The Virginia state government, through the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF), Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), industry partners, and landowners recently started a Hardwood Initiative to ensure long term supply of merchantable hardwoods. Through a combination of personal investment, government incentives and professional guidance, private landowners are now doing more than ever to manage their forestland actively and productively.
Virginia’s invaluable hardwood forests provide clean air and water, recreation, wildlife habitat, and raw materials used for a wide variety of products. To maximize these benefits and ensure a healthy, sustainable hardwood resource, the DOF established the Hardwood Initiative to promote quality management practices aiming at protecting the forests which primarily comprise red & white oak, yellow poplar, hickory and walnut.
These forests are under increasing pressure to provide an array of critical services to citizens and the nation. The most obvious benefits are productive jobs, strong communities, and excellent environmental health – including clean water and air, bioenergy, habitat, and buffers against climate change. The VDOF strives to equip forest landowners with the information and knowledge to sustainably manage their forests for current and future generations.
VDOF continues to take steps to develop a long-term pursuit of improved hardwood forest management across the state. The Hardwood Initiative will help landowners manage their forests to increase natural regeneration of desirable young hardwood trees, help protect water quality, enhance wildlife habitat, support recovery of threatened and endangered species, and bolster Virginia’s outdoor recreation opportunities.
The Hardwood Initiative Cost-Share Program provides financial reimbursement – up to 75 percent of the total project cost – for hardwood management projects that include eligible best practices. The Hardwood Initiative Tax Credit Program reimburses up to USD 1,000 of expenditures towards the implementation of best practices incurred within a single year. Some landowners may be eligible to receive both cost-share and tax credit.
“Virginia’s Hardwood Initiative is focused on growing healthy, sustainable hardwood forests for future generations,” said State Forester Rob Farrell. “Forests cover two-thirds of Virginia, with 80 percent of those forests dominated by hardwood. This illustrates just how critical it is that DOF continues to directly support landowners, agencies, organizations and businesses to restore healthy hardwood forests through boots-on-theground implementation of best practices.”
Virginia’s Expanding Urban Wood Program
Launched in 2017, the Virginia Urban Wood Program has quickly emerged as one of the leading urban wood programs in 15 the United States. Coordinated by the Virginia Department of Forestry, with guidance provided by the Virginia Urban Wood Group board, the Urban Wood Program provides training and networking opportunities for Virginia municipalities and urban wood businesses. Additionally, the program provides business development and marketing services.
The goal of the Urban Wood Program is to utilize all parts of our urban forest trees to their best use at the end of their biological lives; it is an integral part of the full circle management of Virginia’s urban forest resources. Many people contact DOF to ask how they can use their special tree that has either reached the end of its biological life or needs to be removed for another reason.
