NCWoodlands

Promoting Conservation on North Carolina's Private Woodlands

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The Landowners’ Bill of Rights

North Carolina’s vast forest resource provides our state with natural beauty, wildlife habitat, timber and other forest products, clean water, recreation, open space, and soil protection. Approximately three-quarters of our state’s 18 million acres of forests—some 14 million acres—is owned or controlled by private woodland owners.

While encouraging responsible stewardship by landowners of these significant and valuable natural resources, NCWoodlands seeks to inform all North Carolinians on the benefits of forestry including wealth creation, more wildlife, cleaner water, fewer wildfires, and healthier, more productive forests. NCWoodlands also supports the right of landowners to manage and harvest their forests in an economically, environmentally, and socially responsible manner thereby achieving financial and personal satisfaction while accomplishing their individual objectives.

Further, NCWoodlands affirms that

• Forest health and productivity are worthy goals that are best attained through the free, unfettered, and independent application of forest management options and silvicultural principles by private forest landowners.
• Well-informed private forest landowners, including those whose primary management objectives concern forest resources other than timber, are the best judges of their forest management options with the right to choose the forestry practices that best suit their objectives provided science validates the soundness of the chosen option(s).

NCWoodlands also believes that private forest landowners possess certain absolute rights and that among these are:

• The right to practice forestry on their land, including the use of all appropriate harvest methods that meet specific management objectives.
• The right to have all forest management practices conducted in an environmentally sound manner that rigorously protects the long-term productivity of the site including its soil and water quality.
• The right to access competitive timber markets for all forest products and to receive a fair market price for these products.
• The right to full representation by qualified, competent, professional consulting foresters.
• The right to fair and equitable property, income, and estate tax treatment on forest assets.

Learn More

You can learn more about forestry and forest stewardship from these state and national organizations:

• Association of Consulting Foresters
• National Woodland Owners Association
• North Carolina Association of Consulting Foresters
• North Carolina
  Forest Service
• Extension Forestry