New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands

The New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The division "protects and promotes the values provided by trees, forests, and natural communities."[2] Brad Simpkins is director of DHR and the State Forester.[1] The agency's main office is located in Concord.

New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands
Agency overview
Preceding agency
  • State Forestry Department (1910)
JurisdictionNew Hampshire
Headquarters172 Pembroke Road
Concord, New Hampshire
Agency executives
  • Patrick Hackley, Director and State Forester
  • Jennifer Townsend, Administrative Supervisor
Parent agencyNew Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Websitewww.nh.gov/nhdfl
Footnotes
[1]
Arboretum at the Urban Forestry Center, located in Portsmouth

History

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New Hampshire first established a State Forestry Department, and hired the first State Forester, in 1910.[3] Other elements of the current Division of Forests and Lands date to at least 1917 with the establishment of a "white pine blister rust control program" (white pine blister rust is a tree disease caused by Cronartium ribicola).[4] That control program became the Forest Insect and Disease Program in 1965, and since 1997 has been the Forest Health Section within the division.[4] Since 2017, the division's parent agency has been the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR).[5]

Authority for the division comes from Title XIX-A, Forestry;[6] and RSA 217-A, New Hampshire Native Plant Protection.[7]

Function

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Per their mission statement, the division provides "responsible management of the State's forested resources; by providing natural resource information and education to the public; and through the protection of these resources for the continuing benefit of the State's citizens, visitors, and forest industry."[2]

The main functions with the division are:

  • Forest Health Bureau – "Provide and maintain forest and tree pest control programs in coordination with other state and federal agencies"[4]
  • Forest Management Bureau – "forest management of woodlands under state jurisdiction, cultivation and sale of seedlings for forestry and conservation, and the research, demonstration and promotion of scientific forestry"[8]
  • Forest Protection Bureau – "responsible for protecting over 4.5 million acres (1,800,000 ha) of both public and private forestlands from the threat of wildland fire and crimes against the forest resource"[9]
  • Natural Heritage Bureau – "finds, tracks, and facilitates the protection of New Hampshire's rare plants and exemplary natural communities"[10]
  • Planning and Community Forestry Bureau – "deliver accurate resource information, expand knowledge, and motivate...action to maximize the contribution of New Hampshire's forests to the enhancement of their quality of life"[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Staff Directory". New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Division History, Mission, and Goals". New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  3. ^ "Division of Forests and Lands Forest Operations Manual" (PDF). New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Forest Health". New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  5. ^ "About Us". New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  6. ^ "2015 New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title XIX-A - FORESTRY". New Hampshire General Court. Retrieved July 7, 2019 – via Justia.
  7. ^ "CHAPTER 217-A NEW HAMPSHIRE NATIVE PLANT PROTECTION". New Hampshire General Court. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  8. ^ "Forest Management Bureau". New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  9. ^ "Forest Protection Bureau". New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "Natural Heritage Bureau". New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  11. ^ "Planning and Community Forestry Bureau". New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
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