Sustainable forest management, as a part of the move towards sustainable development worldwide, is becoming the preferred technique for managing forests in North America. With a simultaneous emphasis on ecology, society, and economy, sustainable forest management takes a comprehensive approach to keeping the forests and their ecosystems healthy while, at the same time, considering the needs of humans, both equitably and economically.
In this case study, I have evaluated the forest management practices of a small group of landowners in Rutland Township, Ohio. The majority of these landowners are knowledgeable and environmentally conscious forest owners who want to protect their forested ecosystems. I interviewed each landowner in the community and compared their answers to gauge their forest management as sustainable or not, based on a set of guidelines I developed from the appropriate literature. While there is a decidedly solid commitment to care for their forest ecosystems, establish some sort of management plan, and contribute to their surrounding community, it seems the community in Rutland is in the embryonic stages of sustainable forest management. They are nearing yet not quite accomplishing sustainable forest management as I have established it. Further studies about communities of non-industrial private forest owners, especially in boom-and-bust regions, can prove valuable to the future of the country’s forests.