Forest Inventory and Management Plan - NSF Indian Head Maryland

The primary objective of this Agreement is to conduct a timber inventory at NSFIH and SN to estimate volume and growth over desired rotation periods for future timber harvests, the overall forest health (noting areas of invasive species, disease, herbaceous cover, deer browse, regeneration, etc), and areas in need of timber stand improvements (TSI). A 10-year management plan is to be developed from data gathered during the timber inventory. The management plan will provide a harvest and/or TSI schedule for both NSFIH and SN based on desired rotation periods. Harvest methods are to be geared toward forest sustainability and ecosystem management. The management plan is to incorporate conservation measures related to bald eagles, forest interior dwelling (FID) bird species, forest bats, wetlands, streams and other natural resources areas of concern to meet ecosystem management goals. The 10-year management plan would also address the terms and conditions of the USFWS bald eagle biological opinion (BO) as related to forestry activities within bald eagle nest protection zones. The BO requires NSFIH to update the NSFIH forestry management plan to reflect the terms and conditions of the BO. The BO prohibits forest harvests within the 750 ft bald eagle nest protection zones and limits harvests within the ¼ mile protection zones. All data collected shall be captured with GPS units.