A study was carried out in Masindi district, north western Uganda to establish the role played by local people in the management of forests outside protected areas and determining local forest resource use and conservation practices. A sample of 160 (98 men and 62 women) respondents was selected from 16 parishes in 4 sub-counties of Masindi district. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools which, included direct interviews and questionnaires were used in data collection. The results obtained from the chi-square (χ2) and cross-tabulations tests suggest that both men and women play an important role in Community-based forest management with varying proportions. Willingness to participate in forestry management is affected by gender, ethnic background and literacy level. Indigenous conservation practices by local communities in different parishes mainly focused on tree growing practices. Community-oriented forest management systems should be an integral part of the national forest plans and therefore, communication linkages should be established between government agencies and user groups such as the rural women and low-income households, who heavily depend on forest resources for their livelihoods.