by
John Petersen, Community Relations
Officer, Delaware Forest Service
A cooperative partnership between the Delaware
Forest Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
promises to generate new benefits for forest planning and improved water
quality throughout the region.
When
landowner Bill Jester met with DFS regional forester Bill Seybold and NRCS
soil conservationist
John Bushey at his family's historic farm near Felton, it marked the
beginning of what partners hope will be a productive collaboration to
effectively manage nutrient run-off and soil erosion to help protect the
area’s crucial watersheds.
Jester’s 200-acre operation lies within the Chesapeake Bay
watershed.
From now on, when NRCS field employees meet
with agricultural producers who also own forestland, they will refer them to
the Delaware Forest Service to put their woodlands under a forest
stewardship plan.
A stewardship plan is a tool to help
landowners effectively manage their forests for a variety of objectives
including wildlife habitat, timber production and recreational use.
Unfortunately, many landowners with forestland may not be aware of this free
planning offered by DFS.
By placing their woodlands under a stewardship
plan, landowners can help forests do the job they are so good at: protecting
water quality and controlling pollutant runoff into the region’s watersheds.
For information on forest stewardship plans,
contact DFS at 1-800-282-8685 or your local USDA Service Center.
For information about conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay,
visit
http://www.de.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/watersheds/chesapeake_bay/chesapeake_bay.html
Caption: Bill Seybold, DFS, (L) meets with landowner Bill Jester and NRCS'
John Bushey to discuss conservation planning.
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