What is Community Forestry?

The term "community forestry" is used in a whole range of different ways. The Northern Forest Region of the National Community Forestry Center takes a very broad view of the term. We use it to describe efforts by communities - those united by a common interest or by a sense of place - to recognize and take advantage of the economic, social, and environmental opportunities afforded by their local forest resource, whether it is public or private, or somewhere in between. Our definition includes a wide range of community-based activities from starting a local reading and discussion group, to surveying local forest landowners, to developing concentration yards to sort logs.

Community Forestry is a worldwide phenomenon which began in developing countries and is gradually sweeping the U.S. from West to East. Until relatively recently, this type of forestry has been practiced mostly by communities where lifestyles and livelihoods depend upon access to healthy, productive public forest land. Here in the Northern Forest, where the vast majority of forests are privately owned, landowners and communities are just beginning to recognize the mutual benefits (and benefit to the forest) of dialogue and collaboration.

We feel that it is critical for rural communities to recognize the many ways in which forest land, both public and private, is important to their local economy, social structure, cultural fabric, and environment, and to actively engage in discussion and action to maintain and capture these values at the local level.

Want to Learn More About Community Forestry?

Visit our Community Projects page to learn more about community forestry projects and how the NCFC is committed to supporting these projects.

We will send you a copy of What is Community Forestry and Why Does It Matter?, a compilation of readings providing examples of the way community forestry has developed over time and in different contexts. Visit our Publications page to submit your address, or download this and other publications in PDF format.