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Having a woodlot map makes planning silvicultural treatments easier and gives you a better idea of what you have in your woodlot. Woodlot mapping is often done by a registered professional forester when developing a woodlot management plan, though it can be created on its own. A woodlot map shows where your boundary lines are and generally displays the different stands existing on your woodlot. Aerial photos can be useful to include with woodlot maps.

Woodlot owners who value wildlife and consider wildlife when planning silviculture and harvesting treatments should think about incorporating wildlife habitat management into their woodlot management plan. One can focus on managing for one or two species, or managing for several. Wildlife habitat management can include maintaining wildlife corridors, modifying silvicultural activities to decrease negative impacts on wildlife, leaving snags as nesting trees and downed woody debris for habitat, and putting up nesting boxes.

Tree marking is a useful and cost-effective tool for stand improvement. Trees can be marked using paint or flagging tape, and can either be marked to be cut or not to be cut. Often, contractors will mark crop trees to be harvested in a selection management treatment to avoid damage to other trees. Another method is to mark trees that should not be cut or damaged during that treatment, like dead trees left for wildlife, new regeneration, or younger trees that could be left to increase their value until the next harvest. Proper usage of this tool can help to reverse negative effects from past intensive or damaging treatments (like high-grading and indiscriminate cutting).

A timber appraisal is meant to give woodlot owners an idea of what volume and kind of timber they have on their woodlot and how much it is worth. Factors considered in calculating this are tree density, species, and timber quality. Timber appraisals are useful for woodlot owners planning to sell or purchase woodland, or for those just trying to get a sense of what they have on a woodlot. It is generally necessary to hire a professional forester to complete a timber appraisal.

Having a woodlot management plan is an important tool for effective forest management and is a requirement for most forest certification schemes. Management plans include: the goals and objectives of the landowner, a detailed description and inventory of the woodlot (including a map), and a plan for carrying out silvicultural treatments to accomplish the landowner’s goals. The plan should be reviewed and updated every 5 to 10 years to remain relevant and to stay in line with the landowner’s wishes and needs. While it is very useful to have a registered professional forester create the management plan, it is important that the landowner be involved in the process as well to ensure that it conforms to their own unique needs and values.

Forest Certification is a tool that was developed to promote sustainable and ecologically responsible forest management, and has gained considerable popularity over the past several decades. Though certification schemes differ, most require adhering to a set of forest management principles, having a detailed management plan, submitting regular updates to the certifying body, and agreeing to periodic site audits by a third party. The most common schemes used in Canada, and Nova Scotia in particular, are governed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). For small private woodlots in the province, the relevant certification schemes are FSC SLIMF and CSA Z804, and there exist several certifying bodies through which a woodlot owner could certify his/her woodland.

Knowing where your boundaries are is an important step in woodlot management. Contractors will often mark woodlot boundaries by using flagging tape or painting blazes on trees along the boundary lines and removing brush from the lines to promote line visibility.