RESPONSIBLE FOREST MANAGEMENT
            As you drive through the countryside, the first sign of an approaching homestead or small town is the appearance of a group of trees on the horizon. The details of the trees become visible and the shape of the homestead or community emerges among them. Each old homestead represents a small arboretum, not so much for public viewing as for the private joys those trees brought to a farm family or small town resident through the last century and into the present one. Towering above houses and buildings, tall stately trees shaped by wind and weather bring a peace and calm to the countryside and streets of small town rural Illinois.
            With all of the cropland in every direction it is hard to realize that forty percent of Illinois’ total land area of 35.6 million acres was covered by forestland prior to European settlement. Most of the original forests were cleared for agriculture, fuel wood, fence posts, transportation, and urban and industrial development. Illinois forestland today is only about 12% of land area and Illinois ranks 49th among states in percent of land remaining in original vegetation.
            Trees are important to the people of Illinois. Trees are some of the oldest living things on the planet. Trees were important to settlement. Trees are essential to our ecology – using CO2 and releasing oxygen, absorbing moisture and releasing water vapor, preventing erosion, harboring wildlife, serving as windbreaks, and providing shade and beauty. Trees have value for Illinois’ economy with forest-based earnings that exceed $4.5 billion annually.
            Fortunately, in the early to mid-1900s, the trend toward loss of forests slowed and forests began to increase in most of the state.       Today, the health and productivity of Illinois forests depends on private individuals, including farmers, residents, and absentee landowners who own 82 percent of Illinois forests, large or small. Responsible forest management is more important than ever.
            To help forest landowners learn about best management practices and forestry plans, Blackhawk Hills Conservation and Development (RC&D) has organized a forestry workshop on September 28-29 at Chestnut Mountain Ski Resort in Galena, Illinois. Each day is divided into four sessions, three choices for each, and a lunch time key note speaker. In addition there will be two special sessions (registration required) on Saturday one on Chain Saw Safety and another on Directional Tree Felling. For more information and for registration forms call Blackhawk Hills RC&D at 815.625.3854.
            We can take a cue from the history of forestry and conservation in our country and find ways to care for and preserve our piece of the forest, the trees where we live and work and play.
            Information for this article is from University of Illinois Extension (http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/forestry) and Illinois State Museum (http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/forest)
Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 09/05/07 (for publication on 09/08/07 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org