Rural Action

Our goal is to support landowners interested in exploring economically and ecologically sustainable models of forest production, by providing site visits to inventory species on private land; planting stock sales for forest herbs such as ginseng, goldenseal and ramps; opportunities for peer-to-peer learning in the sustainable timber and non-timber forest product sectors; market support via networking for both buyers and sellers as well as market outlets, such as the Chesterhill Produce Auction; and informational resources, including fact sheets coauthored with Ohio State University, the Woodland Owners Toolkit, and much more. We aim to provide resources to landowners at any level of production, and to help interested landowners move along the production pipeline, by providing the information, resources, and opportunities required to start a forest-based operation, expand it, and bring forest products to market.

By providing resources for woodland owners we have been able to effectively train landowners and partner agencies to identify alternative income opportunities, like forest farming of ginseng, goldenseal, and other forest botanicals, as well as how to conduct land restoration projects with native plants, and mitigating the impacts of non-native invasive species that can adversely effect forest health and diversity. Recently the Sustainable Forestry Program has joined the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmer Coalition, a network of forestland owners, universities, and governmental and non-governmental organizations that share a common goal of improving agroforestry production opportunities and farming capabilities among forest farmers.