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Frequently Asked Questions

How does MyWoodlot work?

Think of MyWoodlot as a library of things you can do on your land. It starts with broad Interests related to your woods like Nature, Recreation, and Beauty & Scenery. Within those Interests you’ll find Goals you can work toward either to enjoy something good about your land or reduce a threat it faces. To achieve those Goals, we’ve come up with specific Activities for each one and included How-to Information to help you complete them. That How-to Information can take a lot of forms, from basic fact sheets to videos, apps, professional contact databases, and more. Many of these links will take you to other websites besides MyWoodlot. We want you to have the best information available to help you be active on your property, even if it isn’t ours.

You can access all MyWoodlot’s Activities and How-to Information links for free and without signing up for anything. If you want to stay organized, you can create a profile (also for free) that will allow you to save Activities you’re interested in for easy access later.

How often does MyWoodlot add new information? How will I know if a new Interest, Goal, Activity or piece of How-to Information is added?

We do our best to feature new information on the homepage weekly. New content is also featured in our monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox. Sign up if you'd like to receive the newsletter.

This Interest, Goal, Activity structure is fine for browsing, but I’m looking for something specific. How do I find it?

If you have a specific question or piece of information you hope to find, a good starting point is the Search function in the upper right of every MyWoodlot page. If you’re having trouble finding what you’re looking for by searching, we recommend the Forum as another location. There you can post your question and get feedback from our community of landowners, foresters, and woodland educators.

Who runs MyWoodlot?

MyWoodlot is an effort of the Watershed Agricultural Council’s Forestry Program. The Watershed Agricultural Council is a small, regional nonprofit organization based in upstate New York. Our mission is “to promote the economic viability of agriculture and forestry, the protection of water quality, and the conservation of working landscapes through strong local leadership and sustainable public-private partnerships.” MyWoodlot is funded by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the US Forest Service

A lot of the information on MyWoodlot seems focused on New York. What’s up with that?

Since we work out of a small nonprofit in upstate New York, we focus our resources on New York landowners. We wanted to provide specific information for our region rather than try to be everything for everybody.

Can I still use MyWoodlot if my property isn’t in New York?

Absolutely! While some of the information is New York specific, there are many Activities you can do regardless of where your woods are. In general though, this site will be most applicable to you if you own land in New York or the northeastern US.

I was creating a MyWoodlot profile, and it asked for information about my property. I don’t want to give you my personal information. Can I still get a profile?

Yes. Most of the pieces of information asked for in the MyWoodlot profile setup are optional. If you don’t want to provide something, you generally don’t have to. The reason we ask for that information at all is that some of the MyWoodlot Activities include the potential for cost-share grant funding to help you complete them. However, because we’re regionally based, only landowners in the New York City Watershed region of upstate New York are eligible for those funds. By asking for information about where your property is, we can quickly determine whether you’re eligible for grant funding.

How do I know if my land is in the New York City Watershed?

Refer to this map to determine whether or not your propertry is located in the watershed or, please contact us. We can use your tax parcel number to determine whether all or part of your land is within the Watershed.

What is my tax parcel number? Is that my social security number? And how do I find out what my tax parcel number is?

Your tax parcel number is not your social security number. MyWoodlot doesn’t ask for your social security number. Your tax parcel number is a publicly accessible number that corresponds to your woodlot and is more reliable than a mailing address for figuring out where a property is located. This piece of How-to Information has several examples of where and how to find your tax parcel number.

How can I get help?

You can get help from MyWoodlot in three ways:

  1. Post your question to the forum. We have a robust community of other landowners and woodland professionals who may be able to help.
  2. Also in the forum, you can try the Ask the MyWoodlot Team feature. We have professionals knowledgeable about forestry, wildlife, water, and more.
  3. If you’re having trouble with the site itself, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let us know. We’re always trying to make MyWoodlot better and easier to use, but we don’t know where the problems are unless you let us know.
How can I leave feedback?

We’ve done our best to provide useful information to help you be active on your land, but we’re far from perfect. We love hearing from landowners about which Activities and How-to Information pieces are working well and which aren’t useful at all. That feedback helps us get more of the good stuff and know which bad pieces to find replacements for.

To leave feedback you can:

  1. Review an Activity using the “Leave a comment” box at the bottom of every Activity and Blog page.
  2. Post your thoughts on the MyWoodlot Forum.
  3. Contact the MyWoodlot team by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..