An Internet-based decision support tool for non-industrial private forest landowners

Landowners need a simple-to-use, readily available tool to contribute to sustainable management of family forests. We developed an Internetbased decision-support system, 4S Tool (Forest Stand Software Support System), which is designed to encourage informed forest management and to bridge the gap between a new generation of family forest owners (e.g. exurbanites) and natural resources professionals. We describe the technical and educational components of the 4S Tool and present several considerations for application to other geographic regions. The tool requires users to provide information on the species group, typical tree size, and density of trees in their forest. Users also select a forest management technique to apply to their ‘‘virtual forest.’’ The tool then estimates forest dynamics and wildlife habitat availability for up to 40 years into the future. The output provides projected changes in commercial timber, as well as changes in the diversity of berries, ferns, herbs, flowers, birds, and mammals as a consequence of the selected management option. Projected changes are based on primary and secondary data sources and modeled via the Forest Vegetation Simulator. 4S Tool provides a means of enhancing landowner awareness of options associated with management of forest property and provides users with access to additional resources and natural resource professionals to aid in future forest planning efforts.