of strategic plan.

Review the full strategic plan (PDF)