Communities of Practice

Community forests are protected forest lands that contribute to healthy, flourishing communities. These lands can be powerful tools for helping to enact local visions and can serve as economic development tools that deliver positive outcomes to the residents, visitors, and businesses located in their service areas, including through recreation, timber, and tourism; environmental benefits such as watershed protection, habitat conservation, and preserved biodiversity; and more. 

Session topics will include: 

1. 1. Benefits & Principles of Community Forests  
   2. Ownership, Governance, and Funding  
   3. Community Engagement and Visioning  
   4. Management and Stewardship  
   5. Project Implementation 

Program Structure

This track is the first of four regional offerings that will be provided to communities across the United States over the next two years. The first cohort of the Community Forest Training Program will meet monthly over Zoom from March – July 2025.  

This first offering is available to communities across the Eastern U.S., including New England, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Participants must represent a local government entity, land trust or tribal entity.

The following commitments are also required for participation: 

1. Active engagement. Each workshop is divided into opening plenaries with a panel of speakers and subject matter experts, followed by breakout groups for peer-to-peer discussion. 
2. Sustained attendance throughout the series. If you are unable to attend every session of a track, please have an additional representative from your city register to join the track. 

If you’re interested in joining a future cohort or learning more about this program, please contact Sophie Neuhaus at sophie.neuhaus@tpl.org.