Land Stewardship Action Plan – Title Page
Name
Contact information
Include your mailing address, message phone # and email
Address
Physical location of the property
Legal description
Township, Range, Section, Taxlot
Location
General location, include watershed or sub-watershed if known, e.g., Butler Creek
Acreage
____ Homesite
____ Irrigated (Pasture, crops, orchard, etc)
____ Non-irrigated (Pasture, other)
____ Wooded/natural (Acres of forest, oak woodland, brush, or other natural or non-farm vegetation)
Zoning
May limit what you can do or build on your property
Property tax classification
Forest, agriculture, rural residential – the classification has significant tax implications. You may qualify for, or wish to
qualify for, one of the forest or farm deferral programs, which provide for a reduced assessment value, & thus a lower
tax.
Fire Protection District
Who provides structural fire protection? Are you in a fire district? Not everyone is!
Signature______________________________________________________________ __ Date ____________________
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Land Stewardship Action Plan – Property Description
Vegetation
Provide a brief description of the vegetation on the property, noting the species of trees, shrubs, or other vegetation
present. Note the approximate size (height and diameter), density, and distribution of the vegetation and its general
condition or health. Sub-divide into different vegetation types, if appropriate (e.g., young forest, oak woodland,
streamside area).
Soils
Soils have a huge influence on the composition and growth of vegetation, erosion potential, and activities ranging from
developing a homesite or septic system, to building a road, to harvesting timber. Consult your county soil survey to find
out what soil types are found on your property, their characteristics such as depth, permeability, and runoff hazard, and
their implications for forest, agricultural, and other uses.
Topography
Is the property flat, sloped, steep? Does it lie in a canyon or ridgetop? Are you on a south or north slope? These and
other topographic features will have a major influence on what you can do with the property, access, and vegetation.
Current & past land uses
What is the land being used for now? Examples: Irrigated pasture, row crops, timber, wildlife habitat.
Briefly list and discuss any resource issues & opportunities
For each category below that applies to your situation, provide a brief, qualitative description of the opportunity or issue.
As you learn more, these descriptions can be expanded and modified. The purpose is simply to focus attention on the key
issues and opportunities that you want to address in your objectives and action plan.
-Forest/trees/timber
Describe the current condition and health of the forest/woodland or other natural vegetation. Are there a lot of dead
trees or does it appear fairly healthy? Are the trees vigorous? Is there a diversity of species well suited to the site?
-Wildfire risk/fuels
Are there significant wildfire concerns on the property? What is the condition of you home ignition zone and defensible
space? Are there major ignition risks such as frontage along a public road or OHV use? What is the amount and
distribution of fuels, especially surface and ladder fuels?
-Wildlife
As far as you can tell, what species of wildlife use the property? Note that species with small home ranges may live
entirely on the property while others may visit the property only occasionally. Are there some species that are nuisances,
or others that you wish to promote? Are there important habitat features of note – a spring, large dead trees (snags), a
field grazed by elk?
-Weeds
What noxious weeds are present? How abundant are they, and how did they appear to get established? Are they
spreading? Note if there are any “most wanted” weeds that warrant immediate attention.
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-Water quantity & quality
How would you describe the water quality in any streams, wetlands, ponds, etc., on the property? Consider temperature,
turbidity, and other characteristics, if known. Are you aware of any significant water quality issues, originating either on
your property or on other properties? These might include sediment, manure and other waste material, elevated stream
temperatures due to lack of cover, and other problems. Is water quantity an issue? Do upstream withdrawls limit
summer flows? Is there a lack of water for irrigation?
-Soil erosion/improvement
Are there places on the property where there is obvious soil erosion (such as development of gullies or rills on bare
slopes)? Is there an opportunity or need to improve soil conditions on the property (e.g., nutrient status, tilth)?
-Pastures
Are pastures in good condition or over-grazed? Are there weed issues? Irrigation problems?
-Irrigation
Are irrigation improvements needed?
-Other
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Land Stewardship Action Plan - Property Map
A property map can be a simple sketch map, or can use a plat map or aerial photo as a starting point. The Jackson
County Smartmap and Josephine County LION websites allow you to print out a photo with the property boundaries and
scale. Development of a map is fundamental to creating an action plan since it shows you the relationship between
property features.
To include on the map
 Scale, north arrow
 Property boundaries, corners, fencelines, utility & other rights-of-way
 Building footprints, paved areas, other improvements
 Roads, driveways, footpaths, skid trails
 Rivers, perennial creeks, seasonal creeks, intermittent creeks, lakes, ponds, ditches, wet areas
 Gardens, lawns, orchards, pastures, row crops, other cultivated
 Wooded areas, brush, other natural vegetation
 Boundaries of zones/fields/management units
A property can often be sub-divided into management units or zones based on similarity of vegetation, size of the area,
and access. For example, you may have a 4-acre brushy area adjacent to a 5-acre pasture and a 10-acre wooded area, 5
acres of which are on flat ground and 5 acres on steep ground near a stream. The brushy area and pasture could each
constitute management units, and the 10-acre area could be divided into two units based on slope. The size of the
management units will depend somewhat on the overall size of the property; larger properties will have larger units. Try
to create no more than 3-5 management units, otherwise things get too complicated. Development of management
units will aid greatly in prioritization of management activities, especially if you have 10-20 acres or more.
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Land Stewardship Action Plan – Management Objectives
This is the shortest but most important part of the plan. How do you want to use your property? What do you really
want to accomplish? What’s your vision – what do you want the property to look like in the future? The recommended
readings in the class binder, Stewardship and Woodland Planning and Management Planning for Woodland Owners:
Why and How have good discussions on this topic. The JSWCD’s handout Natural Resource Stewardship Plan, Inventory
has an excellent series of questions to consider regarding quality of life objectives, production & economic objectives, and
natural resources objectives.
Reality check: Do your objectives match the time you have available and your financial resources? Do you have the
knowledge and equipment needed, and if not, can you acquire it? Are there any significant regulatory/legal or technical
constraints? Is your spouse on board? How about kids or other family members?
Long term vision
Considering your lifestyle, production/economic, and natural resources objectives, what’s your vision for the property 510 years or more down the road? How do you want to use it? What do you want it to look like?
Short term objectives (1-5 years)
List short term objectives here – what can realistically be accomplished in the next 1-5 years?
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Land Stewardship Action Plan – Action Plan & Timeline
What resource concern, opportunity, or management objective does this action plan address?
Considering your resource concerns listed under Property Description and your management objectives, develop an
action plan that addresses one concern or objective.
Activity/project
List general nature of
project, e.g., remove
starthistle in 1-ac
pasture, thin trees along
400’ of driveway to
reduce fire hazard. Note
that action plan should
be broken into multiple
steps/activities, e.g., thin
trees, cut and pile
firewood, haul firewood,
and chip slash would be
four separate activities
with their own inputs,
timeline, etc.
Priority
Responsible
party
High,
Who will be
medium, responsible
low
for doing the
work?
Inputs needed
Timeline
Funds, time, equipment,
permissions/permits, etc.
What needs to happen to
make this possible?
Month/season and
year
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