Original post by Madeleine Barry for River Reporter published 6 January 2026

Photo from the Delaware Highlands Conservancy

Since 2008, the Delaware Highlands Conservancy has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service at Grey Towers in Milford, PA to offer the Women and Their Woods program.

Nationally, the proportion of women who own and manage forestland has increased significantly over the past couple of decades.  The Women and Their Woods (WATW) program offered by the Delaware Highlands Conservancy provides women with the support, knowledge and confidence to manage their forestlands.

According to the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey, the percentage of family forest ownerships with women as the primary decision-makers increased from 11 percent in 2006 to 22 percent in 2013.  A Penn State study in 2021 found that 33 percent of women in Pennsylvania were decision-makers for smaller properties (10 acres or less).

In general, the share of women forest landowners is increasing because women tend to outlive their spouses, some have inherited land from their parents, and others have decided to buy land on their own.

As a result of this trend, in 2008 the conservancy partnered with the U.S. Forest Service at Grey Towers in Milford to offer the Women and Their Woods program.  In a recent interview, Rachel Morrow, education and volunteer coordinator for the conservancy, said, “Owning land and just the aspect of managing forests and properties is very male-dominated.  We have landowners that are on their own, and they’re women, and they don’t know what lingo to use or how to go about managing their land, but they want to do it on their own.  This program brings women landowners together to be able to have the confidence and empowerment to be able to work their own land.”

The Women and Their Woods program consists of biennial retreats, regional events, networking and outreach, newsletters and resource tools.  The program has about 400 members signed up on its mailing list, and about 150 active members.

The program also includes women who own farmland, since that often extends out to woods or meadows.  The size of properties women own varies from 10 or 20 acres to a couple of thousand acres.  WATW draws women from the mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.  It falls under the umbrella of the Women Owning Woods network (WOW), which is a national organization.

The goals of the program are related to empowering women and helping them to practice good forest stewardship.  “The biggest goal is to just give women the tools and resources that they need to be able to move forward with managing their land,” Morrow said. “Depending on the number of grants we get per year, sometimes we can send them home with materials they can take and learn to use—like Biltmore sticks [a forest measurement tool] to learn how many logs might be in a tree, or tape measures to figure out what the height of a tree is.”

Women do not have to be current forestland owners to join the program.  The feeling is that there could be a time in the future when they end up with property, and what they learn from the program could be valuable in managing the property they inherit or purchase.

In 2026, there will be a four-day retreat, to be held September 11 through September 14 at Lukan’s Farm Resort in Hawley.  Attendees will learn forest management topics such as forest ecology and tree identification, forest hydrology, improving wildlife habitat, determining the value of forest lands, silvicultural techniques, estate planning, and trail building and maintenance. Classes are usually taught by forestry professionals from the Wayne County Conservation District and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for Pennsylvania. Class sizes average around 20 to 30 people, and the fee to attend usually ranges from $150 to $400, depending on whether a person attends the full retreat or one or two days.  Usually, on the first day/evening women meet, do an activity and have dinner with each other. The second and third days are spent on instruction, and the last day is spent in reflection and review.  Around 120 women have graduated from the retreat and received a certificate after completion.

The main benefit of the retreat for women is the wealth of knowledge that they gain.  Morrow said, “They learn so much.  It covers a broad spectrum of things, like they learn management skills, they learn forestry lingo and they learn financial responsibility for their land.”

One of the more successful aspects of the retreat is the opportunity to meet like-minded women and networking.  Many of the participants become friends and support each other, forming their own cohort within a larger network.

The retreat will have speakers who provide information to members on land conservation and estate planning.  They will advise attendees on topics such as conservation easement agreements, tax credits and contracts for timber sales, and how to get your land looked at by a consulting forester.  Women can also learn which grants are available for them to establish a forest management plan.

Additional resources such as newsletters, contacts, workshop handouts and a networking toolkit are available on the conservancy’s website.  Newsletters stopped during COVID, but the plan is to restart them in 2026.  Women in the program can also volunteer or attend Eagle Watch bus tours and other events held by the conservancy throughout the year.

The Women and Their Woods program helps women acquire the skills and knowledge needed to care for their forestlands now and into the future.  The retreat will be advertised in the February/March timeframe.  For more information, contact Lydia Freethy, education and stewardship associate, at 570/226-3164 ext. 4 or email her at  lydia@delawarehighlands.org.

To join Women and Their Woods and sign up for their mailing list, go to www.DelawareHighlands.org/watw.