Statewide Forest Resource Assessment & Strategy (FRAS)
Purpose of the State Assessment & Strategy
The purpose of the Forest Resource Assessment and Strategy is to provide a basis upon which future strategic directions and actions can be evaluated and selected. It will be used by the Ohio Division of Forestry as well as existing and potential partners to marshal limited resources towards addressing identified issues and threats to Ohio’s forests. Ohio currently has 7.9 million acres of forestland, or 30 percent of the State’s land. Eighty-eight percent of that forestland is privately-owned, with the remaining 12 percent owned by local, state, and federal government.
The 2008 Federal Farm Bill requires each state to complete a Statewide Forest Resource Assessment and Strategy to receive funds under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act. The Assessment & Strategy will ultimately ensure that resources are being focused on important landscape areas with the greatest opportunity to address shared management priorities and achieve meaningful outcomes.
Stakeholder Input Requested (Updated: April 20, 2010)
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: ON DRAFT DOCUMENTS
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Forestry has completed drafts of its Statewide Forest Resource Assessment and Strategy. The public is invited to review the draft documents and provide comments.
The Draft Forest Resource Assessment provides detailed information on forest conditions and trends and identifies the key issues and threats to forests statewide. It also identifies priority forests in rural and urban areas. The Draft Strategy describes the six key statewide forest issues identified in the assessment and outlines objectives and strategies for addressing them. The Strategy supports the Division’s mission of promoting and applying management for the sustainable use and protection of Ohio’s private and public private forest land. To download copies of the draft documents for review, click here. You may also request written copies by contacting Project Coordinator Cotton Randall at (614) 265-6667.
Comments will be accepted through May 26, 2010. If you provide comments about specific issues, objectives, or strategies that are numbered in the Strategy document, please specify which ones you are commenting on. Comments can be emailed to: Cotton.Randall@dnr.state.oh.us, or mailed to: ODNR Division of Forestry, 2045 Morse Road, Building H-1, Columbus, OH 43229-6693. See “ Ohio’s Approach” webpage for detailed timeline of activities and additional information on the process. Please direct questions or comments to: Cotton.Randall@dnr.state.oh.us or 614-265-6667 |