VIPs take to the woods - Forest Stewardship Program's Volunteer Initiative Project

American Forests, Nov-Dec, 1993 by Ellen O'Donnell

Pennsylvania has an innovative new way to spread the forest-stewardship message.

In a state that's more than half forested--with 12 million acres in the hands of non-industrial private forest landowners--getting the word out about sound forest management is more than just a good idea--it's a priority. Through its education and awareness efforts targeted at forestland owners, Pennsylvania's Forest Stewardship Program is doing just that.

Pennsylvania's program provides technical and financial assistance to forest landowners throughout the state. It's administered nationally by the U.S. Forest Service and directed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources' Bureau of Forestry, with guidance from a state Stewardship Steering Committee. Program coordinator Ellen Roane explains the mission this way: "Our goal is to instill a stewardship ethic--a sense of responsibility for management of the land, both public and private."

To a large extent, the health and productivity of Pennsylvania's future forests are in the hands of landowners--500,000 of them--many of whom have little understanding of forest ecology or management. Add to this the fact that Pennsylvania's 17 million forested acres are facing increasing pressure from both foreign and domestic forest-products markets, development, pollution, deer overpopulation, and other demands, and you can see why a forest-management-education program is of vital importance.

Unfortunately, traditional outreach efforts have been less than successful, for a number of reasons. One technique that does seem to work, however, is word of mouth. Studies have shown that people listen to their peers and neighbors, and when it comes to stewardship, woodland owners are listening to their fellow forestland owners.

"That's where the Forest Stewardship VIP project comes in," says Yuriy Bihun, coordinator of the VIP Project. "In the fall of 1991, we initiated a program for forest landowners called the Volunteer Initiative Project, or VIP for short. We adapted the idea from several successful volunteer programs, including the Ruffed Grouse Society's COVERTS program, and then crafted a new Pennsylvania program emphasizing our concerns for balanced woodland management."

VIP is an innovative program in which volunteers trained in stewardship principles promote awareness of forest stewardship in their communities through informal contacts with their friends, neighbors, and community groups. VIP is a joint effort of Penn State Cooperative Extension, U.S. Forest Service, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resource's Bureau of Forestry, and the Ruffed Grouse Society.

"Volunteers receive about 40 hours of classroom and field training in forest and wildlife management, ecology, biodiversity, silviculture, erosion control, communication, and other subjects related to stewardship," Bihun says. "In exchange, VIPs agree to invest a like amount of their time relaying what they have learned to motivate forestland owners in their communities."

To date, more than 65 forest landowners have successfully completed the training and are actively working to spread the stewardship idea. By the end of 1996, all 67 counties in Pennsylvania will have implemented a VIP program.

"The VIPs are indeed Very Important People," emphasizes Bihun. "They provide an integral link in the nationwide stewardship effort to promote proper forest management by private forest landowners. But they are not intended to take the place of professional forest managers. Instead, they encourage the use of natural-resource professionals whenever possible."

Once they've completed their training, volunteers perform a variety of roles. One of the first things they do is develop and implement a Forest Stewardship Plan for their own land, with the help of a resource professional. Eleanor and Al Maas, a husband-and-wife VIP team from Susquehanna County, spend a lot of their time encouraging neighboring forest landowners to establish stewardship plans for their properties and discussing the financial advantages of cost-sharing through the Stewardship Incentive Program (SIP).

Some volunteers use their woodlots as demonstration areas. For example, George Freeman, a volunteer who owns 600 acres in Clarion County, recently hosted a tour of his property that drew more than 200 people. Freeman's reflections capture the spirit of his fellow VIPs.

"With the many years of experience I've had working on my woodlot," he says, "I thought I might be able to help other landowners avoid some of the mistakes I made and thereby make a contribution to our state's Stewardship Program."

The VIPs work closely with an assigned mentor, usually their county service forester, who helps guide and monitor their outreach efforts. By helping landowners formulate objectives for their woodlands and doing some of the initial legwork for Forest Stewardship Plans, volunteers actually help ease service foresters' workloads.

Stewardship volunteers represent a diverse cross-section of people, from aerospace engineers and homemakers to pilots and lawyers--one's even a Benedictine nun. Not all the volunteers have extensive forestry experience, but most individuals have found creative ways to get the message out.