Beginning Wednesday, people can take part in an online survey aimed at helping the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources plan the future of the state’s 17 million acres of forestlands.

Posted on the DCNR website, the survey will be available from July 1 to Aug. 31.

The survey includes 23 questions. The first 14 are about state forests and the DCNR, and the rest mostly ask for demographic information.

“As the department moves forward in developing a new strategic plan, those who appreciate, work in or recreate in Pennsylvania’s forests have a remarkable opportunity to shape the future management and sustainability of Pennsylvania’s forest resources,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said. “I encourage all to become a part of this state’s rich forest planning heritage by completing the survey.”

The survey asks people to express their opinions on perceived individual forest use and personal values placed on forests.

The DCNR Bureau of Forestry is in the process of writing a new strategic plan that will set the bureau’s mission and overarching goals. It guides how the bureau provides leadership in forest management and conservation on both public and private lands in urban and rural areas.

Reflected in the survey are questions designed to shape how the department considers opinions and attitudes of citizens about forests and the agency’s work, and steers its mission, goals, objectives and the methods used to achieve them.

The survey seeks opinions on forest restoration, watershed protection, plants, wildlife and biodiversity; working forests and the resources that come from them such as oil, gas and timber; recreational activities such as hiking, biking and motorized vehicle use; climate change; forest education, outreach and understanding of forest management practice and wood products; and the value of trees and forest products.