Woodland Management Inspection Form

Certified

Dumping or illegally activity - is there dumping or evidence of any illegal act?

Fences and gates - are fences and gates in good order?

Roads - is the condition of the forest road acceptable? Has there been any weather or other damage? Are culvert ends clear with suitable silt traps?

Bridges - are these in good order? Check condition of decks and any side rails. Look for any erosion around abutments etc and the condition of steel supporting beams.

Highseats - Are any highseats secure and are the signed "Not For Public Use" or similar?

Stocking - is the tree stocking level appropriate or are there significant losses?

Weevils - on restock sites check for the presence of weevils or weevil damage.

Browsing - is there evidence of browsing by deer, rabbits, hares, voles, sheep etc?

Disease - is there any evidence of disease or insect damage?

Weeds -are weeds threatening the crop? Is there a developing problem requiring future action?

Nutrients - are growth rates and colour good or is there signs of deficency? Take foliar samples if required.

Windblow - has there been significant windblow? Sketch outline on a map.

Ecosystem - taking a good look at the forest as a whole is there anything else at a larger scale which might be a problem?

Water/drainage- does the site comply with the Forests and Water Guidelines? Are silt traps and filter zones in place and working? Are drains at an appropriate angle? Are buffer zones adequate?

Protected Habitats (SSSI, SAC PAWS, ASNW LTR, NR etc) Is there any deterioration in quality eg from invasive species, windblow or other cause? Are the protected sites correctly mapped on the forest plan maps?

Protected Species (badgers, red squirrel etc) Is there any evidence of disturbance? Are setts, nests, dreys etc secure or is there a risk of damage? Record any sitings of protected species new to the site.

Archaeology- is there any damage or risk of damage? Eg from windblow.

Pollution - it there any evidence of pollution? Eg oil sheens on puddles etc.

Invasive species - are there invasive species present and are these endangering important elements of biodiversity? Rhododendron, Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed, Giant hogweed, Ragwort etc. Include SS or LP regenerating on designated areas on managed open ground.

Consents - are all necessary consents on place for work that has taken place or is about to take place? CAR licences, Operations Requiring Consent (ORCs) on SSSIs EIA or pre- notifications for roads, badger licence etc. Have any approvals been complied with?,

Forest Plan - does everything correspond to the Forest Plan or other approvals? (Species layout, LTR,NR, etc)

PAWS/ASNW - is the condition of these features acceptable? Are there threats or management prescriptions that are not being addressed? Is there a condition survey on file?

Natural Reserves - are these appropriate? Are they under threat? Is deadwood accumulating?

Long-term Retentions - are these appropriate and viable or vulnerable or suffering from windblow?

Monitoring - consider any other monitoring objectives for this site? Are these being met?

Deer Control - is deer control sufficient to meet the management objectives? This may include the protection of natural regeneration or important ground flora?

Thinning Control - is the stand ready to be thinned? If the stand has already been thinned was the thinning intensity appropriate? (Under/over thinned)

Deadwood - has sufficient deadwood been left on harvesting sites? Is deadwood accumulating elsewhere in appropriate quantities and places?