WoodsWise East:

Family Woodland Owners Improving Forest Bird Habitat and Restoring Fish Passage in eastern Maine

Many woodland owners want to maintain or improve wildlife habitat in their woodlands. The WoodsWise East program offers information, incentives, and assistance to help family woodland owners identify and improve habitat for forestland birds and Maine’s iconic cold water fish species – the Eastern Brook Trout.

Pictures of a woodcock, a brook trout, and a black-throated blue warbler

This program is available to woodland owners in Maine’s eastern and coastal watersheds (PDF | 7.3 MB)

Map of eastern Maine with majority of towns with hash marks indicating their inclusion in the Woods Wise East Porject area.

Woodland stewardship often includes working with professional foresters to assess forest conditions and develop a management plan. The WoodsWISE Incentives program offers cost-share assistance for forest management planning known as a Woodland Resource Action Plan (WRAP). Landowners in the project area are eligible for additional funding for new or upgraded management plans to address wildlife habitat conditions and needs.

For more information, contact the Maine Forest Service’s Landowner Outreach Forester at (207) 287-8430, or a District Forester.

WoodsWise East is a partnership of Maine Forest Service with Maine’s Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Maine TREE Foundation, Maine Tree Farm Program, and the Forest Stewards Guild.

Additional Resources:

Species information: Birds - Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife

Species information: Wild Brook Trout - Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife

Maine Stream Habitat Viewer – DIFW Beginning with Habitat

Forestry For Maine Birds – Maine Audubon 

Stream Smart Crossings – Maine Forest Service

Fisheries Enhancement – Maine Forest Service

Find your local Maine Forest Service - District Forester

Maine Forest Service Calendar of Events

WoodsWise East - An incentives program for Maine’s small family forests in eastern Maine

WoodsWise East is made possible by the New England Forests and Rivers Fund of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with financial support from the American Forest Foundation.

Additional program support is provided by the Forest Stewardship Program of the USDA Forest Service, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine Audubon, and the Forest Stewards Guild.

We gratefully acknowledge the many agencies, organizations, and individuals whose efforts in natural resource conservation and management contribute to this program.

WoodsWISE East – Incentives – LIMITED TIME OFFER

Woodland owners who own between 10 and 1000 acres in eastern Maine (PDF | 7.3 MB) may be eligible for additional funding to receive:

  • A new Woodland Resource Action Plan (WRAP)
  • An existing plan, updated to meet WRAP specifications
  • A WRAP Amendment to address additional needs (see specifications).

Plans are written by private, Stewardship Foresters and will contain additional information on upland bird habitats and stream habitats on your property.

Applications for WoodsWise East funding will be accepted from April 1 to June 30, 2023, and will be approved on a first-come-first-served basis. All other requirements of MFS’s WoodsWISE Incentives program will apply.

Cost-share rates:

Eligible plans

WoodsWise East - Additional Incentives

 

 

Code

Component Description

Max %

Max payment

FMP-11a

WWE WRAP (10-50 ac)

75

$400

FMP-11b

WWE WRAP (51+ ac)

75

$8/wooded acre

 

 

 

 

FMP - 12

WRAP amendment (e.g. for habitat assessment, silvicultural operations plan, upgrade to CAP-106 or TF standard)

75

$4/wooded acre

Resources: