Landhelp Plan Guidelines
[Planning for wildlife] is not primarily a matter of laws,
appropriations, or administrative devices, but rather of modifying
land-use so as to provide habitat needed by each species. Hence the
execution of a plan rests with farmers and landowners, rather than with
government. The function of government is to teach, lead, and
encourage.
--Aldo Leopold, Planning for Wildlife, ms. 1941
Introduction and Purpose
Management Plans are developed to guide and assist
landholders to actively
manage their
land and its associated
resources. A plan
documents, in plain English, the current status and productivity, the
desired future condition and the
management practices
recommended to achieve those conditions.
The plan records
landholders' objectives, an
inventory of resources, economic and social conditions, and the
management decisions made by landholders and
resource professionals to
achieve the objectives. It also guides the landholder as to which
management activities
are to be completed each year.
A plan is a working document, and should be amended as necessary, by
the landholder and/or the preparing resource professional, to take into
account changing environmental, social and economic conditions. Plans
will vary in length and detail depending on the diversity of natural
resource needs and situations. The following outline is provided to
facilitate the preparation of a
management plan.
Landhelp Management Plan Outline
- Summarize your findings on a Cover Page
- Name, address and phone number of landholder(s).
- Legal description of
property covered by plan.
- Parcel ID#
- Total acres and amount in
forest,
range,
wetland,
cropland, etc.
- County
- Preparing resource
professional's name, address and phone number.
- Date plan was prepared.
- Management Plan
acceptance statement signed by the landholder
(optional). Example: This management plan has been prepared
at my request to guide my
stewardship management
activities which I will voluntarily apply on my property. I believe that
the activities recommended in this plan are appropriate to meet
my objectives and will benefit the
natural resources on my
property.
- Resource professional approval signature and date.
Write a Table of Contents that explains what sections are in your plan.
Inventory and Analyze your
human and
natural resources.
Clearly define
the natural resource conditions, along with the related economic and
social issues.
- General
Description and identification of resource concerns and
opportunities. Conditions that may affect decisions and
implementation.
- Describe the general location of the property covered by the
plan and associated resources such as internal or adjacent
public lands,
cooperating neighbors,
etc. Provide legal
descriptions, maps
(recommended to use topographic map USGS 1:24,000) and aerial photographs.
- Access roads and
trails.
- Cultural features and improvements such as
buildings,
fences,
etc.
- Unique recreational,
scenic and
aesthetic qualities
present.
- Management units
and/or areas with corresponding acreage and how
they were identified
(croplands,
grazing lands,
wetlands,
water areas, etc.).
- Current and historical land uses.
- Existing conditions of various resources and their locations
(soil
erosion,
grazing concerns,
wildlife abundance,
impacts of cropping,
mining
reclamation,
runoff,
guests' uses, etc.)
- Impact of the existing management program on
neighbor and surrounding
communities (increased
pollution,
wildlife
improvements that benefit neighbors, etc.).
- Interests and personal feelings about the operation (what does
family think about the
operations, time demands, quality of life, etc.).
- Social,
economic, and
political conditions
(cash flow, costs,
benefits,
community considerations
such as growth or loss of
resources)
- County, state, and national
regulations,
legal issues that may
affect management
decisions (e.g.,
water).
- Technological needs
- Skills of landholders, families and employees
- Resource Inventory: A
quantitative and qualitative inventory of the natural resources
(delineate on a map where
possible):
- Soil types, possible
limitations and concerns
- Watershed
assessment
- Climatic
characteristics.
- Vegetative types
(for forest
management activities, a
timber cruise
may be necessary).
- Wildlife observed and
those that are supposed to be
located in the vicinity and within the
habitats
provided. Determine the sex,
age, number of
young to 100 females and number of males to 100 females for
deer,
elk and
pronghorn
that might be hunted.
Determine animal locations
at different times of the year
(breeding,
calving/fawning,
spring,
summer,
fall, and
winter. Movements on and
off of the property when animals are frightened.
-
Aquatic,
riparian or
wetlands features on the property.
- Noxious weeds,
presence and abundance.
- Insect and
disease presence, damage,
or risk.
- Fire hazard
rating and risk factors of the area with statement of risk rating
method.
- Threatened and
Endangered species (plant and animal) found or known to be in
the area.
- Historical
and archeological
resources and sites on the property.
- Assess community needs
and assistance.
Write clear goals and
objectives
for all resources such as soils,
water,
grasses and
forests,
trees,
urban and
rural
wildlife and
people.
Objectives state measurable
outcomes and should include the
following considerations. Objectives may vary for each
management unit. Write
objectives with clear statements of the
processes and outcomes planned.
Think who, what, where, when, why and how.
- State the expected accomplishments after your management,
such as the number of acres that
will grow a desired plant, or the number of recreationists
that you will accommodate.
- State who will be responsible to carry out the objective,
such as a family member,
employee,
agency cooperator, or
volunteers.
- Give conditions of success such as the number of acres enhanced
and animals produced within the month, first year or on a specific
date.
An objective statement might read: I will plant 640 acres of mixed
grasses (state specifically) on lands
taken out of production through the Conservation Reserve Program and
expect that it will effectively protect against
soil
erosion and provide
habitat for
pheasants and other upland
birds by spring
nesting season in two
years.
Analyze Resource Data:
Understand what the data means. It is vital to understand resource
conditions, problems and opportunities. It may add new dimensions to
landowners' objectives because
they participate in some of the
analysis. Prioritize
land,
animal and
human management objectives of
landholder.
Formulate Alternatives:
- Formulate alternatives that will achieve the landholders' objectives,
solve natural-resource
problems, and take advantage of opportunities
to improve or protect resource conditions.
- Explore funding sources and
create budgets.
Evaluate alternatives: Evaluate the alternatives to determine their
costs,
benefits, and effects in addressing
the landholder's objectives and
the resource conditions. Evaluate the projected effects on
personal,
social,
economic and
ecological
concerns. Special attention must be given
to those ecological values protected by
law or executive
order. Review the
positive and negative forces that each alternative generates.
Make Decisions and create an Implementation
Schedule: Create a long-term schedule with specific
management practices,
general specifications, and helpers that will implement the plans by
unit or
area. The
landholder and the participating
resource professionals should
complete an annual work plan (AWP). The AWP will be consistent with the
management plan and will list those items that will be implemented that
year.
Implement the Plan:
Landholders and helpers implement the selected alternatives.
Record and Evaluate Results:
Record practices and outcomes (treatments,
dates completed, products, services, revenues, or management costs) as
completed and evaluate effectiveness. Make adjustments as needed.
Appendices (Optional and as needed)