North Carolina has over 2.1 million acres of woodlands in holdings less than 20 acres in size (Caputo, J. and B. Butler. 2025). These small woodlots range from parcels in larger forested areas to patches of green infrastructure in our urban communities. Most of these woodlands are owned by over 336,000 families (Caputo, J. and B. Butler. 2025) and go unmanaged. These woodlands provide environmental, economic, and social benefits to their owners and to the communities in which they are found. Through management planning woodland owners and communities can enhance these benefits by developing a road map to the future. Managing these woodlands to improve their benefits is a step-by-step process and this publication is a guide that will help lead those interested in developing a management plan through the process. In addition a set of worksheets (download here) have been developed to go along with the publication to assist in the drafting of a management plan.

Managing woodlands to enhance their benefits require careful planning. By developing a management plan a woodland owner or manager can

• focus their efforts in the management of the woodlot
• focus their limited and often finite financial resources
• build ownership in their property
• build commitment to achieve their goals
• increase their overall effectiveness at achieving their goals
• increase their satisfaction in their accomplishments

The management plan links woodland management activities and practices to the long-term vision woodland owners and managers have for their woodlots. Management planning is not a single event, but a process. It involves assessing your lands and interests, reflecting on woodland conditions and resources, and prescribing management activities compatible with your goals and objectives.

Woodland management plans have a common format that include some basic elements. These elements include:

• Goals and Objectives
• Property Map
• Description and Inventory
• Activities and Schedule

They may also include additional elements such as legal property description, ownership information, property history, protection and maintenance activities, and contact information of the professional forester or other natural resource professional if they wrote the plan.

Defining Goals and Objectives

As you begin to develop your management plan one of the first things you need to do is define your goals and objectives. Goals are long-term desires or statements of future conditions. In all cases, goals should be consistent with your ultimate reason for owning the land. Goals must be realistic and achievable; they must be compatible with the resources available and with the potential of the land. Examples of typical goals are listed below:

• To improve the aesthetic value of the woodlot
• To improve wildlife habitat
• Have a healthy woodlot

Objectives are specific actions or concrete steps that refine goals into workable tasks. By fulfilling the various objectives, forest owners achieve their goals. Realistic, achievable objectives are specific, precise, and measurable; they also specify a target date of completion. Objectives guide management decisions and help evaluate success and failure.

To understand the relationship between goals and objectives, consider the following examples.

• Goal: To improve the aesthetic value of the woodlot . . .
• Objective: by planting ten flowering dogwoods and releasing them from competition over the next five years.
• Goal: To see wildlife . . .
• Objective: by creating diverse cover types to increase the variety of songbirds by 20% over the next 4 years.
• Goal: Have a healthy woodlot…
• Objective: by conducting annual inspections to ensure pest and disease issues are identified and managed.

Self Assessment

Before developing goals and objectives for your property think about why you have your land, the type of land you have, and what you want to do on your land. To assist you with this, review the example provided in the landowner profile of the Self Assessment worksheet (Management Planning Worksheets). The information gathered to make your landowner profile provides the framework for which your woodland goals and objectives are created. Once you completed the self assessment and developed a landowner profile use the My Goals and Objectives worksheet (Management Planning Worksheets) to record your goals and objectives.

Every management plan should include a large enough aerial photo or map of the property. At minimum the map should show the location of the property, boundaries of the property and how the property can be accessed. Other features that should be considered when creating a resource map are soil types and classes, unique and sensitive areas such as water falls or rivers, and the location of special projects such as wildlife improvement or the creation of hiking trails. The more information displayed on the map the more difficult it may be to read the map. Consider creating more then one map or overlays for the main map to display information in an easy to read format.

To obtain aerial photos or create a map for your property consider utilizing Google Earth or other online mapping software. Depending on the software; you can enter in an address or coordinates to find your location. You can create an outline of your property or polygon of your property using the polygon tool. Soil maps can be obtained from the Natural Resources Conservation Service online web soil survey.

Your woodland description is based on an inventory that is done to develop an understanding of what lies on and within your woodlands. Inventories are meant to provide information on various characteristics such as tree density and quality, wildlife habitat, water quality and hydrological aspects, aesthetic qualities and issues, and recreational potential. The discovery of these aspects provides you the opportunity to become more involved and connected with your property, as well as more knowledgeable of the resources available to manage.

In most cases, a thorough inventory should be completed before woodland owner goals can be translated into a management plan, simply because if the resource isn’t present, managing for it is not practical. For this portion of the management plan the woodland owner may want assistance from a natural resource professional.

The following activity is designed for you to begin understanding the type of woodlands you may have. This activity may require a trip to your woodlands or at the minimum a review of aerial photos of the property.

Using the Woodland Characteristics worksheet (Management Planning Worksheets) please indicate the current woodland conditions by selecting the image that best represents your property. This activity can be completed for each stand of similar trees or for your overall woodlands.

Stand Origin

Do you have a natural stand or a planted stand? (Check the box that best describes your woodlands or stand of trees.)

[ ] Planted. Planted stands originate from planted seedlings or seed. Their trees are evenly spaced and appear in rows. The trees are often the same species and age.

[ ] Natural. Natural stands originate from seed or sprouts from stumps and roots. Their trees are unevenly spaced and scattered about. These stands may be of a single species, but can be a mixture of species.

Stand Age

What kind of woodlands do you have? (Check the box that best describes your woodlands or stand of trees.)

[ ] Young trees just starting out. Woodlands whose trees are 10 -15 years old or less are considered young in age. They are often the results of a recent disturbance such as a harvest. They are often a mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses, forbs, and brambles. Management of these types of woodlands are often focused on setting the direction, shape, and appearance of the future woodlands. Common practices include planting trees and weed control.

[ ] Middle-aged woodlands. Woodlands that are considered middle-aged are often between 10 and 70 years of age. They are more open, have a well-established overstory that produces shade throughout the stand that influences the type of understory vegetation. These woodlands begin to build up leaf litter and the trees are mature enough to begin fruit and nut production. Management activities in middle-aged stands are often focused on improving the health and quality of the woodlands. Practices can focus on aesthetics, wildlife habitat and forest health. Common practices include prescribed burning, thinning, and removal of undesirable trees.

[ ] Mature woodlands. Woodlands that are approximately 70 or more years in age, have diverse understory species and large diameter trees are often considered mature woodlands. These woodlands can last for centuries and provide opportunity for financial gains, wildlife habitat enhancement, and benefits related to recreation and aesthetics. Management activities in mature stands often involve cutting trees and preparing for establishing the next generation of trees.

Deciding how long to maintain your woodlands depends on several factors

• Health of trees
• Landowner objectives
• Future land use
• Storm and disease
• Appearance
• Financial needs

Stand of loblolly pine trees planted in rows

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Stand of loblolly pine trees planted in rows

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Hardwood trees originating from seed or stump sprouts

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Hardwood trees originating from seed or stump sprouts

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Young stand of loblolly pine trees

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Young stand of loblolly pine trees

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Middle-aged stand of pine and hardwood trees

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Middle-aged stand of pine and hardwood trees

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Stand of mature hardwood trees

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Stand of mature hardwood trees

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Accomplishing woodland management objectives requires the implementation of management activities based on a set schedule.

These prescribed and planned activities can be written for unique portions of the woodlands or applied across the whole property. Typical activities include:

• Forest Health – pruning, harvesting trees, prescribed burning, scouting for pest and disease.
• Reforestation – site preparation, tree planting, natural regeneration recommendations.
• Recreation – trail maintenance, trail installation.
• Wildlife Management – Mowing, disking, installing bird boxes.
• Best Management Practices for Water Quality – stabilize disturbed soil areas, plant riparian buffers.
• Permits – establish a list of regulations and ordinances and any permits that are necessary to carry out management activities.
• Monitoring – periodic inspections of boundaries, activities, and structure.

To develop your management activities and schedule you will need your goals and objectives, current description of your woodlands and a map or aerial photo of your property. With this information and a review of the example in Table 1. you can now complete an activity schedule (Management Planning Worksheets) that will help you to reach your goals. Remember that the schedule is a guide. As you begin to implement your plan remember If you need to change dates or other activities, make sure to update the schedule with the new information. This will help you to stay focused and on task for achieving your goals.

Table 1. Sample activity schedule for a woodland management plan

Advice from a natural resource management professional will enhance your experience in reaching your goals for managing your woodlands. The following organizations are an excellent source of information and resources. Consider exploring their websites or reaching out to them for further information and advice.

• NC State Extension Forestry provides educational programs, publications and electronic outreach.
• NC Forest Service provides personalized planning, advice, assistance and cost share.
• NC Wildlife Resources Commission provides planning advice and assistance.
• Natural Resources Conservation Service provides on-site planning, advice, assistance and cost share.
• Association of Consulting Foresters provides resources about private foresters who can provide planning, advice and assistance.

Woodlands provide environmental, economic, and social benefits that benefit their owners and the communities in which they are found. To enhance these benefits woodland owners should consider developing sound woodland management plans. Management plans are guides that should be simple, straight forward and flexible and implemented in order to achieve one’s goals. Management plans should be evaluated every so often and adjusted to keep up with changing goals and objectives. Assistance is available for woodland owners and seeking the advice of a natural resource professional can further enhance the potential benefits that woodland owners can receive from the management of their woodlands.

Reference

Caputo, J. and B. Butler. National Woodland Owner Survey Dashboard (NWOS-DASH) version 1.0. Accessed 2025-06-10.