Are Family Forest Owners Willing to Provide Recreational Access to the Public?
Family forest owners control approximately 35% of the forested land base in the United States (Butler, 2008). The magnitude of this ownership has significant implications for a variety of uses and values provided by these lands.
One such use of considerable importance to the public is recreation. Hunters in particular rely heavily on private land for recreational opportunities (NSFHWAR, 2001). However, anecdotal evidence suggests that hunters and other recreators may be facing greater challenges in obtaining access to private lands due to posting practices, ownership changes, and parcelization.
The ramifications of reduced access to private forestlands may include: fewer recreational opportunities, crowding and conflict on lands which do allow access, game depredation caused by un-checked populations of species like deer, and/or reductions in sales of hunting licenses. No national-level analysis has been conducted to determine the status of public recreational access policies by family forest landowners. Doing so would allow us to establish how limited public recreational access may be (or not) on family forest lands, as well as characteristics and attributes of landowners who have allowed access.
Further, understanding the characteristics of family forest landowners willing to provide public recreational access is useful information to planners and agencies as they craft incentive programs designed to enhance recreational access opportunities. Data from the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey will be analyzed to address these questions.
References
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Butler, J. 2008. Family Forest Owners of the United States, 2006. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-27. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 72 p.
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NSFHWAR. 2001. The national survey of fishing, hunting, and wildlife-associated recreation. NCTC Publications Unit, Shepherdstown, WV. USDA – Fish and Wildlife Service. 116 p.
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Snyder, S.A., Kilgore, M.A., Taff, S.J., and J. Schertz. 2009. Does Forest Land Posted Against Trespass Really Mean no Hunter Access? Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 14:251-264.
