New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands explained

Agency Name:	New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands
Preceding1:	State Forestry Department (1910)
Jurisdiction:	New Hampshire
Headquarters:	172 Pembroke Road Concord, New Hampshire
Chief1 Name:	Patrick Hackley
Chief1 Position:	Director and State Forester
Chief2 Name:	Jennifer Townsend
Chief2 Position:	Administrative Supervisor
Parent Agency:	New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Footnotes:	^[1]

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." Brad Simpkins is director of DHR and the State Forester.^[1] The agency's main office is located in Concord.

History

New Hampshire first established a State Forestry Department, and hired the first State Forester, in 1910.^[2] 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). That control program became the Forest Insect and Disease Program in 1965, and since 1997 has been the Forest Health Section within the division.^[3] Since 2017, the division's parent agency has been the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR).^[4]

Authority for the division comes from Title XIX-A, Forestry;^[5] and RSA 217-A, New Hampshire Native Plant Protection.^[6]

Function

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."^[7]

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"^[3]
• 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 4.5e6acre 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

• List of New Hampshire state forests

Notes and References

1. Web site: Staff Directory . New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands . July 7, 2019.
2. Web site: Division of Forests and Lands Forest Operations Manual . New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development . July 7, 2019.
3. Web site: Forest Health . New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands . July 7, 2019.
4. Web site: About Us . New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources . July 6, 2019.
5. Web site: 2015 New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title XIX-A - FORESTRY . . . July 7, 2019.
6. Web site: CHAPTER 217-A NEW HAMPSHIRE NATIVE PLANT PROTECTION . . July 7, 2019.
7. Web site: Division History, Mission, and Goals . New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands . July 7, 2019.
8. Web site: Forest Management Bureau . New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands . July 7, 2019.
9. Web site: Forest Protection Bureau . New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands . July 7, 2019.
10. Web site: Natural Heritage Bureau . New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands . July 7, 2019.
11. Web site: Planning and Community Forestry Bureau . New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands . July 7, 2019.