For Landowners

Forest Protection

Regardless of the size of your property or your management goals, there are numerous threats to the health of your woodland. Nonnative invasive plants and insect pests threaten our native plants and trees, and therefore, the wildlife that our forests sustain. Diseases wipe out entire species of trees and wildfire can threaten both structures and forests. Below you'll find information on how to protect, prevent, or eradicate these threats and protect the health of your woodland.

Download the latest Acrobat Reader to view the files below.

Invasive Plants:

Invasive Plants in Our Backyards (two page publication listing invasive plants in the Southeastern United States)

Invasive Plants in Southern Forests: PDF or website (126 pages including pictures and eradication measures of southern invasives from forbs to trees)

Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (information on invasive and exotic species throughout North America)

NC Exotic Pest Plant Council (members from the public and a variety of organizations work together to facilitate solutions to problems caused by invasive plants)

NC DOT Invasive Exotic Plant Guide (189 pages highlighting NC invasives)

National Invasive Species Council (federal and state invasive species activities and programs)

Insects & Diseases:

Invasive Pests Threatening Western North Carolina (PowerPoint presentation including photos and information on the top threats in western NC)

Insects & Diseases of Trees in the South (website including photos and information on these topics)

North Carolina Forest Service Forest Health Information (website providing information on assistance with forest insects, diseases, and invasives)

USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection, Southern Region (a unit of the USDA Forest Service that employs pest management specialists, forest entomologists and plant pathologists to provide technical assistance in the prevention, detection, evaluation and suppression of forest insect and disease pest problems throughout the southern region of the United States)

USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection (technical assistance on forest health-related matters, particularly those related to disturbance agents such as native and non-native insects, pathogens, and invasive plants)

Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (websites, publications, and resources on invasive plants, insects, and diseases)

Wildfire:

Minimizing Wildfire Risk-- A Forest Landowner's Guide (publication discussing wildfire risk factors and management practices to reduce risk to your property)

Firewise Landscaping in North Carolina (landscaping practices that create a survivable space around your home and reduce the risk of damage from a wildfire)

Firewise Guide to Landscaping & Construction (overview of simple Firewise practices to consider during construction and landscaping)

Firewise Landscaping & Construction Checklist (checklist of items to consider in Firewise construction and landscaping)

Fire in the Wildland-Urban Interface: Reducing Wildfire Risk While Achieving Other Landscaping Goals (excellent publication that meshes a variety of landscaping ideas with Firewise strategies to achieve sometimes seemingly conflicting goals)

Is Your Home Protected from Wildfire Disaster? (a publication designed  to provide homeowners with guidance on ways to retrofit and build homes to reduce losses from wildfire damage)

Individual Homeowner Assessment Sheet (rating sheet to evaluate fire danger on your land)

Communities Compatible with Nature (information on making your home and community Firewise)

Becoming a Recognized Firewise Community/ USA (details on how your neighborhood can become a Firewise Community)

Firewise Communities (national Firewise website)

North Carolina Division of Forest Resources (NC Forest Service) County Ranger (the key contact for programs and services offered in your county)

NC Prescribed Fire Council (an organization that seeks to foster cooperation among all parties in North Carolina with an interest or stake in prescribed fire, inlcuding natural resource professionals, public and private land managers, and others who support the use of prescribed fire)