Background and Context

Within the North Coast region, thousands of acres of private forestland are changing hands. Much of this land is at risk of being developed for residential or commercial use. The result is often smaller parcels of forestland and increasing fragmentation of ownership. Conversion, fragmentation, and development of private forestland has significant consequences for the ecological functions of the forest as well as the communities that live in and near them. Communities also lose forest-based businesses and jobs, in both forestry and recreation-based economic opportunities. Currently there are limited ways to help protect high-risk forestlands as local working forests that could support themselves and their communities’ values into the future.

Community Forests can provide an alternative to forest development, subdivision, or conversion, and at the same time can provide community benefits such as public access and recreational opportunities, protect vital water supplies and wildlife habitat, serve as a demonstration site for private forest landowners, and provide economic benefits from timber and non-timber products. A Community Forest is most commonly owned by a local entity, often a local government such as a city, Tribe, or non- profit organization, and managed in a manner that balances social, economic, and environmental values. Management decisions are informed by active public participation and made at the local level, giving residents both the opportunity and the responsibility to manage their natural resources effectively and sustainably and to consider where the resources they consume come from. A fundamental premise of community forestry is that public recreational use, wood production, and forest conservation are not mutually exclusive.

For many rural communities, the idea of administering and managing a Community Forest seems daunting. Communities need reassurance that it can be done and often this comes simply by learning of other example projects in towns with similar demographics. They may need help building new capacity, which may take the form of a new volunteer committees within the town governance structure, or an entirely new non-profit organization to coordinate a Community Forest initiative and to manage Community Forest projects. Creating and managing a community‐owned forest requires the collaborative development of a community vision and mission for the forest, a commitment to sharing in the costs and benefits of that forest, and the crafting of a governance and operational structure that ensures consistent, long‐term management for forest resilience and sustainability. Communities may look to supporting institutions to help facilitate the organizing phases in these efforts, provide the staff to coordinate and support volunteer efforts, or provide modest funding to support part-time staffing to reinforce volunteer efforts.

“Community-based forestry is a participatory approach to forest management that strengthens communities’ capacity to build vibrant local economies while protecting and enhancing their local forest ecosystems. By integrating ecological, social, and economic strategies into cohesive approaches to forestry issues, community-based approaches give local residents both the opportunity and the responsibility to manage their natural resources effectively and to enjoy the benefits of that responsibility.”

-Aspen Institute