The first edition of the Tug Hill Forest Owner's Handbook is now available to forest landholders in the Tug Hill Region. The handbook funded by the Snow Foundation and the US Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program was published by The Nature Conservancy's Northern New York Project office in cooperation with forestry staff from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the NYS Tug Hill Commission, the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust, and the grassroots group THRIFT (Tug Hill Resources Investment for Tomorrow). The guide helps to explain why Tug Hill forests are important, how active forest management can help landowners identify objectives, why forestry planning is important, how to start planning and managing forests, what economic and ecological benefits can be expected in forest management, and what resources are available to assist forest landholders in the Tug Hill Region. Many readers will recognize the artwork in the publication as that of Robert McNamara who edited and illustrated The Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust's recent nature guide book, Tug Hill: A Four Season Guide to the Natural Side published by North Country Books in 1999.
Patrick Crast, The Nature Conservancy's forester for the Tug Hill Region out of Pulaski stated, "This guide will help to give landholders an idea of the different forestry options or tools that are available to achieve their forest objectives. More importantly, this guide will help landholders to determine if their objectives are feasible." Responsible timber harvesting is one of the tools mentioned in the guide. Crast stated, "The Nature Conservancy understands the importance of forest management to the Tug Hill economy and the value of sustainable forestry to the Tug Hill ecosystem." Crast added, "This handbook wonderfully illustrates both points."
The publication, which was developed over the course of at least three years locally, was based on a similar booklet developed by The Nature Conservancy's Wisconsin Chapter. Brendan Kelly, a Lowville based DEC senior forester that was involved in the project stated, "The booklet was truly a group effort of all the parties involved. For instance, I'd canvas landowners, foresters, and loggers for comments. Then I would consolidate the comments and present them to the other parties involved. We'd sit down and go back and forth on points, organization of the sections, and the wording. At times it was tense, however in the end we came out of the process with a comprehensive publication that will be valued by the landholder reader.
Previous Commission publications and research were able to provide the Forest Owner's Handbook with a historical context. Linda Gibbs, the Tug Hill Commission's Nature Resources Coordinator echoed the foresters' comments, "This handbook will be a useful tool for landowners; helping them to recognize a variety of stewardship opportunities for their forests."
Along with Tug Hill Commission data, THRIFT members contributed to this guide by providing integral comments and historical information. "We leapt at the chance to contribute to this necessary publication,"
Stated Bonnie Colton, THRIFT's newsletter editor and long-time member "We hope this will inspire more landholders to actively manage their woodlots for a variety of sustainable purposes."Linda Garrett, Executive Director of the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust views the Handbook as a great resource for forest landowners. "In our experience locally, continually rising property taxes are forcing landowners to either sell off lots or cut timber to meet their tax obligations. The Forest Owner's Handbook is an attempt to inform forest owners that, in stewarding their property when faced with economic hardship, striking a balance between economic benefits and healthy forests is possible."
Landowners interested in obtaining a copy of the handbook can contact either The Nature Conservancy's Pulaski Office at 315-387-3600, local DEC Lands and Forests offices surrounding Tug Hill, or the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust's office in Watertown at 315-779-8240.
Page Last Updated: June 15th, 2004