Forestland in Illinois covers approximately 4.27 million acres and comprises 12 percent of the land use statewide. This compares to approximately 36 million acres in cropland or 68 percent of the land use in Illinois. Therefore, is not surprising that we don't often think about the benefits or impacts forests have in Illinois.

Forest benefits become obvious when we take the time to notice all of the wood products used in everyday living. A more subtle benefit surfaces when we consider that 61 percent of the native flora or plants and 75 percent of Illinois' wildlife habitat is found in the forests of Illinois.

Illinois forests are primarily privately owned. In fact, approximately 90 percent of Illinois forests are owned privately, with the remaining 10 percent owned by public agencies. A large portion of the publicly owned forestland is held by the U.S. Forest Service in the Shawnee National Forest, in southern Illinois.

Since most of our forests in Illinois are privately owned it makes it impossible to manage these resources on a statewide scale. Forest management really has to happen through the individual forest landowner.

Many of the privately held forests in Illinois do not have management plans, so the question arises, "Where do I begin?" Forest management plans begin with landowner goals, such as increasing wildlife diversity, improving scenic values or generating income. These goals will be different for each landowner and many landowners will have multiple goals. After landowner goals have been established, and an inventory of the resources is completed a management plan can be developed for the forest.

Forest landowners will have the opportunity to learn more details about forest management at upcoming meetings in Livingston County, Illinois and in Davenport, Iowa. On September 7, a Woodland Workshop will be conducted at Spence Farms south of Fairbury, Illinois. Then on September 8–10 the Two-State Forestry Conference will be conducted in Davenport, Iowa.

The one-day workshop near Fairbury will include sessions on woodland and habitat improvement, tree identification, tree felling and broadcast seeding. A portable sawmill demonstration and tour of the Travis Wood Furniture Workshop is also scheduled. Registration information can be obtained by contacting the University of Illinois Extension Livingston County office at (815) 844-3622.

The Two-State Forestry Conference and Expo is co-sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U S Forest Service, Iowa and Illinois Natural Resources Conservation Service offices and several Resource Conservation and Development Councils in Illinois and Iowa.. Educational sessions will be presented on Friday and Saturday. If you would like detailed information concerning this event you can visit their website at http://www.twostateforestry.com/.

If your schedule doesn't allow you to attend one of these upcoming meetings you can find a wealth of forest management information on the Illinois Virtual Forest website at http://ilvirtualforest.nres.uiuc.edu/index.htm . You can also contact the Illinois Department of Natural Resources District Forester in Gibson City at (217)784-4730 if you have an interest in developing a management plan for your woodland.

Remember, in order to maximize the benefits from your woodland, develop a management plan and then actively implement the plan. If you have questions about forest management contact the University of Illinois Extension Champaign Unit office at 333-7672.