What is Ecoforestry?

Ecoforestry, also known as "Restoration Forestry" or "Ecological Forestry", is the approach to forest management that treats the forest as a whole system. Through this approach, the health of the forest is protected and restored, while the social and economic needs of the community are also being met. This approach to forestry is critical to climate resiliency.

One way of understanding ecoforestry is to shift the thinking from what you are taking, to what you are leaving. Before deciding which trees are available for harvest, trees are selected to maintain a continuous, multi-storied forest canopy.

Ecoforestry generally means selective thinning (or "variable density thinning"). Rather then large clearcuts, co-dominant trees are selected for harvest, or sometimes clearings of one to two acres in size may be created (in deciduous or diseased stands) to extract wood and encourage conifer regeneration while also restoring biodiversity. Regeneration occurs either naturally or with planted seedlings.

When a forest is fully functioning, it is good for the air, soil, and water. Wildlife and fish have what they need to survive. Local communities thrive. Forest stewardship has been an integral part of the River Farm of the Evergreen Land Trust, which manages its own forestland using this approach.