Ohio Forestry

The Ohio Interagency Forestry Team includes agencies in Ohio with a forest management mission: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Forest Service (Wayne National Forest, Northern Research Station and State, Private & Tribal Forestry), Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Division of Forestry and Division of Wildlife), and Cooperative Forestry Extension (Ohio State University Extension and Central State University Extension).

Oak forests have dominated southeast Ohio for thousands of years. These forests are still here today but are at a tipping point – regeneration is not keeping up with changing conditions. The Ohio Interagency Forestry Team is working to help “tip” these ecosystems back to health. This work is guided by the Ohio Interagency Forestry Team Business Plan that has set long-term outcomes, goals and associated actions to improve internal agency coordination around the delivery of government services in support of forest management. The Interagency Forestry Team works at multiple scales around three nested planning footprints: state-wide, 17-county Oak Management Priority Forest Area, and the five-county Hocking Plateau Shared Stewardship Project. The Oak Management Priority Forest Area supports 43% of the state’s total forest resource and is referenced in the State Forest Action Plan.

Ohio Interagency Forestry Team Business Plan

Shared Stewardship is a national initiative that responds to the urgent and growing challenges faced by managers and owners of forests in Ohio and across the nation. In Ohio, six key forests issues are being addressed: sustaining forest management on all forest lands, public benefits, conservation of soil, water, and biological diversity, threats to forest health, and forest fragmentation and loss. In 2020, the USDA Forest Service signed a Declaration of Shared Stewardship with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, further strengthening their commitment to using an all-lands approach to forest management in the state. Ohio marks the twentieth state to sign a Shared Stewardship Agreement with the USDA. The signatories on this Declaration are Ohio State Forester Dan Balser, on behalf of Ohio Department of natural Resources Director Mary Mertz, and USDA Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen.

Ohio Declaration for Shared Stewardship

Ohio Forest Action Plan

Ohio Wildlife Action Plan