Forest Protection and Restoration
- Work with partners to protect and conserve headwater forests, large contiguous forest blocks, and forested wetlands.
- Restore and expand areas for a variety of forest types, including state rare types such as baldcypress, Atlantic white-cedar, ancient sand-ridge oak forests, and Coastal Plain rich woods.
- Use tree plantings (afforestation) to connect critical forested blocks and landscapes to improve their ecological quality and value.
- Support forest protection statutes to protect forest corridors and riparian buffers.
- Protect critical forests through conservation easements using state, county, and nongovernmental funding sources.
- Maintain funding for Delaware’s Forestland Preservation Program.
- Prioritize acquisition of lands containing riparian corridors, at-risk wildlife, and rare habitats.
Conservation of Soil and Water Resources
- Permanently protect headwater and wetland forests.
- Work with partners to restore wetland/floodplain forests in critical forest landscapes.
- Establish forested buffers along impaired waterways and isolated forested wetlands.
- Monitor forest management operations to ensure they do not degrade water quality.
- Support efforts to protect non-tidal freshwater wetlands.
- Plant riparian forested buffers along tax ditches.
- Protect forested ground water recharge areas.
Urban and Community Forests
- Increase urban tree canopy by working with communities on projects that highlight the benefits of trees on public health, quality of life, heat island mitigation, and water quality.
- Set tree canopy goals for priority communities.
- Continue community forestry matching grant program.
- Afforest vacant open space managed by civic associations.
- Work partners in each county to provide technical assistance and promote storm water mitigation using tree planting and forest conservation.
- Provide technical urban forestry assistance to municipalities.
- Increase the number of managing communities, especially in urban priority area. communities
- Encourage urban forest management plans with professional tree inventories.
- Assist civic associations with education technical assistance and encourage urban forest management plans.
- Provide education and resources on http://delawaretrees.com
Goals: (Delaware Statewide Forest Strategy and Delaware Forest Action Plan)
DE-1.3.1. Protect 2,500 acres of forests in priority areas by 2028.
DE-1.4.1 Permanently protect 1,000 acres of headwater forests by 2025.
DE-1.4.2 Restore 250 acres of wetlands/floodplain forests by 2025.
DE-1.4.3 Establish 5 miles of forested buffers along impaired waterways and isolated wetlands by 2030.
DE-1.4.4 Work to protect forested ground water recharge areas.
DE-1.4.5 Support the establishment of buffer and forest protection ordinances at the state and county levels with language on afforestation, restoration, maintenance, and monitoring.
DE-1.4.9 Develop a strategy to plant riparian forested buffers along tax ditches.
DE-1.6.1 Work with communities to complete at least two projects in each county by 2025 that address and highlight the benefits of trees (e.g., public health and quality of life, heat island effects mitigation, water quality protection, and numerous other social and environmental benefits).
DE-1.6.2 Incorporate or update tree canopy goals into urban tree canopy (UTC) priority communities by 2025.
DE-1.6.3 Continue providing community forestry grant program with annual funding as available.
DE-1.6.4 Afforest 5 acres of vacant open space by 2025 in UTC priority areas managed by civic associations.
DE-1.6.5 Partner with state organizations and municipalities on projects in each county by 2025 that promote storm water mitigation strategies using tree planting and forest conservation by providing technical assistance.
DE-1.7.2 Continue monitoring for forest pests (including plants) both invasive and native and maintain periodic aerial/ground surveys.
DE-1.7.3 Support cost-share programs for targeted efforts to stop new infestations or isolated infestations of forest pests including invasive plants.
Forest Management
DE-1.8.2 Annually treat at least 250 acres to maintain/restore fire-adapted ecosystems.
DE-3.1.1 Support the Delaware Tree Farm Program.
DE-3.1.2 Work with industry and landowners to address high-grading.
DE-3.1.3 Maintain and enhance cost shares for forestry activities. Continue EQIP, CSP, and state cost share funds for forestry.
DE-3.1.11 Maintain technical forestry assistance to landowners and establish new stewardship plans totaling 9,000 acres by 2025 (1,800 per year), including 6,500 acres within rural priority area.
DE-3.5.1 Provide technical urban forestry assistance to municipalities. Increase the number of managing communities to 21 by 2025, including at least 10 within UTC priority communities.
DE-3.5.2 Encourage urban forest management plans with professional tree inventories and establish an urban tree canopy goal for all UTC priority communities by 2025.
DE-3.5.3 Assist civic associations with both guidance and technical assistance and encourage them to complete urban management plans.
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