A 1986 amendment to the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964 requires landowners with all-wooded or mostly wooded properties to establish and comply with a Forest Management Plan in order to qualify for Farmland Assessment.

The law requires landowners with woodland that they would like to enter into the program to have either a Woodland Management Plan or a Forest Stewardship Plan drafted by a consulting forester and approved by the New Jersey Forest Service. The plan is also submitted to the local township’s tax assessor.

What is a Management Plan?

A Management Plan is the written story of your woodlot.

Because Management Plans are re-written every 10 years, they chronicle the changes to your forest over time.  The plan will set goals and activity objectives that, when followed, will increase the health of the woodlot and ensure a healthy forest for future generations to enjoy!

What goes into writing a plan?

Step 1

Ensure your property meets the Eligibility Requirements for Farmland Assessment

Step 2

Consult with the Ridge and Valley Team through a phone call or a walk around your property, to discuss the property’s history, previous forest management, short-term and long-term goals within the woods and the property as a whole, and any other information you would like us to know.

Step 3

A field forester from Ridge and Valley conducts an “inventory” on your property.  The inventory provides R&V with data on the species of trees and other vegetation present on the property, how many trees per acre are present, any disease concerns found within the woodlot, location of areas with additional regulations (wetlands, streams, ponds, etc.), and all the information needed to create your set of custom maps.

Step 4

Ridge and Valley compiles all the data collected on your property and writes the Woodland Management Plan or Forest Stewardship Plan which includes:

• General Property History and History of Forest Management on land

• Forest Inventory Data

• Soils Data

• Goals and Objectives

• Recommended Forest Management activities and 10-year Schedule

• Regulations related to Wetlands, Streams, and other Water Bodies

• Information on Threatened and Endangered Species that may occur on or near your property

• Set of Custom Maps

Step 5

Ridge and Valley prints 4 copies of your plan:

1. The State Forest Service approves the plan and keeps it on file

2. The Township’s Tax Assessor keeps a copy on file

3. R&V files a copy in the office

4. Your copy is bound and delivered via mail or in person