Publications

Urban National Landowner Survey: Baltimore, 2018

General Technical Report | 2025

By Dexter H. Locke, Jesse Caputo, Amanda Robillard, Emma M. Sass, Nancy F. Sonti, J. Morgan Grove, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-229

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The Urban National Landowners Survey (UNLS) provides information about who owns the trees across America’s urban areas, why they own them, what they have done with them in the past, and what they plan to do with them in the future. The first UNLS was completed for Baltimore, MD, in 2018 and provides estimates for all landowners in the city. Most people in Baltimore valued trees on their property and in their neighborhood evidenced by the following: they agreed that trees make the neighborhood a better place to live, that tree health should be considered during construction, and that good landscaping increases property values. Residents also had concerns about tree branches damaging property, tree roots interfering with building foundations and/or septic systems, and tree branches breaking and causing a power outage. These concerns may explain why the percentage of owners who removed trees was greater than those who planted trees and why about two-thirds of owners who removed trees did not replace them.

Profiles of family forest owners: Summaries of attitudinal segments and other groups based on 2018 National Woodland Owner Survey

General Technical Report | 2025

By Sarah M. Butler, Purnima Chawla, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-221

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Many researchers have identified and described different segments of family forest owners. This report describes one segmentation scheme that has been developed and used by the Tools for Engaging Landowners (TELE) program using National Woodland Owner Survey data. TELE divides landowners into four broad groups based on their reasons for owning land. Because this segmentation scheme focuses on motivations, it is a particularly useful grouping strategy for designing communications with landowners. The first part of the paper describes the current (2018) TELE segments and shows how they differ from earlier iterations. TELE has also developed summary descriptions of landowners based on other demographic and situational variables that commonly affect their response to forestry practices and programs. These are listed and outlined in the second part of the paper, with detailed tables included in the appendixes.

More Forest More Problems? Understanding Family Forest Owners’ Concerns in the United States

Small-scale Forestry | 2025

By David W. Shanafelt, Brian Danley, Jesse Caputo, and Marielle Brunette

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-025-09594-6

Forests face an increasing number of threats, which are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in the future. Recent calls have pointed out the need for holistic approaches when developing forest management policies, which requires a broad understanding of how forest owners perceive the uncertainties and risks that may threaten their forests. In this paper, we study a set of sixteen concerns in the United States National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS). Our set of concerns span an array of types and causes—natural and anthropogenic—that capture multiple aspects of forest ownership. We measure the level of concern that family forest owners associate with each concern variable, and explore how they vary with each other. We then measure “total concernedness” to study how individuals distribute their concerns across multiple ownership challenges, and relate total concern to socio-demographic and forest-ownership attributes. We find that private forest owners moderately distribute their concerns across all types, as opposed to high levels of concern for one issue and none for others, and that concerns are, in general, positively correlated with each other. Our analysis highlights a general need for policy and regulations that properly consider the full suite of owner preferences, including concerns.

Fueling communities into the future: A survey of firewood banks to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to organizational sustainability

Journal of Rural and Community Development | 2025

By Sarah M. Butler, Eric E. Griffith, Richard W. Harper, Jessica E. Leahy, Brett J. Butler, Jacob Comiskey, Clarisse Hart, Jason E. Dampier, and Darian Dyer

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63315/jrcd.v20i2.2616

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Firewood banks are community-driven initiatives that aim to reduce fuel poverty by providing firewood to households facing heating insecurity. As firewood bank expansion continues, there is an emergent urgency to understand their operations, processes, capacities, and challenges. We formally surveyed known firewood bank leaders and evaluated the results through the framework of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis to better understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of firewood banks more broadly. Further understanding of firewood bank attributes within a SWOT framework will provide leaders, policymakers, and outreach professionals with valuable insights to assess support needs and ensure long-term organizational sustainability in fuel-poor communities. The results of this research underscore the successes these organizations have achieved, the challenges they may face in the future, and highlight critical areas for future research.

Motivations and Barriers for the Participation of Family Forest Owners in Conservation Practices: An Application of the Transtheoretical Model

Human Dimensions of Wildlife | 2025

By Margaret Harrington, Brett J. Butler, and Emma M. Sass

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2025.2493907

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Understanding landowner motivations and barriers is critical to the success of conservation programs. In 2020, we conducted a survey of family forest owners in Vermont related to expert visits, patch cuts, and applying for cost-share funds. We analyzed the activities using the Transtheoretical Model of Behavioral Change (TTM) and ordinal logistic regression. The TTM stage of change varied by activity with 68% of the respondents being in the Action stage for expert visits, 29% being in the Action stage for patch cuts, and 14% being in the Action stage for cost-share. The significant variables in the regression models also varied, with positive aspects including expanding owners’ knowledge, reassurance of existing management practices, following expert recommendations, and forest health benefits. Significant negative aspects included difficulty finding appropriate providers and information. These findings have important implications for effective program design and implementation.

Understanding Passive Forest Management on Family Forest Owned Land in New England to Further Ecological Forestry

Journal of Forestry | 2025

By Lina Denaroso, Paul Catanzaro & Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44392-025-00013-4

Ecological forestry seeks to sustain the diverse forest benefits we rely on via a combination of active forest management (AFM) and passive forest management (PFM) approaches across the landscape. Despite the importance of both AFM and PFM and the prevalence of family forest ownerships in the US, little is known about family forest owner attitudes toward PFM. We surveyed New England FFOs to investigate PFM interest and tool preference for adopting PFM. Over one-third of respondents would adopt PFM on their land; of these, significantly more were willing to adopt PFM on only some of their land rather than all of their land. A temporary property tax reduction program was the most popular policy tool, though different ownership characteristics were associated with increased adoption of the other policy tools tested. Foresters could play a key role in siting and monitoring PFM on family forest lands within ecological forestry.

Social Vulnerability and Family Forest Owners in the United States

Trees, Forests, and People | 2025

By Brett J. Butler and Morgan Bowler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2025.100806

Social equity, and the related topic of social vulnerability, is an important issue that is impacting many facets of society, including forests. A substantial portion, 39 %, of forests in the United States are owned by families, individuals, trusts, estates, and family partnerships, collectively referred to as family forest owners. There are many programs and services intended to help family forest owners conserve and better manage their land, but participation rates are relatively low, the efficacy of many programs has been called into question, and the social equitability of access is largely unknown. The social vulnerability of family forest owners in the United States was assessed by intersecting data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) with data from the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey. Family forest owners have a similar SVI compared to the general US population, but the values vary substantially for some SVI themes including family forest owners having higher values for SVI Theme 2 (household composition and disabilities) and lower values for SVI Themes 3 (minority status and language) and 4 (housing type and transportation). Based on logistic regression models, the relationships among social vulnerability metrics and selected family forest owner attributes were found to vary. SVI Theme 1 (socioeconomic status) has positive relationships with amenity and financial ownership objectives, timber harvesting, collection of nontimber forest products, and recreational activity and negative relationships with management plans and advice. SVI Theme 2 has negative relationships with timber harvesting, management plans, advice, and program participation. SVI Theme 3 has negative relationships with timber harvesting, collection of nontimber forest products, and recreational activity. SVI Theme 4 has a positive relationship with collection of nontimber forest products. Programs and services could be redesigned and retargeted to maintain and enhance the social benefits that are accruing and mitigate the shortcomings.

Distribution and Dynamics of Private Forests Across the United States

Forest Policy and Economics | 2024

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett J. Butler, Jesse Caputo, David Newman, Daowei Zhang, and David Wear

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2023.103143

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The 285 million ha of forestland in the U.S. (Butler et al., 2021) exist within a complex socio-political-economic environment that has fundamentally shaped the current state of the forests and has major implications for the future of the forests. A key element of this social context is ownership; the owners of the land – working within biophysical, social, political, and economic constraints – make decisions about land disposition. They decide whether the land remains forested, how it will be managed, and who will have access to the land and many of the benefits it provides.

Uncertainty in REDD+ Carbon Accounting: A Survey of Experts Involved in REDD+ Reporting

Carbon Balance and Management | 2024

By Brett J. Butler, Emma M. Sass, Javier G. P. Gamarra, John L. Campbell, Craig Wayson, Marcela Olguín, Oswaldo Carrillo, and Ruth D. Yanai

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-024-00267-z

A Meta-Analysis of Publications Citing USDA Forest Service

General Technical Report | GTR-NRS-224

By Morgan Bowler and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-224

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The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) is implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, and is aimed at understanding the social context of the forests of the United States by looking into the attitudes, behaviors, and general characteristics of forest landowners and their land. The surveys cover all types of private forest ownerships, but reporting of results often focuses on families, individuals, trusts, estates, and family partnerships, collectively referred to as family forest ownerships. Survey results are available in published reports and, depending on the iteration, through online data access tools. This paper summarizes citations associated with core NWOS products through 2021. The data show that the products cited most often were those from the 2006 NWOS cycle. The results also show that the most common sources for published documents that cite NWOS findings are the Forest Service and the Journal of Forestry, and that the most common document types are journal articles and reports. Common topics of documents citing core NWOS products include forest policies, such as property taxes and carbon offset programs, invasive plants, forest/woody biomass, and collective action. The results suggest that efforts toward making researchers more aware of published reports associated with more recent NWOS survey findings may encourage citation of newer NWOS findings.

If A Tree Falls in A Forest, Why Do People Care? An Analysis of Private Family Forest Owners’ Reasons for Owning Forest in the United States National Woodland Owner Survey

Small-Scale Forestry | 2024

By David W. Shanafelt, Jesse Caputo, Jens Abildtrup, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-022-09530-y

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At its heart, forest management is grounded in valuation, with questions regarding what, how, and how much individuals value the forest being fundamental for efficient management. In this paper, we try to understand why private family forest owners value their forestland, and how owner and forest characteristics vary depending on the type of value. We estimate the demographic and socio-economic factors behind a suite of stated reasons for owning forest, from traditional marketvalue reasons to less-traditional, non-market reasons, among others. For our analysis, we use the United States Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS), a nationwide survey of private forest and woodland ownerships of at least one acre. We are able to identify different groupings of reasons for owning that share similar associated explanatory variables. While our results are generally in agreement with the literature, we find some notable discrepancies, such as a consistent negative association with education level and timber harvest as a reason for owning. This highlights a potential difference between stated and actual preferences. We believe that our results are useful when designing and disseminating information for policy, such as for promoting endangered species conservation or targeting individuals for enrollment in conservation easement, green certification, or cost-share programs.

Black Family Forest Owners in the Southeastern United States: A Case Study in Six Counties

Journal of Forestry | 2023

By Amanda Robillard, Cassandra Johnson Gaither, John Schelhas, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvad042

The USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey asks family forest owners (FFOs) about their attitudes and intentions regarding their forestland. Historically, the number of responses from Black or African American FFOs has been very low, but it is uncertain whether this is because of nonresponse bias or that there are relatively few Black FFOs. To get a better understanding of these FFOs and to test a method to increase response rates, an intensified survey effort was conducted in three southern states: Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Analyses indicate that Black FFOs have slightly different objectives, activities, and ownership structure for their forestland than their White counterparts, who have traditionally represented the majority of FFOs.

Study Implications: By conducting an experiment to increase response rates from Black family forest owners to the National Woodland Owner Survey, we find traditional methodology is not effective. More importantly, we see this group has moderately different responses than their White counterparts. This has wide ranging implications for landowner assistance programs and other initiatives that have been designed on the premise that we are accurately capturing responses from all woodland owners.

Does Absence Make the Heart Grow Less Fond? Spatial Proximity Partially Predicts Family Forest Landowner Engagement

Small-scale Forestry | 2023

By Jesse Caputo and Stephanie A. Snyder

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-023-09549-9

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Families constitute the largest forest ownership group in the United States. Previous research has suggested that absenteeism influences how families perceive, use, and manage their land. The extent to which prior findings are sensitive to different definitions of absenteeism is unclear, however. In this paper, the distance between landowners’ residences and their forest land was calculated in order to compare different measures of absenteeism in terms of their statistical relationships with management and engagement activities. Data from the National Woodland Owner Survey were used to establish six binary definitions of an absentee owner based on fixed distances between landowners and their land. Bivariate tests were run to determine whether there were significant differences across these definitions between resident and absentee owners in terms of eighteen management and engagement variables. For more than half of these variables, whether differences between the two groups were statistically significant or not depended on the chosen threshold. Logistic regression models were also used to predict the likelihood of a subset of four dependent variables based on the absolute value of the distance landowners live from their land. Three of these models—for invasive species removal, leasing land, and emotional attachment—had sufficient goodness of fit and a statistically significant distance parameter.

Forester and Logger Response to Emerald Ash Borer in Massachusetts and Vermont: a Secondary Disturbance

Journal of Forestry | 2023

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, Amanda Robillard, Brett J. Butler, David A. Orwig, Anthony W. D’Amato , Jonathan R. Thompson, Danelle M, Laflower, Meghan Graham MacLean, and Malcolm Itter

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvad019

Forester and logger responses to the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB) could substantially affect regions across the United States. We analyzed forester and logger responses to EAB in Massachusetts and Vermont, exploring characteristics associated with purposeful targeting of substantial ash properties; managing forests differently because of EAB; and regeneration goals. One-third of respondents increased timber sales on ash properties, motivated by ecological, not economic, impacts of EAB. Nearly 60% said EAB changed their management activity in stands with ash; changes influenced by the ecological impact of EAB and not economic factors. Those influenced by EAB’s ecological impact to choose properties with substantial ash were more likely to have increased harvest area size, sawtimber removal, and harvest intensity. Loggers were more likely than foresters to remove small-diameter ash and low-grade trees. Both rated regenerating economically valuable species well adapted to the site as their highest essential priority.

USDA Forest Service Timber Products Output Survey Item Nonresponse Analysis

Forest Science | 2023

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Consuelo Brandeis, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxad003

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The Timber Products Output (TPO) survey is used to determine industrial uses of roundwood, reporting on volumes of roundwood received and residues generated by the primary forest industry by tree species and counties of harvest. This knowledge aids stakeholders in making informed decisions about available forest resources and/or harvest intensity. The widespread use of TPO estimates makes it important to understand the scale and scope of missing data in the survey. This first attempt analyzed respondent-level and question-level nonresponse (RLNR and QLNR, respectively) for Northern and Southern TPO regions, comparing response to mill profile questions (those providing general business information) to those related to mill activity (that related to wood processing information). The RLNR differed between regions, by question grouping, survey mode, and mill volume. The QLNR results for selected mill activity questions indicate that the Southern region generally has lower nonresponse than the Northern region. Parametric analysis of RLNR indicated survey mode was significant for both question groups in the Northern region whereas mill type was significant for mill activity questions in the Southern region. The QLNR parametric analysis indicated self-administered surveys in the Northern region were associated with higher nonresponse, and surveys completed by sawmills in the Southern region were associated with lower nonresponse.

Family Forest Owner Attitudes toward Oak Forests and Management in the Central and Eastern US

Small-scale Forestry | 2023

By Emma M. Sass, Brett J. Butler, Jesse Caputo, and Amanda Robillard

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-023-09545-z

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Upland oak trees are ecologically, economically, and socially important across the central and eastern United States, but they are at risk of decline from myriad threats. Most of the forestland in this region is held by families and individuals (family forest owners, FFOs), so the future of these oak forests largely depends on the decisions they make about their land. We surveyed 20,000 FFOs and received 1,517 responses to better understand their attitudes towards upland oak forests and management practices that can be used to support oak, specifically harvesting, planting, using herbicides, and using prescribed fire. The Transtheoretical Model framework was used to assess the barriers and opportunities for landowners at different stages in relation to each activity. Overall, FFOs agree that upland oak forests provide numerous benefits, and almost half of FFO forest area is held by ownerships who want more oak trees on their land. Only a third of FFOs know that oak is at risk of decline, but those who do are more likely to want more oak on their land. The main barriers to management activities are not having enough information and not seeing a need for the management practice, but the needs and perceived barriers vary depending on stage of change, which should be considered when communicating with owners. Increasing awareness about the importance of and threats to oak trees and their management might encourage more landowners to actively manage for oak, although effective oak management is site-specific and can be intensive.

Wood Supply from Family Forests of the United States: Biophysical, Social, and Economic Factors

Forest Science | 2023

By Brett J. Butler and Emma M. Sass

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxad034

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Wood products are an essential provisioning ecosystem service with US forests providing nearly one-fifth of global wood supply. As of 2018, an estimated 46% of the annual wood harvested came from corporate forests, 42% came from family forests, and the remainder came from other private, public, and Tribal forests. The supply of wood from corporate forests is well described by traditional economic models, but the supply from family forests is much less well understood. This article combines data from three components of the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis program—plots, landowner surveys, and mill surveys—with other data to model the wood supply from family forests in the United States. Results are summarized in terms of bivariate relationships and a logistic regression model. The model results show that basal area, stand origin, forest type, having timber as an ownership objective, the amount of annual income derived from their forestland, proximity to a mill, management advice, and region are significantly associated with family forest timber harvesting. The results should be useful for forest industry analysts and others interested in understanding the current and potential future supply of wood from family forests.

Women on the Land: Perspectives on Women-Owned Forest Land in the Eastern United States

Society and Natural Resources | 2023

By Olivia Lukacic, Paul Catanzaro, Emily S. Huff, and Katri Hamunen

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2022.2161682

Women represent a growing segment of the family forest owner population in the United States. This article seeks to identify how women in the eastern U.S. navigate forest land management. Inductive coding led to the development of five prominent themes: connections to the land, stewardship ethic, personal challenges, connections to others, and educational/programmatic challenges. Our research suggests that women have a strong connection to their land with diverse interests and objectives. Their stories challenge the current definition of engaged landowners and represent a need for programs and policies that support passive and more holistic active stewardship options.

Trends in United States Family Forest Owners’ Attitudes, Behaviors, and General Characteristics from 2006 to 2018

Forest Science | 2023

By Emma Sass, Brett Butler, Jesse Caputo, and Emily S. Huff

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxad040

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Family forest owners (FFOs) control a plurality of forestland in the United States, and the decisions these landowners make have a profound impact on the landscape. Most research on FFOs consists of cross-sectional studies, although many of these recognize the importance of capturing long-term trends to understand whether and how FFO attitudes, behaviors, and general characteristics are changing. We use data from the 2006, 2013, and 2018 iterations of the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS), with a bootstrapping approach to identify significant changes across these time periods among FFOs with 4+ hectares of forestland. Total FFO hectares decreased and FFO ownerships trended downward over the study period. A decreasing proportion of FFOs owned farms or homes near their forestland, harvested timber, or received advice. Demographic shifts include an increase in age and education level from 2006 to 2018, and an increase in FFOs of color from 2006 to 2013. Overall, we find a trend towards decreased traditional engagement and management and a slight increase in owning land for its amenity values. Understanding temporal trends in FFO characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors will help policymakers and forestry professionals inform and update their outreach, technical support, and financial assistance programs.

Wildfire and Family Forest Owners: Concern, Advice, and Wildfire Reduction Behaviors from the United States National Woodland Owner Survey

Forest Science | 2023

By Sarah M. Butler, Brett J. Butler, and Emma M. Sass

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxad048

Extreme wildfire is an increasing threat to lives, property, and ecosystems across the United States and many parts of the world. Family forest owners (FFOs) own a large percentage of forestland in the United States, and actions and behaviors on their forestland have a large impact on wildfire prevention and mitigation across the landscape. Using data from the USDA Forest Service’s 2018 National Woodland Owner Survey, we investigated national and regional FFO wildfire attitudes and behaviors. We see that concern for wildfire is relatively high across the United States; however, this concern does not always lead to wildfire reduction activities on the landscape. There is some variation among regions, with concern about wildfire and past wildfire reduction activities highest in the western US (76% and 37%, respectively), followed by the South (63% and 11%, respectively), and lowest in the northern region (50% and 8%, respectively). Understanding these aspects of wildfire and FFOs on a national level provides a broader context for the more focused studies across the country and acts as a launch point for more in-depth research in the future.

A Survival Analysis of Family Forest Owners in the USA: Estimating Life Expectancy and 5-Year Survivorship

Small-scale Forestry | 2023

By Jesse Caputo, B. J. Butler, M. Markowski-Lindsay, and P. Catanzaro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-023-09551-1

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Individuals, families, and trusts own a plurality of forest land in the United States, and the decisions made by these landowners have substantial impacts on the ecological, economic, and social benefits their lands provide. Some of the most impactful decisions include when and to whom to sell or leave their forested land, and whether or not to actively manage. Family forest landowners constitute an older population relative to the general population, and, the life expectancy of these landowners is a critical factor determining future land transitions, as well as patterns of management and land use. In this paper, we conduct a survival analysis using life tables and estimate that the average family forest landowner in the USA has a life expectancy of 21.0 additional years and an 89.3% chance of surviving the next five years. Fiveyear survivorship is a significant predictor of future plans to transfer land, as well as future intentions to actively manage. Additionally, at least in the Northeastern USA, survivorship significantly predicts filing wills and establishing trusts. These results suggest that landowners may be consciously or subconsciously aware of their declining life expectancy and may be taking it into account when making decisions regarding estate planning and land management.

Corporate Forest Ownerships of the United States, 2018: Results from the USDA Forest Service,National Woodland Owner Survey

General Technical Report NRS-216 | 2023

By Jesse Caputo, Brett J. Butler, Sarah M. Butler, Amanda Robillard, Emma M. Sass, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, and Andrew J. Hartsell

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-216

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The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) is conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program, to collect information on the attitudes, behaviors, and other characteristics of America’s private forest ownerships. This report provides documentation and results from the 2017 to 2018 iteration of the NWOS, which is referenced by the terminal year, 2018. The term “corporate ownerships” collectively refers to large corporate ownerships, which are companies owning 45,000+ acres of forest land, and small corporate ownerships, which include companies with between 10 and 44,999 acres of forest land and conservation organizations, partnerships, associations, and clubs. Selected results are presented and full sets of summary tables, by geography (Nation and regions) and five domains of interest, are provided in the accompanying supplemental materials. The domains of interest used in the supplemental summary tables are small corporate forest ownerships with holding sizes of 1+, 10+, 100+, and 1,000+ acres of forest land, and large corporate ownerships with holding sizes of 45,000+ acres. Each set of summary tables contains survey cooperation rates, and summaries of the responses to questions asked on the survey. The report concludes with a discussion of data interpretation, data limitations, and how to compare results with previous iterations of the NWOS.

Corporate forest ownerships with 1+ acres of forest land control 21 percent of the forest land in the United States, excluding interior Alaska. An estimated 98 percent of the small corporate forest land is in holdings of 10 or more acres of forest land, but an estimated 54 percent of the small corporate forest ownerships have holdings between 1 and 9 acres of forest land. In contrast, large corporate forest ownerships have average holdings of 312,000 acres. The results highlighted in this report are for small corporate forest ownerships with 10+ acres of forest land and large corporate forest ownerships with 45,000+ acres of forest land at the national level. This group includes an estimated 307,000 ownerships, which collectively own 145 million acres of forest land. Among small corporate ownerships, the most common reasons for owning forests are “To protect or improve wildlife habitat,” “To protect water resources,” and “To protect nature or biological diversity.” Timber production is the single most important objective among large corporate ownerships, but protection of nature, water, and wildlife habitat are important objectives among at least 50 percent of these ownerships as well. Forest management practices are occurring on many small corporate forests, but written management plans, receiving professional advice in the previous 5 years, and participating in assistance programs are relatively uncommon. In contrast, a substantial majority of large corporate acreage is covered by management plans or enrolled in one or more green certification programs (or a combination thereof). Small corporate forest owners’ most common concerns include “Trespassing or poaching,” “Government regulation,” and “High property taxes.” Large corporate ownerships share concerns related to regulation and taxes, as well as concerns related to changes in forest product markets.

Factors Influencing Family Woodland Management Action After Calling a Public Agency Forester

Journal of Forestry | 2022

By Eli Sagor, Martha Sebald, Michael Kilgore, Charles Blinn, Stephanie Snyder, and Matthew B. Russell

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvac006

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Many public agencies make foresters available to answer landowners’ land management questions. We gathered data about landowner calls to private forest management (PFM) foresters employed by a Minnesota state agency in 2017 and 2018. We used a mailed questionnaire to assess the outcomes of these contacts, including land management actions taken and factors most influential the landowner’s subsequent decision process. The most common topic landowners called about was enrolling in a property tax program, followed by harvesting and planting trees, obtaining financial assistance, and controlling forest pests. Eighteen months after the initial call, implementation rates and intent were high, ranging from 73%–91%. Across management actions, information from a PFM forester, likelihood of timely implementation, and expected benefit were highly influential. PFM calls also informed landowners about additional land management actions, many of which they implemented. Our results offer new insight into the value of landowner contact with public sector foresters.

Planning and Professional Assistance as Factors Influencing Private Forest Landowner Best Management Practice Implementation

Journal of Forestry | 2022

By David Wilson, Michael Kilgore, Stephanie A. Snyder

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvab073

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Virtually all states have developed best management practices (BMPs) to mitigate potential adverse effects associated with timber harvesting. This study examined how BMP implementation on Minnesota’s family forest lands varied according to whether the land had a forest management plan, the timber sale was administered by a forester, or a written timber harvesting contract was used. Analysis of field monitoring data from 174 commercial timber harvesting sites on family forest lands found that BMP implementation is only modestly influenced by a forest management plan, supervising forester, or timber harvesting contract. Supervision of a forester had the greatest influence, with six guidelines implemented differently. In contrast, differences were found for just two BMPs with a forest management plan and only one with a written timber harvesting contract. When timber sales were administered by a forester, forest management guidelines generally related to management of the land-water interface were implemented to a higher standard, with significant increases observed for avoidance of infrastructure in filter strips, use of water diversion and erosion control structures, avoiding unnecessary wetland and waterbody crossings, and slash management. Higher timber utilization efficiency (within leave tree guidelines) was also found when a professional forester supervised the timber sale.

Reply to Comment on Economic Contributions from Conserved Forests: Four Case Studies of the USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program

Forest Science| 2022

By Helena Murray, Paul Catanzaro, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett J. Butler, and Henry Eichman

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxac002

We appreciate the opportunity to clarify the purpose and scope of our study. The commenter is correct that we did not evaluate the economic impact of the Forest Legacy Program but rather used land conserved through the program as a case study of how intact, conserved forests can contribute to local economies. An economic impact study would have assessed the change in economic contributions caused by the Forest Legacy Program. This study estimates the economic contributions from land that was conserved with FLP funding and other funding sources (Murray et al 2021). The terms “economic contribution” and “economic impact” are often used interchangeably for studies about how spending and production flows influence the economy. However, because we did not analyze consumer behavior or alternative scenarios, we are using the term “economic contribution” to describe our analysis per the definitions outlined in Watson et al (2007).

We did not seek to evaluate the effectiveness of the Forest Legacy Program or to claim that the program is responsible for adding jobs and value to the economy. To do this, we would have compared the Forest Legacy Program to a counterfactual in an economic impact analysis and included other metrics such as ecosystem function, changes in recreation access, and overall program efficiency.

An Assessment of the Sustainability of Family Forests in the U.S.A.

Forest Policy and Economics | 2022

By Brett J. Butler, Jesse Caputo, Jesse D. Henderson, Scott A. Pugh, Kurt Riitters, and Emma M. Sass

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102783

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Across the U.S.A., as across many countries, families, individuals, trusts, estates, and family partnerships, collectively referred to as family forest ownerships, own a plurality of the forestland. The Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators (C&I) were used to assess the sustainability of these lands. There are currently 109 million ha of family forestland across the conterminous U.S.A., but this area is decreasing by 1 million ha yr^-1 with 64% of this acreage going to non-forest uses and the rest going to other forest ownership classes. While forest-type groups have remained relatively constant, the area of forestland in smaller stand sizes has been decreasing and the area in larger stand sizes has been commensurately increasing. These forests provide critical habitat for many species with an average of 3.3 at-risk species per location. There is an estimated 12.7 billion m³ of wood on these lands with annual timber harvests of 160 million m³. For most species, the ratio of net growth to removals is well above 1.0, but there are notable exceptions, often associated with insects, changing fire regimes, or other departures from historical conditions. Looking only at timber harvesting, family forests are annually supporting an estimated 47.4 thousand jobs with combined wages of USD$2 billion. Land regulations, taxation, and incentives vary considerably across the U.S.A. with regulations ranging from regulatory to voluntary. Overall, the C&I indicate a mixed prognosis for the sustainability of America’s family forests while many of the general ecological and productivity indicators are positive. The loss of family forestland is of notable concern as are the threats posed by specific disturbances and for specific species.To maintain the sustainability of America’s family forest, the analysis suggests focusing on policies such as conservation easements and preferential property tax programs, aimed at keeping family forests as family forests.

Cross-Boundary Sustainability: Assessment across Forest Ownership Categories in the Conterminous USA Using the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators Framework

Forests | 2022

By Brett Butler, Jesse Caputo, Jesse Henderson, Scott Pugh, Kurt Riitters, and Emma M. Sass

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f13070992

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The conservation and sustainable management of forests across ownership groups of the conterminous USA was assessed using the Montréal Process Criteria and Indicators (C&I) framework using national forest inventory and other data. Sixty-one percent of the forest area in the USA is Privately owned (20% Corporate, 39% Family, and 2% Other Private), 37% is Public (28% Federal, 2% Local, and 7% State), and 2% is within Native American Tribal Reservation boundaries. There are many commonalities across ownership categories, but there are also important differences. A 1.1 million ha yr^-1 decrease in Family forestland and a 1.0 million ha yr^-1 increase in Corporate forestland (C&I 1.1.a) between 2012 and 2019 are among the main trends with implications for sustainability and influence all other aspects considered through the C&I. The majority of annual timber harvests (C&I 2.d) comes from Corporate (46%) and Family (42%) forestlands. Of the most common species, net growth to removal ratios (C&I 2.d) are less than 1.0 for three species on Tribal forestland, two species on Federal forestlands, and two species on Corporate forestlands. Disturbances (C&I 3.a and 3.b) are relatively common (ranging from 4 to 15% of forestland within an ownership category) across ownership categories with the highest proportion of disturbances being caused by diseases and pests on Federal forestland. Differences in the legal and institutional frameworks across ownership categories (Criterion 7) influence how the forest resources can be managed and how policies, programs, and services can be designed and implemented to help maintain and enhance the flow of forest-based goods and services. This analysis helps illustrate that sustainability is complex, C&I are imperfect, and there are additional elements, such as recreational access and ownership/management objectives, that would be helpful for comparing across ownership categories. But the Montréal Process C&I framework helps elucidate the relative threats among ownership categories, in particular the loss of Family forestland to non-forest uses and the increase in disturbances across most ownership categories, and the relative opportunities across ownership categories, including the sustainable supply of timber from Corporate and Family forestlands and the relatively high tree, and presumably broader, biodiversity especially on Local and Other Private forestlands.

Family Forest Owner Perceptions of Wildfire and Invasive Pest Risk: The Role of Psychological Distance

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction | 2022

By Emily S. Huff, Angela de Oliveira, Ezra M. Markowitz, Meaghan L. Guckian, and Lauren Lomonoco

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103417

Societal risks associated with natural hazards are largely determined by human decision-making and risk mitigation behaviors. While much is known about individual risk perception, there is a gap in understanding interpersonal risk production (IPR), defined as the decision to prepare for an environmental threat/hazard which influences the risk faced by others. This study considers IPR for two forest-based hazards: wildfires and invasive insects. We surveyed private landowners in Colorado and Massachusetts, two states with high incidence of wildfire, and invasive insects, respectively. Results suggest that the threat of both wildfire and invasive species hazards may be less relevant to private forest owners and thus not conducive to promoting present action. Land managers and policymakers can better leverage efficacy beliefs to encourage risk reduction behaviors if they can communicate the benefit of promoting cross-boundary cooperation and inter-personally produced risks when confronting forest hazards.

United States Family Forest Owners’ Awareness of and Participation in Carbon Sequestration Programs: Initial Findings from the USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey

Forest Science | 2022

By Emma Sass, Jesse Caputo, Brett Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxac026

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Family forest owners (FFOs) hold a plurality of forestland in the United States, and programs and markets exist that compensate landowners for sequestering and storing increased carbon through extended rotations, improved forest management, and increased forest cover. We used USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) data from 2018 to estimate the number of ownerships and their associated acreage that are enrolled, that are familiar but not enrolled, and that are unfamiliar with these programs, as well as differences in attributes among these groups. As of 2018, less than 0.1% (SE < 0.1%) of FFOs are enrolled in carbon sequestration programs, and collectively they hold an estimated 400,000 ha (SE = 100,000). FFOs who are enrolled have larger holdings, are more likely to participate in other programs, and are more concerned about climate change, among other characteristics. Most FFO holdings are too small to be viable in traditional carbon programs, although new and evolving programs might enable smaller landholdings to be feasible to enroll. Knowing the characteristics of ownerships that are enrolled or aware of programs will allow for more informed design and implementation; future monitoring will be important to identify trends as these programs become more widespread.

Place, Loss, and Landowner Response to the Restoration of a Rapidly Changing Forest Landscape

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2022

By Paul H. Gobster, Ella Weber, Kristin M. Floress, Ingrid E. Schneider, Anna L. Haines, and Arne Arnberger

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104382

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Landscape change occurs as a result of both human and natural forces. When changes are abrupt and drastic, they can negatively impact people who had become attached to a landscape’s prior character. Place-based models of landscape change assert that the strength of people’s attachments can influence their experience of and response to change. We apply a qualitative deductive-inductive approach to examine rapid change experienced by family forest owners in the northern Great Lakes region of the U.S. (N = 17), whose densely forested property was in the path of a major windstorm and near an ongoing pine barrens restoration. Through in-depth interviews we found that landowners had a strong sense of place for the Northwoods, a culturally-constructed landscape character of big trees and continuous canopy of relatively recent origin in our study area. This sense of place acted as a lens through which they experienced multiple and sometimes cumulative drivers of change resulting in a spectrum of losses, including solastalgia. Sense of place affected how they responded to change on their own property, with most wanting to assist or let “Mother Nature take its course” in returning the land to its Northwoods character rather than its more open, ecologically-based conditions. Responses to the pine barrens restoration ranged from negative to somewhat positive, with those expressing positive feelings mentioning aesthetic, ecological, and functional reasons. Implications for management and place-based model development are discussed.

Understanding the Relationship between Land Tenure and Conservation Behavior: Recommendations for Social Science Research

Land Use Policy | 2022

By Pranay Ranjan, J. Gordon Arbuckle, Sarah P. Church, Francis R. Eanes, Kristin Floress, Yuling Gao, Benjamin M. Gramig, Ajay S. Singh, and Linda S. Prokopy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106161

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The long-term viability of United States (US) agriculture and food systems is contingent upon sustainable soil and water conservation. Currently, the majority of conservation practices rely on voluntary adoption by farmers. However, a large and growing proportion of farmland is rented, thereby presenting a conservation decisionmaking context where tenant farmers have less control over conservation behavior than farmers who own the land they operate. For decades, social science scholarship has examined whether and how land tenure affects farmers’ conservation behavior. The overall effect of tenure on conservation behavior has been found to be inconclusive in quantitative studies, whereas qualitative studies suggest that it hinders conservation behavior. This article draws upon reviews of quantitative and qualitative studies examining conservation adoption in the US between 1982 and 2017 to highlight gaps in and opportunities for understanding the relationship between land tenure and conservation behavior. Highlighting the multidimensional nature of land tenure, we propose that future research on conservation adoption in agriculture use the following eight dimensions: within-farm tenure heterogeneity, tenure stability, market dynamics, type of lease arrangements, lease negotiation timelines, relational aspects, non-operating landowner characteristics, and operator characteristics. We invite scholars to operationalize and measure these dimensions to evaluate their effects on conservation behavior on rented farmland.

If a Tree Falls in A Forest, Why Do People Care? An Analysis of Private Family Forest Owners’ Reasons for Owning Forests in the United States National Woodland Owner Survey

Small-scale Forestry | 2022

By David W. Shanafelt, Jesse Caputo, Jens Abildtrup, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-022-09530-y

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At its heart, forest management is grounded in valuation, with questions regarding what, how, and how much individuals value the forest being fundamental for efficient management. In this paper, we try to understand why private family forest owners value their forestland, and how owner and forest characteristics vary depending on the type of value. We estimate the demographic and socio-economic factors behind a suite of stated reasons for owning forest, from traditional marketvalue reasons to less-traditional, non-market reasons, among others. For our analysis, we use the United States Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS), a nationwide survey of private forest and woodland ownerships of at least one acre. We are able to identify different groupings of reasons for owning that share similar associated explanatory variables. While our results are generally in agreement with the literature, we find some notable discrepancies, such as a consistent negative association with education level and timber harvest as a reason for owning. This highlights a potential difference between stated and actual preferences. We believe that our results are useful when designing and disseminating information for policy, such as for promoting endangered species conservation or targeting individuals for enrollment in conservation easement, green certification, or cost-share programs.

Studies of Family Forest Owners in the USA: A Systematic Review of Literature from 2000 through 2019

Small-scale Forestry | 2022

By Brett Butler, Sarah M. Butler, and Kristin Floress

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-022-09529-5

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In the USA, there are an estimated 9.6 million families, individuals, trusts, estates, and family partnerships, collectively referred to as family forest owners, who control 110 million ha of forestland or 39% of the country’s forests. Between 2000 and 2019, 640 peer-reviewed articles were published that focused on family forest owners in the USA. These articles were published across 95 sources with the Journal of Forestry, Forest Policy and Economics, Small-scale Forestry, and Journal of Extension being the most common. Most articles focused on geographic or participatory subsets of family forest owners with many doing cross-subset comparisons, such as between program participants and non-participants. Quantitative methods, and in particular surveys, were the most common data collection techniques, but qualitative, simulation, and synthesis approaches were also applied. Theoretical frameworks were scant across most studies with behavioral change models being the most common frameworks among those studies that did explicitly include one. Forest management and policies and programs were the most common topics, but the relative frequency of topics changed over time with topics such as forest management decreasing and legacy increasing. Much has been learned about family forest owners, but there is still much that is unknown. Harmonization across studies could help to increase comparisons and allow for drawing of broader conclusions. Continuing to borrow ideas from other fields and stronger incorporation of theoretical frameworks could also help further this scientific field, but it is also important that attention is paid to the implications of the research to ensure it has the greatest possible impact on the threats and challenges facing family forests.

Does Having a Hunter Identity Influence Land Management Behaviors of Family Forest Owners?

Human Dimensions of Wildlife | 2022

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Kristin Floress, Melinda Vokoun

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2020.1871124

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Effective invasive plant management requires collective action. However, little is known about what motivates individuals to work collectively. We conducted a mail survey of 2,600 randomly selected family forest owners in Indiana, USA to examine factors associated with community-led collective action. Specifically, we examined the role of perceived self-efficacy, perceived collective efficacy, concerns about invasive plants, and social norms associated with invasive plant management in shaping family forest owners’ self-reported likelihood to work with their neighbors to remove invasive plants. We found that past experience talking to others or working with neighbors to remove invasive plants were important predictors of landowners’ intention to work collectively, as were perceived self-efficacy in their own ability to manage invasive plants, perceived need for collective action, social norms, and concerns about invasive plants on neighboring or nearby properties. However, most socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education level, income) and land ownership characteristics (e.g., residence status, having a written forest management plan) were not statisically significant predictors of family forest owners’ likelihood to work with their neighbors. Our findings suggest that building individual sense of competence, facilitating neighbor interactions, and strengthening shared concerns may facilitate community-led collective action to manage invasive plants.

A Burning Concern: Family Forest Owner Wildfire Concerns Across Regions, Scales and Owner Characteristics

Risk Analysis | 2022

By Brian Danley, Jesse Caputo, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13816

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While there is a large literature on how individual homeowners perceive location-specific wildfire hazard, there is only one study specific to U.S. family forest owners. Using respondents from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey of family forest ownerships in the United States, we investigate the relationship between landowners’ wildfire concerns and biophysical wildfire hazard across the contiguous United States. As a measure of long-term conditions for high intensity wildfire, we use the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Hazard Potential Index as our key variable of interest. We test six ways of aggregating Wildfire Hazard Potential using 1-, 10-, and 100-mile (1.6, 16, and 160 km) radii buffers with linear and logistic specifications for hazard potential. Results show the log of Wildfire Hazard Potential is the best fit for modeling wildfire hazard concerns. Respondents in the western United States have a higher baseline level of concern but are not necessarily more sensitive to the hazard spectrum compared to respondents in the north. Respondents in the southern United States have a lower sensitivity to the hazard spectrum compared to respondents in the north and west. Using predicted probabilities at the means, we also compute regional prevalence ratios to compare the impact of biophysical wildfire hazard to the relative impact of other important variables. Various property and owner characteristics not related to biophysical hazard potential, such as emotion, receiving information about wildfire, and the presence of a house on the property are determinants of wildfire concern in some, but not all regions of the United States.

Expanding Family Forest Owner Options to Keep Their Land in Forest Use

Journal of Forestry | 2022

By Paul Catanzaro and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvab052

Family forest owners (FFOs) own the majority of US forests and 47% of forests in the Northeast. Over 90% of northeastern FFOs want their land to stay wooded. Maintaining forest-based ecosystem services necessitates finding ways to help FFOs achieve goals for keeping their land undeveloped. Conservation easements (CEs) prohibit residential and commercial development, typically in perpetuity, but are currently underused. Understanding what drives CE interest may help maximize their potential as a conservation tool. We explored northeastern FFOs’ likelihood of CE adoption through contingent behavior responses to permanent and temporary CE scenarios. For each commitment length, we tested a range of financial compensation amounts and FFO characteristics. Increased financial compensation did not increase CE adoption likelihood for either commitment length, whereas attitudinal variables strongly influenced intention for both. Respondents did not appear to prefer temporary to permanent easements but were equally likely to consider adoption, suggesting that providing both tools may be in order. Providing FFOs with more options to keep their land in forest use, especially when there is currently high interest in this goal but low participation, has the potential to attract new and different segments of FFOs, thereby sustaining the essential ecosystem services derived from forests.

The Efficacy of Habitat Conservation Assistance Programs for Family Forest Owners in Vermont

2021

By Margaret Harrington

DOI: 10.7275/24418964.0

The future of Vermont’s 1.8 million hectares (4.5 million acres) of forest habitat will be largely determined by the decisions of family forest owners, who collectively own 60% of the state’s forested land. To promote management for wildlife habitat, government agencies and non-governmental partnerships provide technical and financial support to family forest owners in the form of conservation assistance programs. In Chapter 1, I qualitatively compared the efficacy of two types of conservation assistance programs available in Vermont: traditional programs offered through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and a simplified, accelerated program offered through a non-governmental partnership called Woods, Wildlife, and Warblers. By conducting interviews with 20 Vermont family forest owners, I identified common motivation and barrier themes and compared these themes across programs using the Transtheoretical Model’s Stages of Change. Most motivations and barriers were described by landowners across all Stages of Change, but two motivations (professional recommendations and straightforward applications) and one barrier (independent forest management values) varied by either Stage of Change, program type, or both. I used the findings from the interviews to develop a mail survey, which was used to quantify patterns regarding motivations and barriers towards three habitat conservation actions: 1) arranging for a forestry professional to walk the land, 2) applying for cost-share funds, and 3) making a patch cut. The results from this survey, which was sent to 2,122 randomly selected Vermont family forest owners and had a cooperation rate of 38%, are presented in Chapter 2. Using logistic regression models, I identified multiple significant motivations or barriers for each of the three actions. Additionally, I used contingency tables to compare respondents’ levels of agreement for these motivations and barriers – as well as their level of trust for various information sources – with their Stage of Change. Overall, levels of agreement varied significantly across one or more Stages of Change for all motivations and barriers, and trustworthiness varied for 13 out of 14 information sources. Across both chapters, I provide recommendations to increase program efficacy with an emphasis on program attributes and tailored messaging.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Relationships Between Size of Family Forest Holdings and Landowner Attitudes and Behaviors

Journal of Forestry | 2021

By Brett Butler, Jesse Caputo, Amanda Robillard, Emma Sass, and Chris Sutherland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvaa045

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An estimated 10 million families, individuals, trusts, and estates own 39 percent of the forestland in the United States, excluding interior Alaska. Using segmented regression, the relationships between size of forest holdings and the attitudes and behaviors of these family forest ownerships were tested using data from the 2018 iteration of the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey. All 16 variables tested have significant relationships with size of forest holdings, and 13 have one or more breakpoints, ranging from 40 to 5,854 ac, where the relationships between the variables change. Timber as a reason for owning, timber harvesting activities, management plan, advice received, land certified, tax program participation, cost share, recreation, land tenure, recreation, taxes and heirs as concerns, land transfer, and income from forestland have positive relationships with size of forest holdings; resident ownership has a negative relationship; and wildlife as a reason for owning and owner age have mixed relationships.

Economic Contributions from Conserved Forests: Four Case Studies of the USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program

Forest Science | 2021

By Helena Murray, Paul Catanzaro, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett Butler, Henry Eichman

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvaa045

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Privately-owned forests provide important environmental, economic, and cultural benefits to the general public. Resulting impacts from landownership changes and conversion of working forests to other land uses threaten these benefits. The USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program (FLP) permanently protects threatened private forests that are of environmental, cultural, and economic importance to the greater public while keeping land ownership and forest management at the private or local level. FLP provides grants to state agencies to purchase conservation easements on private forestlands or, less frequently, acquisition by public agencies. We employed IMPLAN’s input-output model of the 2016 economy to estimate how land protected by FLP in four regions of the United States contributes to the economy. FLP land adds tens of millions of dollars of value annually and supports thousands of jobs in the four study areas and, due to the permanent protection of these lands, they will continue to do so in perpetuity. Nonfederal partners contributed 34%–60% of total project costs, highlighting the importance of land conservation to multiple stakeholders and the ability to leverage federal resources. The permanent nature of FLP protection provides long-term security for the economic and cultural benefits these lands provide.

Dynamics of Large Corporate Forestland Ownerships in the United States

Journal of Forestry | 2021

By Emma Sass, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett Butler, Jesse Caputo, Andrew Hartsell, Emily Huff, Amanda Robillard

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvab013

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Ownership of forestland in the United States has changed in recent decades, including the proliferation of timber investment management organizations (TIMOs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs), with the potential to alter forest management and timber supply. This article quantifies forest ownership transitions among ownership categories between 2007 and 2017 and investigates how and why large corporate ownerships own and manage their forestlands. Ownership transitions were determined from refined USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis data; we also conducted a survey of large corporate forestland ownerships. Corporate forestland acreage increased between 2007 and 2017, while family and public forestland decreased. Large corporate landowners report multidimensional, financially focused land management, although industry, timber investment management organizations, real estate investment trusts, and other owners report some different motivations and income streams. This work provides a baseline to track future ownership transitions and the behaviors of large corporate forestland owners.

Economic Contributions of Conserved Forestlands: The role of the USDA Forest Service’s Legacy and Forest Stewardship Programs

Forest Science | 2021

By Helena Murray, Paul Catanzaro, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett Butler, and Henry Eichman

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxab039

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Privately-owned forests provide important environmental, economic, and cultural benefits to the general public. Resulting impacts from landownership changes and conversion of working forests to other land uses threaten these benefits. The USDA Forest Service Forest Legacy Program (FLP) permanently protects threatened private forests that are of environmental, cultural, and economic importance to the greater public while keeping land ownership and forest management at the private or local level. FLP provides grants to state agencies to purchase conservation easements on private forestlands or, less frequently, acquisition by public agencies. We employed IMPLAN’s input-output model of the 2016 economy to estimate how land protected by FLP in four regions of the United States contributes to the economy. FLP land adds tens of millions of dollars of value annually and supports thousands of jobs in the four study areas and, due to the permanent protection of these lands, they will continue to do so in perpetuity. Nonfederal partners contributed 34%–60% of total project costs, highlighting the importance of land conservation to multiple stakeholders and the ability to leverage federal resources. The permanent nature of FLP protection provides long-term security for the economic and cultural benefits these lands provide.

Understanding Invasive Plant Management on Family Forestlands: An Application of Protection Motivation Theory

Journal of Environmental Management | 2021

By Mysha Clarke, Zhao Ma, Stephanie A. Snyder, and Erin P. Hennes

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112161

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Invasive forest plants are a growing concern because of their perceived and actual negative ecological, economic, and social impacts. To effectively manage invasive plants in forest ecosystems, it is paramount to understand the management decisions made by family forest owners (FFOs), who collectively own 36% of forestlands in the United States. We contribute to the growing literature on invasive plant management and the factors that influence FFOs’ likelihood to manage invasive plants on their property by incorporating protection motivation theory (PMT; Rogers 1975). Protection Motivation Theory argues that the degree to which individuals protect themselves from a perceived threat varies as a function of the perceived severity of the threat, their vulnerability to the threat, their perceptions of selfefficacy to effectively mitigate the threat, and the degree to which they believe they have access to the resources needed to effectively respond to the threat. We surveyed a random sample of 2,600 FFOs in Indiana about their knowledge, perceptions, experience, and plans regarding invasive plants on their wooded lands. Consistent with PMT, we constructed a hierarchical binary logistic model and found that FFOs reported greater intentions to manage invasive plants when they perceived the problem to be more severe and also when they felt a stronger sense of self-efficacy to address the problem. Although perceived vulnerability was not significant in our final model, our results also show that FFOs who had previous invasive plant management experience, had a Bachelor’s degree or higher level of education, owned woodlands for recreational purposes, and were more subject to normative social influence also tended to report greater intentions to manage invasive plants. Together, these results suggest that components of PMT (perceived severity and self-efficacy) may be used to inform potential strategies, programs, and outreach for engaging family forest owners in invasive plant management.

Weighting for the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey

General Technical Report NRS-198 | 2021

By Brett J. Butler and Jesse Caputo

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-198

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) collects information on the attitudes, behaviors, and general characteristics of private forest ownerships across the United States. An area-based sample design that results in inclusion probabilities proportional to size of forest holdings is used to select ownerships to participate in the survey. In order to make accurate population-level estimates, this sample design must be incorporated into the estimators. In this report, a weighting approach for generating estimates of totals, means, proportions, and quartiles from NWOS data in terms of ownerships and acreages is presented, along with a bootstrapping approach for estimation of the associated variances. In addition to presenting a theoretical justification for the approach, the estimators are validated using data from a fully enumerated population. An R package for implementing the estimators is available on GitHub (https://github.com/familyforestresearchcenter/nwos).

Family Forest Ownerships of the United States, 2018: Results from the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey

General Technical Report NRS-199 | 2021

By Brett J. Butler, Sarah M. Butler, Jesse Caputo, Jacqueline Dias, Amanda Robillard, and Emma M. Sass

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-198

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The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) is conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program, to collect information on the attitudes, behaviors, and other characteristics of America’s private forest ownerships. This report provides documentation and results from the 2017-2018 iteration of the NWOS, which is referenced by the terminal year, 2018. The particular focus of the results in this report is family forest ownerships with 10+ acres of forest land; other groups of forest ownerships will be the focus of separate reports. A brief history and background of the NWOS are provided along with a synopsis of the survey implementation and estimation procedures. Selected results are presented and full sets of summary tables, by geography and four domains of interest, are provided in the accompanying supplemental materials. The geographies include states, regions, and the nation with summary tables provided where minimum sample sizes were obtained. The domains of interest used in the supplemental summary tables are family forest ownerships with holding sizes of 1+, 10+, 100+, and 1,000+ acres of forest land. The report concludes with a discussion of data interpretation, data limitations, and how to compare results with previous iterations of the NWOS.
Appendix 1: Summary Tables
Appendix 2: Survey Instrument
Appendix 3: Mailing Materials
Appendix 4: Nonresponse Assessment Results

Applying Transtheoretical Model of Change to Legacy Planning Decisions

Small-scale Forestry | 2021

By Michael R. Quartuch, Shorna Broussard Allred, Ezra Markowitz, Paul Catanzaro, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-021-09476-7

Approximately 1.2 million family forest landowners (FFOs) manage nearly 37 million acres of forestland in five New England states. This means that efforts to sustain and conserve forests in the region are contingent upon short- and long-term management decisions of these owners. We applied the transtheoretical model of behavior change to understand which activities and behaviors FFOs have pursued in relation to forest legacy planning. We conducted a regional mail survey of 2500 FFOs across Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York. Findings indicate that the majority of FFOs are preparing for or are currently engaging in beginning-level legacy planning decisions while few are thinking about nor planning for more advanced-level decisions. Findings from three stepwise multiple regression models also provide support for predicting a substantive amount of variance in FFOs’ decisions to engage in beginning-level and conservation-oriented planning decisions.

Expanding Family Forest Owner Options to Keep Their Land in Forest Use

Journal of Forestry | 2021

By Paul Catanzaro and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvab052

Family forest owners (FFOs) own the majority of US forests and 47% of forests in the Northeast. Over 90% of northeastern FFOs want their land to stay wooded. Maintaining forest-based ecosystem services necessitates finding ways to help FFOs achieve goals for keeping their land undeveloped. Conservation easements (CEs) prohibit residential and commercial development, typically in perpetuity, but are currently underused. Understanding what drives CE interest may help maximize their potential as a conservation tool. We explored northeastern FFOs’ likelihood of CE adoption through contingent behavior responses to permanent and temporary CE scenarios. For each commitment length, we tested a range of financial compensation amounts and FFO characteristics. Increased financial compensation did not increase CE adoption likelihood for either commitment length, whereas attitudinal variables strongly influenced intention for both. Respondents did not appear to prefer temporary to permanent easements but were equally likely to consider adoption, suggesting that providing both tools may be in order. Providing FFOs with more options to keep their land in forest use, especially when there is currently high interest in this goal but low participation, has the potential to attract new and different segments of FFOs, thereby sustaining the essential ecosystem services derived from forests.

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand Family Forest Owners’ Intended Responses to Invasive Forest Insects

Society & Natural Resources | 2021

By Jonathan R. Holt, Brett J. Butler, Mark E. Borsuk, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Meghan Graham MacLean, and Jonathan R. Thompson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2021.1924330

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Private landowner participation in management initiatives can be encouraged by interventions, which must resonate with the underlying subjective motivations of the landowners. In this study, we use the Theory of Planned Behavior to gauge the relative influences of (1) attitudes; (2) subjective norms; and (3) perceived behavioral control on landowner intentions to harvest trees threatened by invasive insects. We use a survey (n=696) to estimate the effects of these latent factors among family forest owners in New England. Our results suggest that, overall, normative pressures are the dominant influence on landowners’ harvest intentions. However, for certain subgroups, such as those with especially high levels of knowledge and experience with forest insects, or those with forestry experience, attitudes are dominant. Perceived behavioral control was not revealed to be dominant among any of our subgroups. These findings can be used to inform landowner interventions that are differentiated by landowner type.

Factors Influencing Family Forest Owners’ Interest in Community-led Collective Invasive Plant Management

Environmental Management | 2021

By Mysha Clarke, Zhao Ma, Stephanie A. Snyder, and Kristin Floress

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01454-1

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Effective invasive plant management requires collective action. However, little is known about what motivates individuals to work collectively. We conducted a mail survey of 2,600 randomly selected family forest owners in Indiana, USA to examine factors associated with community-led collective action. Specifically, we examined the role of perceived self-efficacy, perceived collective efficacy, concerns about invasive plants, and social norms associated with invasive plant management in shaping family forest owners’ self-reported likelihood to work with their neighbors to remove invasive plants. We found that past experience talking to others or working with neighbors to remove invasive plants were important predictors of landowners’ intention to work collectively, as were perceived self-efficacy in their own ability to manage invasive plants, perceived need for collective action, social norms, and concerns about invasive plants on neighboring or nearby properties. However, most socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education level, income) and land ownership characteristics (e.g., residence status, having a written forest management plan) were not statisically significant predictors of family forest owners’ likelihood to work with their neighbors. Our findings suggest that building individual sense of competence, facilitating neighbor interactions, and strengthening shared concerns may facilitate community-led collective action to manage invasive plants.

Our Changing New England Forests

New England Society of American Foresters News Quarterly | 2021

By Christopher W. Woodall, Randall S. Morin, Jesse Caputo, and Rachel Riemann

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New England Family Forest Owners – Results from the National Woodland Owner Survey

New England Society of American Foresters News Quarterly | 2021

By Emma Sass, Brett Butler, and Jesse Caputo

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Small-Area Estimation for the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey: Creating a Fine-Scale Land Cover and Ownership Layer to Support County-Level Population Estimates

Frontiers in Forests and Global Change | 2021

By Vance Harris, Jesse Caputo, Andrew Finley, Brett J. Butler, Forrest Bowlick, and Paul Catanzaro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.745840

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Small area estimation is a powerful modeling technique in which ancillary data can be utilized to “borrow” additional information, effectively increasing sample sizes in small spatial, temporal, or categorical domains. Though more commonly applied to biophysical variables within the study of forest inventory analyses, small area estimation can also be implemented in the context of understanding social values, behaviors, and trends among types of forest landowners within small domains. Here, we demonstrate a method for deriving a continuous fine-scale land cover and ownership layer for the state of Delaware, United States, and an application of that ancillary layer to facilitate small-area estimation of several variables from the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey. Utilizing a proprietary parcel layer alongside the National Land Cover Database, we constructed a continuous layer with 10-meter resolution depicting land cover and land ownership classes. We found that the National Woodland Owner Survey state-level estimations of total acreage and total ownerships by ownership class were generally within one standard error of the population values calculated from the raster layer, which supported the direct calculation of several population-level summary variables at the county levels. Subsequently, we compare design-based and modelbased methods of predicting commercial harvesting by family forest ownerships in Delaware in which forest ownership acreage, taken from the parcel map, was utilized to inform the model-based approach. Results show general agreement between the two modes, indicating that a small area estimation approach can be utilized successfully in this context and shows promise for other variables, especially if additional variables, e.g., United States Census Bureau data, are also incorporated.

Family Forest Owner Management Decisions for Participants Enrolled in a Forest Property Taxation Program in Michigan

Forests | 2021

By Benjamin Schram, Karen Potter-Witter, Emily Huff, and Jagdish Poudel

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f12010035

Family forest owners affect the ecosystem services that forests provide and, thus, their management decisions are of interest to the forestry sector. There are many programs available to help family forest owners reduce the management costs, some of which involve a reduced tax burden in exchange for active management. Research Highlights: this study is the first to examine the family forest owners enrolled in a statewide forest property taxation program in Michigan in order to understand how parcel characteristics affect management decisions. Background and Objectives: the goal is to understand the relationships between parcel characteristics and family forest owner management decisions for these program enrollees. Materials and Methods: a dataset of enrollment information was compiled and cleaned, which resulted in 20,915 unique forest stands in the state. Key variables analyzed via multinomial regression include stand condition, size, density, forest types, and forest practices. Results: region, forest type, and stand size significantly predicted forest practices. Conclusions: given that stand and parcel characteristics significantly predict forest practice, it may be useful to use these data, rather than self-reported management data from the owners themselves in order to understand future management trajectories of private forests. These data also describe forest practices of enrollees in a tax program, demonstrating that the program is successfully incentivizing management and shedding light on how these programs can promote conservation and stewardship of private forests.

Northeastern Family Forest Owner Gender Differences in Land-based Estate planning and the Role of Self-Efficacy

Journal of Forestry | 2020

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, Rebekah Zimmerer, David Kittredge, Ezra Markowitz, and Daniel A Chapman

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvz058

Understanding family forest owner (FFO) estate planning decisionmaking is fundamental to ensuring the survival of landscapes that provide many public goods, but little is known about how land-based estate planning differs by gender. Analyses of a survey of FFOs in northeastern United States indicated that female FFOs rate themselves with lower levels of land-based estate planning self-efficacy—being less prepared, confident, and financially able to move forward with planning the future of their land than males. Of the FFOs who had positive levels of land-based estate planning self-efficacy, females were more likely to want to keep their land undeveloped than males. Our research suggests that increasing land-based estate planning self-efficacy of female FFOs may lead to higher rates of keeping land undeveloped for regions with FFOs similar to those of the northeast. We recommend ways in which foresters and programs could play an important role in increasing land-based estate planning self-efficacy.

Relationships between Absenteeism, Conservation Group Membership, and Land Management among Family Forest Owners

Land Use Policy | 2020

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Zhao Ma, Kristin Floress, and Mysha Clarke

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104407

Changes in Land Use, Forest Ownership, Parcel Size, and Fragmentation in Forests in the U.S.

USDA Forest Service Research Paper | 2020

By Jesse Caputo, Brett Butler, Thomas Brandeis, and Kurt Riitters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.09.015

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Using U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, we examined changes in land use, ownership, parcel size, and parcel level in the U.S. South. Over a nominal 10-year period (2001 to 2011), 93.8 percent of the acreage did not change land use. Forest was the most common type and there was a small net gain of forested acreage. Of the forested acreage, 85.4 percent did not change ownership type. Families were the most common ownership type, and there was a small net loss of family-owned lands—primarily to corporate ownerships. Of family-owned forest acreage, 7.6 percent consisted of parcels that reduced in size by more than 100 acres, and 17.5 percent consisted of parcels that decreased in forest area density (i.e., became more fragmented). Increases in forest area density were more prevalent than fragmentation. In all States other than Arkansas, family forest acreage became on average more parcellated and less fragmented.

Forest Ownership in the Conterminous United States, 2018: Geospatial Dataset

US Forest Service Research Data Archive | 2020

By Emma M. Sass, Brett J. Butler, and Marla A. Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2020-0044

This geospatial dataset depicts ownership patterns of forest land across the conterminous United States. Eight ownership categories are modeled, including three public ownerships: federal, state, and local; four private categories: family, corporate, Timber Investment Management Organization (TIMO) and Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), and other private (including conservation organizations and unincorporated associations); and Native American tribal land. The data are modeled from Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) points from 2012-2017 and the most up-to-date publicly available boundaries of federal, state, and tribal lands.

Examining Loggers’ Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Invasive Forest Plants: A Minnesota Case Study

Journal of Sustainable Forestry | 2020

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Charles R. Blinn, Rachel R. Peterson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2020.1764370

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Logging activities and its associated infrastructure are potential pathways for invasive forest plants, yet little is known about logger activities regarding invasive plants during logging operations. Logging business owners in Minnesota, USA were surveyed about invasive forest plants as a case study to learn about their awareness, interactions with landowners and land managers, actions to control the spread of invasives, perceived business impacts, and information needs. Fifty-one percent of respondents indicated they were either somewhat or very knowledgeable about invasive forest plants in the state, although most were not confident they could correctly identify various plants in the field. Approximately half of the respondents reported voluntarily undertaking activities to prevent the introduction or limit the spread of invasive plants. An association was found between voluntary and contractual invasive plant control activities. While 2% had developed invasive plant treatment expertise as an additional business offering, 51% expressed interest in doing so. Almost 90% were concerned that if additional invasive plant best management practices (BMPs) were to be developed, business impacts would be moderate to large. On their timber sales in the past year, respondents reported that 68% of landowners and 47% of land managers did not discuss invasive plants with them.

Minority Family Forest Owners in the United States

Journal of Forestry | 2020

By Sarah Butler, John Schelhas, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvz060

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Family forest owners own more forestland in the United States than any other group. There have been no national studies of racial and ethnic minority family forest owners in the United States, in spite of increasing attention to diversity in forestry. Using the US Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey data, we sought to better understand minority owners by looking at their characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors. Of the over 4 million family forest ownerships with 10+ ac in the United States, minorities comprise 6.6 percent of the ownerships and own 5.1 percent of the 265 million ac. Although many similarities exist between minority and nonminority owners, such as reasons for owning land and concerns, minority landowners tend to be more regionally located, have smaller forest holdings, are less likely to manage their forests, and are less likely to have participated in assistance programs. Broad insight into the attitudes and behaviors of minority family forest owners can help policymakers, program directors, and outreach coordinators begin to understand the needs of minority landowners, providing this historically underserved group with tools they need to attain their forest management and land-use goals. By increasing minority landowner engagement, we can hopefully slow the loss of land by minority landowners.

Transformations Towards a New Era in Small Scale Forestry: Introduction to the Small-Scale Forestry Special Issue

Small-scale Forestry | 2020

By Teppo Hujala and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-020-09449-2

Potential Impacts of Insect-Induced Harvest in the Mixed Forests of New England

Forests | 2020

By Meghan Graham MacLean, Jonathan Holt, Mark Borsuk, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett J. Butler, David B. Kittredge, Matthew J. Duveneck, Danelle Laflower, David A. Orwig, David R. Foster, and Jonathan R. Thompson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f11050498

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Forest insects and pathogens have significant impacts on U.S. forests, annually affecting an area nearly three times that of wildfires and timber harvesting combined. However, coupled with these direct effects of forest insects and pathogens are the indirect impacts through influencing forest management practices, such as harvesting. In an earlier study, we surveyed private woodland owners in the northeastern U.S. and 84% of respondents indicated they intended to harvest in at least one of the presented insect invasion scenarios. This harvest response to insects represents a potentially significant shift in the timing, extent, and species selection of harvesting. Here we used the results from the landowner survey, regional forest inventory data, and characteristics of the emerald ash borer (Species: Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888) invasion to examine the potential for a rapidly spreading invasive insect to alter harvest regimes and affect regional forest conditions. Our analysis suggests that 25% of the woodland parcels in the Connecticut River Watershed in New England may intend to harvest in response to emerald ash borer. If the emerald ash borer continues to spread at its current rate within the region, and therefore the associated management response occurs in the next decade, this could result in an increase in harvest frequencies, from 2.6% year^-1 (historically) to 3.7% year^-1 through to approximately 2030. If harvest intensities remain at levels found in remeasured Forest Inventory and Analysis plots, this insect-initiated harvesting would result in the removal of 12%–13% of the total aboveground biomass. Eighty-one percent of the removed biomass would be from species other than ash, creating a forest disturbance that is over twice the magnitude than that created by emerald ash borer alone, with the most valuable co-occurring species most vulnerable to biomass loss.

Changes in Land Use, Forest Ownership, Parcel Size, and Fragmentation in Forests of the US South

USDA Research Paper | 2020

By Jesse Caputo, Brett Butler, Thomas Brandeis, and Kurt Riitters

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Using U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, we examined changes in land use, ownership, parcel size, and parcel level in the U.S. South. Over a nominal 10-year period (2001 to 2011), 93.8 percent of the acreage did not change land use. Forest was the most common type and there was a small net gain of forested acreage. Of the forested acreage, 85.4 percent did not change ownership type. Families were the most common ownership type, and there was a small net loss of family-owned lands—primarily to corporate ownerships. Of family-owned forest acreage, 7.6 percent consisted of parcels that reduced in size by more than 100 acres, and 17.5 percent consisted of parcels that decreased in forest area density (i.e., became more fragmented). Increases in forest area density were more prevalent than fragmentation. In all States other than Arkansas, family forest acreage became on average more parcellated and less fragmented.

Compounding the Disturbance: Family Forest Owner Reactions to Invasive Forest Insects

Ecological Economics | 2020

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Mark E. Borsuk, Brett J. Butler, Matthew J. Duveneck, Jonathan Holt, David B. Kittredge, Danelle Laflower, Meghan Graham MacLean, David Orwig, and Jonathan R. Thompson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106461

Invasive forest insect and pathogens (FIP) are having significant, direct, adverse impacts. Interactions between FIPs and forest owners have the potential to create ecosystem impacts that compound direct impacts. We assessed family forest owners’ responses to numerous contingent behavior, FIP-outbreak scenarios in the northeastern USA based on FIP outbreak attributes. The survey was divided into four versions and each respondent was given four hypothetical scenarios and asked to gauge their certainty of each response. Sixty-eight percent of the hypothetical scenario responses (n = 2752) indicated an intent to harvest as a result of FIPs, and 49% indicated this intent with certainty. Eighty-four percent of respondents (n = 688) would consider harvesting for at least one of the four hypothetical scenarios presented, and 67% of respondents were certain of their intent to harvest for at least one of the four hypothetical scenarios. Harvest intention increased with greater FIP-related tree mortality and decreased with delayed total tree mortality. Owners with larger holdings, who had previously harvested forest products, and live on their forestland had greater intentions to harvest in response to FIPs. Results suggest that FIPs could transform the regional harvest regime with socio-ecological impacts that are distinct from those caused by FIPs or harvesting alone.

NWOS: An R Package for Working with USDA Forest Service, NWOS data V 1.0

Github | 2019

By Brett Butler and Jesse Caputo

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Landowner Functional Types to Characterize Response to Invasive Forest Insects

People and Nature | 2019

By Jonathan R. Holt, Mark E. Borsuk, Brett J. Butler, David B. Kittredge, Danelle Laflower, Meghan G. MacLean, Marla Markowski‐Lindsay, David Orwig, and Jonathan R. Thompson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10065

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Invasive forest insects can induce tree mortality in two ways: (a) by directly harming trees; or (b) by influencing forest owners to pre-emptively harvest threatened trees. This study investigates forest owners’ intentions to harvest trees threatened by invasive insects. Our first objective is to identify and characterize agent functional types (AFTs) of family forest owners in the northeastern United States using a set of contingent behaviour questions contained in a mail survey. We establish AFTs as a form of dimension reduction, effectively casting landowners into a typology in which each type (AFT) has distinct probabilities of tree harvesting in response to forest insects. Our analysis identifies three functional types of landowners: ‘Cutters’ (46% of respondents; high intent to harvest trees impacted by invasive forest insects), ‘Responsive Cutters’ (42% of respondents; intent sensitive to insect impact severity), and ‘Non-cutters’ (12% of respondents; low intent to cut). Our second objective is to model AFT membership to predict the distribution of AFTs across the landscape. Predictors are chosen from a set of survey, geographic and demographic features. Our best AFT-prediction model has three predictor variables: parcel size (hectares of forest), geographical region, and town-level forested fraction. Application of the model provides a high-resolution probability distribution of AFTs across the landscape. By coupling human and insect behaviour, our results allow for holistic assessments of how invasive forest insects disturb forests, inclusive of the management response to these pests.

Where Farm and Forest Meet: Comparing National Woodland Owner Survey Respondents with and without Farmland.

Land Use Policy | 2019

By Emily S. Huff, Kristin Floress, Stephanie A. Snyder, Zhao Ma, and Sarah Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.05.026

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Much is known about the characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors of U.S. family forest owners and agricultural landowners independently. However, little is known about those who own both woodland and farmland. To address this knowledge gap, we analyze National Woodland Owner Survey data to better understand similarities and differences between family forest owners who also own farmland, and those who do not. We found that, in general, farmland and woodland owners (FWOs) are very similar to woodland-only family forest landowners (FFOs) in terms of ownership objectives, attitudes and forest management activities. However, FWOs are less likely to have under 40 acres (16.2 ha) of forestland, more likely to live on their wooded land, and more likely to own their woodlands as a place to raise their family than woodland-only FFOs. While there is potential for dual forms of outreach, technical and financial assistance, and peer networks as both an agricultural landowner and a forest landowner, forest management behaviors of FWOs do not significantly differ from that of woodland-only FFOs. Professionals from agricultural or forestry extension, soil and water conservation organizations, and others responsible for delivering both agricultural and forestry programs and policy tools could explore opportunities to connect FWOs to both types of landowner programs that can assist them with forest management.

Female Family Forest Owners in New England: Ownership & Management Trends

New England Society of American Foresters News Quarterly | 2019

By Amanda Robillard, Emma Sass, Jacqueline Dias, and Brett Butler

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A Comparison of Participants and Non-participants of State Forest Property Tax Programs in the United States

Forest Policy and Economics | 2019

By Justin T. Meier, Michael A. Kilgore, Gregory E. Frey, Stephanie A. Snyder, and Charles R. Blinn

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2019.02.002

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Information collected by the National Woodland Owner Survey, supplemented with state forest property tax program, land use, and socio-economic data, was used to develop a national characterization of participants enrolled in state forest property tax programs and their forest land. Family forest owners who owned a single parcel of forest land, were at least slightly familiar with their state’s property tax program, and whose forest land qualified to participate in their state’s program were included in the analysis. Landowner and parcel characteristics were organized into eight categories hypothesized to distinguish participants and non-participants. The analysis found that enrolled lands are larger, more likely found in predominantly forested landscapes, more actively managed, and less likely used for hunting than non-enrolled forest land. While enrollment in a state forest property tax program is positively associated with higher population density, no correlation was found between enrollment tendency and land development pressure, as defined in this analysis. The owners of enrolled forest lands generally report higher household incomes than their non-enrolled counterparts. However, owners whose forest land is enrolled in a forest property tax program do not express greater concern about the level of property tax levied on their forest land, and are no less likely to divest their land than non-enrollees. The information generated from this study may help state forest property tax program administrators and public policy makers improve the ability of these programs to achieve their intended objectives, such as incentivizing the production of timber, other ecosystem goods and services, and forest land protection, through more effective marketing and targeting efforts.

What are Family Forest Owners Thinking and Doing about Invasive Plants?

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2019

By Mysha Clarke, Zhao Ma, Stephanie Snyder, and Kristin Floress

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.10.024

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Effectively managing invasive plants across forested landscapes requires voluntary control by 10.7 million family forest owners (FFOs) who own 36% of forestlands in the USA. The literature on individual and collective invasive plant management has focused on farmers, ranchers, urban gardeners and community residents, with less attention on forestlands and the role of FFOs. By analyzing survey data from 1422 FFOs in Indiana, USA, we provide a thorough assessment of their awareness, perceptions, behaviors and intentions towards invasive plants; as well as their needs and challenges. In our study, FFOs reported moderate familiarity with, concern about, and interest in invasive plant control on and around their properties. Despite a lack of confidence in their ability to manage invasive plants, FFOs reported having taken actions on the ground, including inspecting their woodlands, talking to their families and other landowners, and removing invasive plants, all without much input from natural resource professionals. Most FFOs relied on self-directed learning and social networks for invasive plant-related information and advice. They generally had little or no experience or interest in interacting with natural resource professionals. This suggests a need for natural resource professionals to refocus their efforts on developing communication strategies to target specific segments of FFOs, stronger online presence to facilitate self-directed learning, and partnerships with non-profit organizations trusted by FFOs to encourage self-organization and sharing of information and resources. These results from Indiana provide important insights for engaging FFOs to manage invasive plants more broadly.

Longitudinal data on family forest owners: The US Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2019

By Emily S. Huff, Brett J. Butler, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, and Jaketon H. Hewes

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.03.007

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Although a rich history of scholarship exists on the attitudes, past behaviors, and behavioral intentions of family forest owners, little is known about how these social factors change over time. Furthermore, linking behavioral intentions with actual behaviors of family forest owners will require a longitudinal design that re-measures behaviors of the same respondents over time to match with earlier surveys of intention to behavior. Previous attempts to measure behavioral and attitudinal change over time have been largely opportunistic and have not followed a true longitudinal study design. Additionally, previous attempts to measure change in family forest owner behavior have been limited in geographic scope. This research note briefly describes data management considerations for analyzing the U.S. Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) longitudinally for the past three iterations of the survey and describes the potential changes in family forest ownership to demonstrate the approach. Forty-one percent of commonly-sampled points remained in the same ownership type between the first two survey iterations, and interesting shifts in ownership type were observed. For example, 30% of resampled locations changed ownership between the two survey iterations. As the NWOS continues to be implemented, the value of this longitudinal dataset will continue increasing, even as respondents are lost to follow-up, or as land changes hands.

Public Perceptions of County, State, and National Forest Management in Wisconsin, USA

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2019

By Kristin Floress, Melinda Vokoun, Emily Silver Huff, and Melissa Baker

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2019.04.008

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Attitudes toward public forest management actions can be sources of conflict among and between public stakeholders and managers. Understanding these forest stakeholders can help managers engage in planning processes more effectively. Residents of fifteen counties in Wisconsin were surveyed in summer 2013 to understand how management attitudes impacted respondents’ acceptance of management at three levels of publicly managed forest: county, state, and national. Results from regression models reveal that similar attitudes consistently impacted stakeholders’ acceptance of fire, timber, wildlife, and recreation management for county and state forests, but only the timber and wildlife management models were significant for the national forest. Forest managers can use these results to understand public perceptions of forest management, identify opportunities for outreach to stakeholders, and for alternative or complementary methods of public involvement in planning. There is increasing social pressure on forest managers that arises from public perceptions and can directly influence U.S. forest policy. Policymakers and managers can use this attitudinal information as one method of public involvement and to develop additional engagement tools.

Assessing New England Family Forest Owners’ Invasive Insect Awareness

The Journal of Extension | 2019

By Jody Simoes, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett J. Butler, David B. Kittredge, Jonathan Thompson, and David Orwig

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Family forest owners in the United States have underscored the need for forest insect pest (FIP) information, and numerous Extension programs have been developed to meet pest information needs. We developed the Pest Awareness Index to illustrate the heterogeneity of familiarity, knowledge, and experience regarding three FIPs (hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borer, Asian long-horned beetle) in four New England states. Using mail survey data of family forest owners, we calculated an index from three components and provided comparisons based on region and actual insect presence. The differences in the index across these domains have implications for measurement and delivery of Extension programs.

Spatial analysis of family forest landownership in the southern United States

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2019

By Neelam C. Poudyal, Brett J. Butler, and Donald G. Hodges

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.10.018

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Family forest landowners in the United States have diverse ownership and management objectives. Assessing and monitoring regional patterns and trends in landowner motivations and management behavior may aid in understanding the conservation and economic implications of social change. This paper presents a regional analysis of family forest landowners in the southern United States by combining a GIS-based exploratory data analysis with spatially explicit information on landowner motivations and management behavior data obtained from the U.S. Forest Service National Woodland Owners Survey (NWOS). Results reveal that spatial autocorrelation was present in motivations reflecting tangible and pecuniary benefits (e.g. timber, investment, hunting), but not in motivations reflecting intangible and non-pecuniary benefits (e.g. privacy, beauty). Statistically significant clusters of landowners with similar motivations and management behaviors (i.e., hotspots/ coldspots) were identified using local indicators of spatial association and visualized in a series of maps to discuss their policy and management implications. The findings are useful in understanding regional variations as well as concentrations in landownership motivation, management activities, and will guide stakeholders in locating areas of interest for conservation planning, strategic marketing, and education and outreach.

Compounding the Disturbance: Family Forest Owner Reaction to Invasive Forest Insects

Ecological Economics | 2019

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Mark E. Borsuk, Brett J. Butler, Matthew J. Duveneck, Jonathan Holt, David B. Kittredge, Danelle Laflower, Meghan Graham MacLean, David Orwig, and Jonathan R. Thompson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106461

Invasive forest insect and pathogens (FIP) are having significant, direct, adverse impacts. Interactions between FIPs and forest owners have the potential to create ecosystem impacts that compound direct impacts. We assessed family forest owners’ responses to numerous contingent behavior, FIP-outbreak scenarios in the northeastern USA based on FIP outbreak attributes. The survey was divided into four versions and each respondent was given four hypothetical scenarios and asked to gauge their certainty of each response. Sixty-eight percent of the hypothetical scenario responses (n = 2752) indicated an intent to harvest as a result of FIPs, and 49% indicated this intent with certainty. Eighty-four percent of respondents (n = 688) would consider harvesting for at least one of the four hypothetical scenarios presented, and 67% of respondents were certain of their intent to harvest for at least one of the four hypothetical scenarios. Harvest intention increased with greater FIP-related tree mortality and decreased with delayed total tree mortality. Owners with larger holdings, who had previously harvested forest products, and live on their forestland had greater intentions to harvest in response to FIPs. Results suggest that FIPs could transform the regional harvest regime with socio-ecological impacts that are distinct from those caused by FIPs or harvesting alone.

Maple Syrup Producers of the Lake States, USA: Attitudes Towards and Adadptation to Social, Economic, & Climate Conditions

Environmental Management | 2019

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Michael A. Kilgore, Marla R. Emery, and Marissa Schmitz

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1121-7

Maple syrup is an important non-timber forest product derived from the sap of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall). However, maple syrup producers are facing a diversity of challenges, including: potential range shifts in the maple resource; increasing variability in the timing, duration and yield of sap flow and syrup operations; invasive species, pests and diseases; and intergenerational land and business transfer challenges. Members of Maple Syrup Producer Associations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan were surveyed to learn about their operations, adaptation strategies, concerns, and information needs. While many respondents indicated they have undertaken or plan to undertake adaptation activities, only 11% had done so out of specific concern over changing climate conditions. Climate-motivated activities included: being prepared to tap earlier and utilizing newer technology such as vacuum tubing or reverse osmosis to enhance sap collection and processing efficiency. Respondents were generally unlikely to consider planting climate-resilient maple cultivars or tapping trees other than sugar maple. They expressed the greatest concerns over tree health and forest pests, as well as their physical ability and family member interest to continue their operations. Boil season variability and weather issues were viewed with less concern. Respondents were generally optimistic that they can adapt to future conditions, likely in large measure through the adoption of new technologies, and they expect their syrup production levels to slightly increase in the future. If future climate scenarios play out, however, additional planning and adaptation strategies may be called for, particularly as they relate to forest health and productivity issues.

Small-Area Family Forest Ownerships in the USA

Small-scale Forestroy | 2019

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Brett J. Butler, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-018-9410-9

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Sixty percent of family forest ownerships in the United States of America (USA) own between 0.4 and 4.0 ha (1–9 ac). Yet, little is known about this segment of family forest ownerships because they are often excluded from data collection or analyses. We utilized national data for the USA collected through the National Woodland Owner Survey to examine small-area ownerships, as well as compare attributes of this ownership group to larger-area ownerships. Small-area ownerships are less active than ownerships of greater than 4.0 ha, but not inactive. Approximately 60% of small-area ownerships have undertaken at least one of the following activities in the previous 5 years: harvesting for personal use, treating invasive plants, reducing fire hazards, and reducing unwanted insects/diseases. While 74% of small-area ownerships rate wildlife habitat protection as an important ownership objective, only 11% have undertaken a wildlife habitat improvement project in the previous 5 years. Both small- and large- (> 4.0 ha) area ownership classes are most interested in the amenity aspects of woodland ownership, but small-area ownerships are significantly less interested in ownership for firewood, timber, recreation and hunting on their land than larger ownerships. Neither ownership class is very likely to have received professional advice about their forestland in the previous 5 years, but the percentage of small-area ownerships who have done so is half that of larger-area ownerships. Both area ownership classes want their forestland to remain forested in the future. Our findings suggest needs and opportunities to engage small-area forest landowners, but likely in different ways and on different topics than when dealing with larger-area ownerships.

Family-forest owner decisions, landscape context, and landscape change

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2019

By Kathleen P. Bell, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, and Jessica Leahy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.023

We examined broad-scale patterns in family forest owners’ decisions to use estate planning and conservation tools, and participate in preferential tax programs in eight forested landscapes of the United States. We focused our analyses on patterns across regions and states, and scrutinized the impacts of adding regional and state fixed effects to discrete choice models of owner behaviors. We used chi-square testing and binary discrete choice models to analyze mail-survey responses collected from landowners. Our exploratory research revealed distinct broad-scale patterns by owner decision, with the strongest evidence of state and regional variation in owner participation in preferential tax programs and some evidence of such variation in decisions to use wills and trusts. In contrast, we detected no such differences when examining decision-making about conservation easements across regions or states. Our findings in support of state and regional effects suggest forested landscape contexts beyond owner and parcel characteristics matter and could potentially drive differences in behaviors and forest outcomes. Measures of regional and state fixed effects can provide useful information about contextual differences across forested landscapes, such as differences in public programs and engagement aimed at owners. They can also inform the appropriateness of transferring insights across landscapes. Building on these findings, we share guidance for future data collection and research, including how improved monitoring and greater consideration of contextual factors beyond individual and ownership characteristics could enhance understanding of family forest owner decision-making and landscape change.

Family-forest Owner Decisions, Landscape Context, and Landscape Change

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2018

By Kathleen P. Bell, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, and Jessica Leahy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.023

We examined broad-scale patterns in family forest owners’ decisions to use estate planning and conservation tools, and participate in preferential tax programs in eight forested landscapes of the United States. We focused our analyses on patterns across regions and states, and scrutinized the impacts of adding regional and state fixed effects to discrete choice models of owner behaviors. We used chi-square testing and binary discrete choice models to analyze mail-survey responses collected from landowners. Our exploratory research revealed distinct broad-scale patterns by owner decision, with the strongest evidence of state and regional variation in owner participation in preferential tax programs and some evidence of such variation in decisions to use wills and trusts. In contrast, we detected no such differences when examining decision-making about conservation easements across regions or states. Our findings in support of state and regional effects suggest forested landscape contexts beyond owner and parcel characteristics matter and could potentially drive differences in behaviors and forest outcomes. Measures of regional and state fixed effects can provide useful information about contextual differences across forested landscapes, such as differences in public programs and engagement aimed at owners. They can also inform the appropriateness of transferring insights across landscapes. Building on these findings, we share guidance for future data collection and research, including how improved monitoring and greater consideration of contextual factors beyond individual and ownership characteristics could enhance understanding of family forest owner decision-making and landscape change.

Factors associated with family forest owner actions: A vote-count meta-analysis

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2018

By Kristin Floress, Emily S. Huff, Stephanie A. Snyder, Alanna Koshollek, Sarah Butler, and Shorna B. Allred

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.024

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amily forest owners in the United States have an important role in providing social and ecological benefits across landscapes. Thus, a detailed understanding of their land management behavior is critical to determine whether or not these benefits will be realized. In this paper, we report on a vote-count meta-analysis of peerreviewed quantitative studies in the U.S. to examine an array of forest landowner behaviors. We extend other reviews of this literature by including papers with any behavioral dependent variable, rather than only timber harvesting or land management behavior. We document the significance, direction, and frequency of independent variables examined with regard to 13 categories of behavior including participation in policy tools, cross-boundary cooperation, invasive species management, and wildlife management. Study-level characteristics are reported for the 128 published studies that met initial inclusion criteria for this analysis (quantitative studies within the U.S. modeling landowner behavior that were published between 2002 and 2016). Thirty-eight studies that statistically modeled landowner behavior were further analyzed. Studies examining intentions were excluded, as were qualitative explorations of landowner behavior. The most commonly studied behavior included in our analysis was participation in landowner incentive programs, and the least common was participation in cross-boundary cooperation. Among independent variables, owner characteristics and ownership objectives were most commonly included. Independent variables found to be significant across behaviors examined included: current/past landowner behaviors, knowledge, and parcel size/forested acres. Actions like crossboundary cooperation and landowner interactions have not been quantitatively modeled as often as other actions, and represent key areas for future research.

Characteristics of Successful Volunteer-led Urban Forest Tree Committees in Massachusetts

Urban Forestry and Urban Greening | 2018

By Richard W. Harper, Emily S. Huff, David V. Bloniarz, Stephen DeStefano, and Craig R. Nicolson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.07.006

Citizen engagement through urban forest tree committee volunteer service may aid in providing essential experience, ideas, and skills that support municipal tree management. Using semi-structured, research interviews with tree committee (TC) representatives from across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this study addresses current knowledge gaps concerning the general composition, processes, and relationships of volunteer-led urban forest tree committees. Our findings indicate that TC representatives are typically motivated, passionate volunteers who generally desire to work cooperatively with the many associations, organizations, and agencies that comprise the local socio-political landscape. Our findings also indicate it is important that TC representatives make a sustained, concerted effort to work collaboratively with their local tree warden to advance the care of their community’s urban trees. Furthermore, it is also essential that municipal managers and decision-makers attempt to provide TC volunteers with appropriate training opportunities, resources, as well as demonstrate appreciation, to further encourage and solidify volunteer-engagement in urban forestry at the local level.

Family-forest Owner Decisions, Landscape Context, and Landscape Change

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2018

By Kathleen P. Bell, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, and Jessica Leahy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.08.023

We examined broad-scale patterns in family forest owners’ decisions to use estate planning and conservation tools, and participate in preferential tax programs in eight forested landscapes of the United States. We focused our analyses on patterns across regions and states, and scrutinized the impacts of adding regional and state fixed effects to discrete choice models of owner behaviors. We used chi-square testing and binary discrete choice models to analyze mail-survey responses collected from landowners. Our exploratory research revealed distinct broad-scale patterns by owner decision, with the strongest evidence of state and regional variation in owner participation in preferential tax programs and some evidence of such variation in decisions to use wills and trusts. In contrast, we detected no such differences when examining decision-making about conservation easements across regions or states. Our findings in support of state and regional effects suggest forested landscape contexts beyond owner and parcel characteristics matter and could potentially drive differences in behaviors and forest outcomes. Measures of regional and state fixed effects can provide useful information about contextual differences across forested landscapes, such as differences in public programs and engagement aimed at owners. They can also inform the appropriateness of transferring insights across landscapes. Building on these findings, we share guidance for future data collection and research, including how improved monitoring and greater consideration of contextual factors beyond individual and ownership characteristics could enhance understanding of family forest owner decision-making and landscape change.

The Role of Gender in Management Behaviors on Family Forest Lands in the United States

Journal of Forestry | 2018

By Sarah M. Butler, Emily S. Huff, Stephanie A. Snyder, Brett J. Butler, and Mary Tyrrell

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.2016-076R2

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In the United States, 58% of the 11 million family forest ownerships with at least 10 acres of forestland have at least one female owner. Within the single-owner population of landowners, women are the sole owners of and primary decisionmakers for 31% of ownerships. Despite the number of female family forest owners (FFOs), little research has focused on whether land-use and land-management attitudes and behaviors differ between female and male FFOs. This research uses data from the 2013 iteration of the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey. Random forest analysis and regression techniques were used to understand what factors differentiate single-owner female and male FFOs and whether gender is a significant predictor of select land-use and land-management behaviors. Statistically significant differences between male and female landowners were found; female FFOs are more likely to have inherited land, particularly from a spouse, whereas male respondents were more likely to manage for wildlife, have a commercial timber harvest, and have undertaken management activities in the past 5 years. There are considerable similarities between the attitudes and behaviors of female and male owners, but the differences are important in understanding constraints and barriers and should be considered in the design of forestry programs and outreach.

Family Forest Landowners Who Engage in Non-market Activities on Their Land

Forest Policy and Economics | 2018

By M. Markowski-Lindsay et al.

In Forest and Intact: Designating Future Use of Family-Forest-Owned Land

Journal of Forestry | 2018

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, Kathleen Bell, David Kittredge, Ezra Markowitz, Jessica Leahy, Brett Butler, Anita Milman, and Shorna Allred

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvy015

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Much of the family-forest-owned land in the United States is expected to change hands as current ownerships grow older and pass on their holdings. To date, little research has been conducted on this ownership decision. Using mail survey data from the northeastern United States, we explore family-forest-owner (FFO) legacy planning. We summarized FFO interest in planning for the future use of their land. We found that nearly 50% of respondents believe that controlling future use of their land is important; and one-half to two-thirds of respondents are open to keeping most or all of their land forested and undivided. We investigated legacy priorities influencing FFO intentions and decisions to control use. FFO intentions to keep their land in forest use and intact have significant influence on designating future use. Further, FFOs have distinct legacy goals that significantly influence intention and behavior to designate future use of their land.

The influence of multiple ownership interests and decision-making networks on the management of family forest lands: evidence from the United States

Small-scale Forestry | 2018

By Stephanie A. Snyder and Michael A. Kilgore

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-017-9370-5

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A national assessment of how the number of parcel owners influence family forest land management and use decisions in the US was conducted using a subset of the US Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey Dataset. Seventy-two percent of single parcel family forest land ownership respondents of at least 4.05 ha had multiple owners. The extent to which past land management practices and future intentions for the land are influenced by the number of owners of an individual parcel was evaluated. We also examined how landowner decisionmaking networks are related to past practices and future intentions. Contrary to previous findings, our research suggests that having more than one owner does not necessarily reduce the likelihood that a variety of different forest management activities, including commercial timber harvesting or wildlife habitat improvement, will occur. Moreover, we found that one-owner forested parcels are less likely to have experienced activities like harvesting, invasive plant removal, fire hazard reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, and cost-share program participation than parcels with two or more than two owners. We also found that family member involvement in landowner decision-making has a minimal effect on past and planned land management actions, while the involvement of a forester or land manager in decision-making increases the likelihood many land management actions have been or will be undertaken.

Small-Area Family Forest Ownerships in the USA

Small-scale Forestry | 2018

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Brett J. Butler, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-018-9410-9

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Sixty percent of family forest ownerships in the United States of America (USA) own between 0.4 and 4.0 ha (1–9 ac). Yet, little is known about this segment of family forest ownerships because they are often excluded from data collection or analyses. We utilized national data for the USA collected through the National Woodland Owner Survey to examine small-area ownerships, as well as compare attributes of this ownership group to larger-area ownerships. Small-area ownerships are less active than ownerships of greater than 4.0 ha, but not inactive. Approximately 60% of small-area ownerships have undertaken at least one of the following activities in the previous 5 years: harvesting for personal use, treating invasive plants, reducing fire hazards, and reducing unwanted insects/diseases. While 74% of small-area ownerships rate wildlife habitat protection as an important ownership objective, only 11% have undertaken a wildlife habitat improvement project in the previous 5 years. Both small- and large- (> 4.0 ha) area ownership classes are most interested in the amenity aspects of woodland ownership, but small-area ownerships are significantly less interested in ownership for firewood, timber, recreation and hunting on their land than larger ownerships. Neither ownership class is very likely to have received professional advice about their forestland in the previous 5 years, but the percentage of small-area ownerships who have done so is half that of larger-area ownerships. Both area ownership classes want their forestland to remain forested in the future. Our findings suggest needs and opportunities to engage small-area forest landowners, but likely in different ways and on different topics than when dealing with larger-area ownerships.

A Community Forestry Model Linking Research, Management, Education, and Stakeholder Engagement: Case Study Results from the Town of Weston, Massachusetts, USA

Small-scale Forestry | 2018

By Aaron B. Lefland, Emily S. Huff, and Brian Donahue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-017-9382-1

Forested land in the eastern United States is owned by a complex mix of public and private owners, often with highly varied objectives and uses. There is an increasing trend at local scales of community forestry programs that use community-based decision making to determine what type of management will occur on town-owned forests. Within the suburban town of Weston, Massachusetts, this type of coordinated approach has been ongoing for nearly 4 decades. This article describes the integration of forest ecology and management research, including a forest inventory and long-term monitoring program, to educate townspeople about their forests, engage students in ecological research, and provide data that the town can use to make informed management decisions. This article presents a novel model for a research-based community forestry program, results from the first inventory and plot measurement period, and describes how other towns can use this type of program to supplement existing active forest management, or provide a baseline for future management. Results are applicable to municipalities that own forest land, as well as land trusts or other private entities that wish to manage their forests using a community based forestry model.

What Influences Whether Family Forest Owners Participate in Outreach Campaigns?

Journal of Extension | 2018

By Brett J. Butler, Sarah M. Butler, Kelley Dennings, and Tricia Gorby. Knoot

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We used an experimental design to analyze factors affecting participation rates for family forest owner outreach campaigns. Through logistic regression, we assessed the participation rates as a function of campaign and landowner attributes. Participation rates ranged from 3% to 14%. Owners offered a publication were on average 4.3 times more likely to participate than those offered a forester visit. Owners with a college degree were on average 1.5 times more likely to participate than those with lower levels of formal education. Extension and other outreach professionals can use knowledge of these factors to design more effective outreach campaigns.

Economic Contributions of Land Conserved by the USDA Forest​ Service’s Forest Legacy Program

2018

By Helena Murray, Paul Catanzaro, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett Butler, and Henry Eichman

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Who Owns America’s Forests & Woodlands? The Answer May Surprise You

Turkey Country| 2017

By Brett J. Butler

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How large is large? Identifying large corporate ownerships in FIA datasets

USDA Research Paper | 2017

By Jesse Caputo, Brett Butler, Andy Hartsell

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RP-29

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Forest ownership size is a continuous variable, albeit one with a distinctly nonnormal distribution. Although large corporate forest ownerships are expected to differ in terms of behavior and objectives from smaller corporate ownerships, there is no clear and unambiguous means of defined these two ownership groups. We examined the distribution of the ownership size variable and determined that approximately 11 percent of ownerships are statistical outliers in terms of total acreage owned. These ownerships differ significantly in terms of behavior (harvesting and tree planting) and objectives (timber) from smaller and mediumsized ownerships. Consequently, we suggest defining “large” corporate forest ownerships as those owning more than 45,000 acres of land, equivalent to the minimum acreage owned by statistical outliers in the ownership data.

Social and Biophysical Variation in Regional Timber Harvest Regimes

Ecological Adaptations | 2017

By Jonathan R. Thompson, Charles D. Canham, Luca Morreale, David B. Kittredge, and Brett Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1497

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In terms of adult tree mortality, harvesting is the most prevalent disturbance in northeastern United States forests. Previous studies have demonstrated that stand structure and tree species composition are important predictors of harvest. We extend this work to investigate how social factors further influence harvest regimes. By coupling the Forest Inventory and Analysis database to U.S. Census and National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) data, we quantify social and biophysical variation in the frequency and intensity of harvesting throughout a 20-state region in the northeastern United States. Among social factors, ownership class is most predictive of harvest frequency and intensity. The annual probability of a harvest event within privately owned forest (3%/yr) is twice as high as within publicly owned forests (1.5%/yr). Among private owner classes, the annual harvest probability on corporate-owned forests (3.6%/yr) is 25% higher than on private woodlands (2.9%/yr). Among public owner classes, the annual probability of harvest is highest on municipally owned forests (2.4%/ yr), followed by state-owned forests (1.6%/yr), and is lowest on federal forests (1%/yr). In contrast, corporate, state, and municipal forests all have similar distributions of harvest intensity; the median percentage of basal area removed during harvest events is approximately 40% in these three owner groups. Federal forests are similar to private woodlands with median harvest intensities of 23% and 20%, respectively. Social context variables, including local home prices, population density and the distance to a road, help explain the intensity, but not the frequency, of harvesting. Private woodlands constitute the majority of forest area; however, demographic data about their owners (e.g., their age, educational attainment, length of land tenure, retired status) show little relationship to aggregate harvest behavior. Instead, significant predictors for harvesting on private woodlands include live-tree basal area, forest type, and distance from roads. Just as with natural disturbance regimes, harvest regimes are predictable in terms of their frequency, intensity, and dispersion; and like their natural counterparts, these variables are determined by several important dimensions of environmental context. But in contrast to natural disturbance regimes, the important dimensions of context for harvesting include a combination of social and biophysical variables.

Ecosystem Service Supply and Capacity on U.S. Family Forestlands

Forests | 2017

By Jesse Caputo and Brett Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f8100395

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Individuals and families collectively own more than 118 million ha of forestland in the USA. Using data from the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owners Survey (NWOS), we characterize ecosystem services being produced on family forests as well as the beneficiaries who enjoy them. Approximately half of family forest owners provide one or more provisioning services. With the exception of logs, the provisioning services provided by the majority of owners are enjoyed directly by owners or their close associates (i.e., family, friends, and neighbors). Similarly, while more than half of family forest owners have provided recreational opportunities, a cultural service, to their close associates, fewer than 6% of owners have sold or provided recreational services to the general public. Regulating and supporting services are linked to the maintenance of long-term forest cover. Greater than 80% of family forest owners desire to maintain the forested condition of their land, whereas a much smaller percentage of these owners have entered into conservation easements or have collected money for conservation purposes. In addition, many owners have engaged in activities expected to increase the future capacity of their land to provide multiple ecosystem services, both excludable and non-excludable.

Family Forest Owner Characteristics Shaped by Life Cycle, Cohort, and Period Effects

Small-scale Forestry | 2017

By Sarah M. Butler, Brett J. Butler, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-016-9333-2

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Understanding differences and similarities among family forest owners is important in the context of forest land conservation. This study assesses similarities and differences in landowners by analyzing life cycle effects, cohort differences, and period-specific events that shape people’s attitudes and behaviors towards their forestland over time. Using data collected by the U.S. Forest Service’s 2013 National Woodland Owner Survey, bivariate, random forest and classification tree analyses were used to examine landowners in terms of demographic cohorts. Some attitudes and behaviors of family forest owners were identified as being a result of life cycle (e.g., recreating on their wooded land, plans to transfer land in the next 5 years), cohort (e.g., education level, help with programs or policies), and period (e.g., wars, economic depressions changing attitudes or behaviors) effects. While many of the attitudes and behaviors are common across cohorts. Understanding the reasons for similarities and differences among landowners could help program and policy developers target the appropriate group of people and achieve the highest success rates for policies and programs.

Methods for Increasing Cooperation Rates for Surveys of Family Forest Owners

Small-scale Forestry | 2017

By Brett J. Butler, Jaketon H. Hewes, Mary L. Tyrrell, and Sarah M. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-016-9349-7

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To maximize the representativeness of results from surveys, coverage, sampling, nonresponse, measurement, and analysis errors must be minimized. Although not a cure-all, one approach for mitigating nonresponse errors is to maximize cooperation rates. In this study, personalizing mailings, token financial incentives, and the use of real stamps were tested for their impacts on cooperation rates for family forest owners asked to participate in the U.S. Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey in the state of Connecticut. Token financial incentives, a two-dollar bill included in the first questionnaire mailing, significantly increased cooperation rates by 13 percentage points. Neither personalization nor real stamps showed significant impacts on cooperation rates. While these results are for just one state in the USA, we hypothesize that similar patterns would be observed in other states and likely other countries.

Psychological Distance of Timber Harvesting for Private Woodland Owners

Forest Policy and Economics | 2017

By  Emily S. Huff, Jessica E. Leahy, David B. Kittredge, Caroline L. Noblet, and Aaron R. Weiskittel

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2017.04.007

Private woodland owners (PWOs) in the U.S.A. often do not actively manage their forests, and forest policies appeal to a small subset of owners that have management plans and participate in incentive programs. We address this policy disconnect by considering a new possible explanation; PWOs perceive forest management as an abstract and distant concept. Psychological distance (PD) is built on the premise that an individual’s mental representations of objects and activities depend on four dimensions of distance between the individual and the object: spatial, temporal, social, and hypothetical. There are few applications of PD in natural resource and environmental research. Our objectives were to: 1) Understand the PD of private woodland owners; and 2) Evaluate how the four dimensions of PD are specifically related to the timber harvesting decision. We interviewed 32 PWOs in Maine, U.S.A. to understand their timber harvesting decision. Results suggest that PD can be described using frequency of harvesting, absentee ownership, co-ownership structure, and harvesting knowledge. PWOs with distant representations of harvesting require different policy mechanisms than those who are psychologically closer. PD is a useful theory in understanding forest management behavior by describing the extent to which timber harvesting is relevant to a private woodland owner. Social, temporal, and hypothetical distance can be shortened by offering frequent opportunities for woodland owner engagement like peer-to-peer networking and learning events and a deeper understanding of how timber harvesting promotes sustainable forest management.

Three Decades of Forest Harvesting Along a Suburban-Rural Continuum

Ecosphere | 2017

By David B. Kittredge, Jonathan R. Thompson, Luca L. Morreale, Anne G. Short Gianotti, and Lucy R. Hutyra

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1882

Timber harvest is an important ecological disturbance that influences species composition, understory conditions, stand structure and growth, and carbon dynamics. Regional variation in harvest regimes and the associated ecological consequences are linked to social and biophysical attributes of the landscape. We analyzed three decades of change in commercial timber harvesting on all private and public forest throughout 328 towns in Massachusetts (USA). We quantified changes in harvest activity over time and estimated probability of harvest occurrence and proportion of a town’s harvest as functions of biophysical and social settings. We found little evidence of any temporal trends in harvest activity at the state or town scale. Across the suburban–rural interface, the probability of harvest occurrence on private land was consistently a function of the proportion of a town’s land in forest and the distance to the urban center (Boston). The proportion of private land in a town subject to harvest was negatively related to a town’s median household income. There was a significant difference in the proportion of private forest harvested in suburban vs. rural towns. The proportion of public forest subject to harvests was not related to any of the variables we examined. Total statewide estimates of commercial timber that fail to account for the suburban–rural transition may overestimate available or potential volume. Ecologically, the timber harvest disturbance regime in landscapes dominated by private ownership is strongly influenced by socioeconomic factors such as affluence and proximity to urban development, unlike other forms of natural disturbance typical of the region (e.g., wind).

The future of family forests in the USA: Near-term intentions to sell or transfer

Land Use Policy | 2017

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett J. Butler, and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.10.007

Land transfer decisions for family forest owners (FFOs) potentially have large consequences for the critical public benefits these lands provide, but what triggers and influences the decisions are just beginning to be understood. The 2013 USA National Woodland Owner Survey provides an unprecedented set of national data to better understand near-term plans to sell or give away forestland either in its entirety or by subdividing. This study uses multinomial logit analysis to explore whether the likelihood of selling or giving away any or all of forestland within 5 years has some systematic relationship to the FFO, land, and urban-rural characteristics. Understanding what drives respondents’ answers to this question provides insight into the characteristics of land and landowners likely associated with land transfer, and potentially where development is likely to occur. The results indicate that FFO, land, and attitudinal characteristics play roles in the plans, but urban-rural characteristics do not. Transfer plans are positively associated with being older, female, having more wooded land, and agreeing that they would sell if offered a reasonable price; transfer plans are negatively associated with high education levels, having a home within 1 mile of the wooded land, and agreement with wanting their wooded land to stay wooded. The marginal effects of the model estimates show that age has one of the greatest impacts on land transfer plans. Results support the need for research coordinating FFO intentions with actual decisions, related to emotional and familial attachments and other life circumstances.

Estate planning as a forest stewardship tool: A study of family land ownerships in the northeastern U.S.

Forest Policy and Economics | 2017

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, Kathleen Bell, David Kittredge, Jessica Leahy, Brett Butler, Ezra Markowitz, Anita Milman, Rebekah Zimmerer, Shorna Allred, and Mary Sisock

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2017.06.004

Forested lands produce a multitude of societal benefits, and landowner decisions influence the provision of these benefits over space and time. The fate of over half of the 330 million hectares of forestland in the United States (U.S.) rests in the hands of private ownerships, and over 35% of U.S. forestland is owned by families. Landowner estate planning offers a means for families to make critical decisions about the future stewardship of their land, including whether and how to split up lands or to take steps to ensure lands remain forested. Yet, decision-making regarding ownership transition and formal estate planning remains poorly understood. Our research provides foundational knowledge of the current status of family landowners’ formal estate planning in four northeastern U.S. states. Using a mail survey in Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Vermont, we compiled information on owners’ current management, future intentions, estate planning, and demographics. Approximately 66% of respondents have made use of a will for estate planning; 25% have combined the use of a will with a tool that may control use; and 34% have not employed any formal planning tools. Findings from a multinomial logit model of estate planning actions suggest that landowner and land characteristics, barriers to the planning process, and intentions to pass to heirs, recreational and financial investment objectives, and landscape area differences explain variation in the extent and type of planning by owners. Our results underscore the importance of additional research on estate planning, including the conservation intent of these plans, and offer guidance to practitioners interested in bolstering engagement with these planning tools.

USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey, 2011-2013: design, implementation, and estimation methods

General Technical Report | 2016

By Brett J. Butler, Brenton J. Dickinson, Jaketon H. Hewes, Sarah M. Butler, Kyle Andrejczyk, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-157

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The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) is conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program to increase the understanding of the attitudes, behaviors, and demographics of private forest and woodland ownerships across the United States. The information is intended to help policy makers, resource managers, educators, service providers, and others interested in the forest and woodland resources of the United States better understand the social context of these lands in order to facilitate more informed opinions and decisions. This report describes the design, implementation, and analysis of data for the NWOS implemented from 2011 through 2013. The NWOS is concerned with three non-overlapping populations of interest: family, corporate, and other private. To simplify the discussion, the focus of this report is on family forest and woodland ownerships, but identical methods were used for the other populations of interest. Results from this research are being published separately.

Family Forest Ownerships of the United States, 2013: Findings from the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey

Journal of Forestry | 2016

By Brett J. Butler, Jaketon H. Hewes, Brenton J. Dickinson, Kyle Andrejczyk, Sarah M. Butler, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.15-099

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There are an estimated 10.7 million family forest ownerships across the United States who collectively control 36% or 290 million acres of the nation’s forestland. The US Department of Agriculture Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) provides information on the characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors of these ownerships. Between 2011 and 2013, 8,576 randomly selected family forest ownerships with at least 10 acres of forestland participated in the NWOS. Results show: amenity values are the dominant reasons for owning; owners tend to be active on their land, but most are not engaged in traditional forestry programs; and owners are relatively old. Although the general ownership patterns and reasons for owning are the same between the 2002–2006 and current iterations of the NWOS, participation in some management activities changed (some increased and some decreased) and the percentage of female primary decision makers increased.

Understanding Family Forest Land Future Ownership and Use: Exploring Conservation Bequest Motivations

Small-scale Forestry | 2016

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, Anita Milman, and David Kittredge

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11842-015-9320-z

Due to an aging landowner population, there will be an unprecedented ownership shift in land-based assets in the USA. Approximately 2.7 million family forest owners (FFOs) in the USA over the age of 55 years old, reflecting 80 % of all FFO-owned land, will be deciding the future ownership and use of their land, having significant implications for the landscapes and public benefits these forests provide. Little is known about how FFOs plan for the future ownership and use of their land. This study draws from life-cycle theory and FFO decision cycle research to propose a future ownership and use decision-making framework and to explore the presence of and motivation for FFOs to make “conservation bequests” designed to maintain land in its current, forested form. Qualitative interviews with professionals working with over 1000 FFOs explore what triggers FFOs to consider their options and influence their decisions. Findings suggest triggers are universally-held (e.g. age, health) and can happen any time in an FFO’s life. FFO decisions are complex and often made in the context of family goals and dynamics. FFOs holding deep attachments to their land may be more likely to make conservation bequests. However, despite conservation preferences, due to the complex nature of the process or external influences, decisions may not always lead to conservation bequests. The framework that this study adopts allows future in-depth research on these critical decisions. In particular, additional research with landowners is required to examine the framework in more detail.

Integrating beneficiaries into assessment of ecosystem services from managed forests at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, USA

Forest Ecosystems | 2016

By Jesse Caputo, Colin M. Beier, Valerie A. Luzadis, and Peter M. Groffman

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-016-0072-9

Lake States natural resource managers’ perspectives on forest land parcelization and its implications for public land management

Land Use Policy | 2016

By Michael A. Kilgore and Stephanie A. Snyder

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.07.035

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Field-based public natural resource managers in the Lake States (MI, MN, WI) were surveyed for theirperspectives on various aspects of private forest land parcelization. This includes their perceptions ofrecent changes in parcelization activity, drivers and impacts, mitigation strategies, and ability to influenceparcelization. Their perspectives on the implications private forest land parcelization has on public landmanagement were also sought. Across the Lake States, most public natural resource managers havewitnessed an increasing frequency of forest land parcelization. They consider development potential andproximity to population centers to be the most influential driver of parcelization, with decreased timbersupply and loss of recreational access on private land the most likely outcomes. The study documentedimportant perceived linkages between private forest land parcelization and public land management,such as increased conflicts on public land, decreased access to public land, and increased demand for andcost of managing public land.

Exploring the relationship between parcelization metrics and natural resource managers’ perceptions of forest land parcelization intensity

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2016

By Michael A. Kilgore and Stephanie A. Snyder

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.02.003

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A major challenge associated with forest land parcelization, defined as the subdivision of forest land holdings into smaller ownership parcels, is that little information exists on how to measure its severity and judge its impacts across forest landscapes. To address this information gap, an on-line survey presented field-based public natural resource managers in the Lake States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan with four private forest ownership patterns, each containing the same total forest area, number of parcels, and average parcel size. Survey respondents ranked each landscape from most to least parcelized based on the degree to which each ownership pattern was perceived to adversely impact three forest-based goods and services: timber production, recreational access, and wildlife habitat. Using an exploded logit model, respondents’ rankings of parcelization impact were found to be consistent, regardless of the forest good or service evaluated. Rankings were also not influenced by the respondent’s professional discipline, location, length of professional experience, or employer. Of the four parcelization metrics evaluated, the Gini Coefficient and Adjusted Mean metrics appear to best capture the forest land ownership patterns that natural resource professionals are most concerned about, suggesting those metrics may be useful indicators by which to assess parcelization impact.

USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey: national, regional, and state statistics for family forest and woodland ownerships with 10+ acres, 2011-2013

Resource Bulletin | 2016

By Brett Butler, Jaketon H. Hewes, Brenton J. Dickinson, Kyle Andrejczyk, Sarah M. Butler, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RB-99

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This report summarizes the results from the 2011-2013 National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program. The focus of the results reported here is family forest and woodland ownerships with holdings of at least 10 acres. Summaries are based on responses from 8,576 family ownerships with at least 10 acres of forest or woodland across 47 U.S. states. Survey summary tables are available at doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RB-99 and include the 36 states in which the minimum target effective sample size of 100 respondents was obtained plus tables for the nation and four regions (North, South, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Coast). An additional 11 states (Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington) have sample sizes between 10 and 99 and are included in national and regional summary tables, but state- level survey summary tables are not being published due to small sample sizes. Data for three states (Alaska, Nevada, and Wyoming) are excluded due to the low numbers of respondents (n<10) in each of these states. The survey summary tables provide statistics on general forest ownership patterns, effective sample sizes, and responses to the questions asked on the survey. The 37 survey questions, many with multiple parts, focus on ownership characteristics, land characteristics, reasons for owning land, land ownership history, uses of the forest and woodland, sources of information, concerns, the future of their land, and demographics. For comparison purposes, summary tables from the 2002-2006 iteration of the NWOS are provided along with an additional set of 2011-2013 regional and national summary tables where only states in common with the 2002-2006 iteration are included. In addition, this report includes separate tables with estimated area and estimated number of private, nonindustrial private, and family forest and woodland ownerships by state.

Family Forest Owners Rule! New Results from the US Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey

Forestry Source | 2016

Working Group Notes: Private Forestry (B1) Butler, Brett J. 2016

Family Forest Owners’ Perceptions of Landowner Assistance programs in the USA: A Qualitative Exploration of Program Impacts on Behaviour

Small-scale Forestry | 2016

By Kyle Andrejczyk, Brett J. Butler, Brenton J. Dickinson, Jaketon H. Hewes, Marla A. Markowski-Lindsay, David B. Kittredge, Michael A. Kilgore, Stephanie A. Snyder, and Paul F. Catanzaro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s/11842-015-9304-z

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Hansel and Gretel Walk in the Forest, Landowners Walk
in the Woods

Journal of Forestry | 2015

By Kyle Andrejczyk, Brett J. Butler, Mary L. Tyrrell, and Judith Langer

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.14-151

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In 2007, a series of focus groups with family forest owners was conducted as part of a social marketing initiative with the aim of increasing conservation activities on private forestlands. Participants in the study were asked how they perceive and experience their land and how they understand certain terminology used by forestry professionals. Results show that family forest owners possess a stewardship ethic and perceive their land as a means of self-actualization. The results also provide information for forestry groups seeking to craft effective, resonant messaging in their landowner outreach efforts. By adapting to the language and meanings used by family forest owners, forestry professionals can more effectively convince family forest owners of the need to adopt scientifically sound land management practices.

Family Forest Owners’ Perceptions of Landowner Assistance programs in the USA: A Qualitative Exploration of Program Impacts on Behaviour

Small-scale Forestry | 2015

By Kyle Andrejczyk, Brett J. Butler, Brenton J. Dickinson, Jaketon H. Hewes, Marla A. Markowski-Lindsay, David B. Kittredge, Michael A. Kilgore, Stephanie A. Snyder, and Paul F. Catanzaro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s/11842-015-9304-z

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Assessing the relationship between different forms of landowner assistance and family forest owner behaviors and intentions

Journal of Forestry | 2015

By Michael A. Kilgore, Stephanie A. Snyder, Derya Eryilmaz, Marla A. Markowski-Lindsay, Brett J. Butler, David B. Kittredge, Paul F. Catanzaro, Jaketon H. Hewes, and Kyle Andrejczyk

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.13-059

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In this study, we examine how family forest owners who receive various types of assistance differ from unassisted landowners with respect to their forestland management practices, attitudes and concerns, and future management, use, and ownership intentions. We do so by utilizing a national database containing information on private forest owners and the forestland they own. By defining an assisted landowner according to several attributes contained in this database (e.g., has a forest management plan, received cost-share assistance, or received advice), important similarities and differences between recipients and nonrecipients of various types of assistance are identified. The study shows that assisted and unassisted landowners are different with respect to several characteristics of the owners and the forestland they own, land management practices undertaken, and reasons for forest landownership. For example, assisted landowners are more likely to harvest timber and improve wildlife habitat than the unassisted owners. Yet no distinctions are found between assisted and unassisted landowners with respect to their plans to either subdivide or sell their land. In many cases, the differences between assisted and unassisted landowners are not related to the type of assistance the landowner received.

Landowner conservation awareness across rural-to-urban gradients in Massachusetts

Biological Conservation | 2015

By David B. Kittredge, Anne G. Short Gianotti, Lucy R. Hutyra, David R. Foster, and Jackie M. Getson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.01.001

In many parts of the eastern US, the provision of ecosystem services depends on private land. In these regions, decisions about land management and conservation made by private landowners can have significant effects on habitat and other ecosystem services. Advancing permanent conservation of land can be particularly challenging in dynamic rural-to-urban landscapes facing development pressures. We estimated private landowner “conservation awareness” using a mail survey instrument to assess relative familiarity, knowledge, and experience with various conservation and land management options. Conservation awareness differed significantly by town, implying hotspots and troughs of awareness, potentially leading to significant geographical variation in landowner decision-making and long-term conservation futures. We were surprised to find that conservation awareness did not necessarily diminish in more suburbanized environments of our study area. Higher conservation awareness was related to enhanced conservation social capital at the town level as well as relative affluence. We suggest that low conservation awareness could represent a precursor to or symptom of eventual land use change and hence loss of habitat. As a result, conservation efforts should focus not only on biophysical aspects such as habitat connectivity and rarity, but also on the conservation awareness of owners of private land.

Who owns America’s trees, woods, and forests? Results from the U.S. Forest Service 2011-2013 national woodland owner survey

NRS-INF-31-15 | 2015

By U.S. Forest Service

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This report highlights general ownership patterns and key information about private owners of trees, woods, and forests from the 2011-2013 National Woodland Owner Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, to help us better understand: who owns the woods and forests of the United States, why they own it, how they use it now, and how they intend to use it.

An Evidence-Based Review of Timber Harvesting Behavior Among Private Woodland Owners

Journal of Forestry | 2015

By Emily J. Silver, Jessica E. Leahy, Aaron R. Weiskittel, Caroline L. Noblet, and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.14-089

Understanding private woodland owner (PWO) timber harvesting behavior is essential for predicting potential timber supply, as PWOs could be an increasingly important source. This evidence-based review synthesizes more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, government reports, and dissertations from 1970 to 2014 from North America and Europe. Our broad research question was “To what extent is actual PWO timber harvesting behavior understood?” Our objectives were to (1) identify how past research analyzed actual harvesting behavior, (2) describe the evolution of these methods, (3) determine the extent to which previous research linked landowners’ stated intentions to actual harvesting behavior, and (4) evaluate the significant predictors of PWO timber harvesting. This evidence-based review found that parcel size, harvest price, and distance from residence were the most common significant predictors of harvesting intention. Many studies purportedly studied behavior, but most measure stated attitudes without measuring observable harvesting behaviors. A better understanding of PWO behavior will inform timber supply prediction and support forest management outreach.

Maine Woodland Owner Perceptions of Long Rotation Woody Biomass Harvesting and Bioenergy  

Biomass and Bioenergy | 2015

By Emily J. Silver, Jessica E. Leahy, Caroline L. Noblet, and Aaron R. Weiskittel

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.03.006

Predicting and understanding timber supply is a central component to the viability of the wood-based bioenergy industry. Available timber supply from private woodland owners is difficult to estimate because complex behavioral theory informs the owner’s decision to harvest. The decision-making environment consists of exogenous market factors, internal cognitive processes, and social interactions. This study seeks to understand the cognitive factors influencing the decision to harvest timber for bioenergy markets. Specifically, we seek an understanding of how private woodland owner values contribute to their attitudes and willingness to harvest biomass from their land. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with private woodland owners (PWOs) who had previously harvested timber (n = 26), had never harvested timber (n = 6), and had harvested timber for woody biomass markets (n = 9). Results indicate some PWOs expressed a willingness to supply timber for biomass (63%), most held anthropocentric values (81%), and all expressed unfamiliarity with biomass markets. Many PWOs had concerns about biomass harvesting, including nutrient removal, economic efficiency, and impact on statewide harvesting levels. These results help provide insight to available timber supply for the bioenergy industry and potential educational opportunities for better informing landowners.

Timberland Ownerships and Reforestation in the Southern United States

Forest Science | 2015

By Xing Sun, Daowei Zhang, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/forsci.13-192

Timberland owners have different objectives and apply different management methods and management intensities to their lands. In this study, we look into the reforestation behaviors of various timberland owners in the southern United States based on plot-level data from the latest complete USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis cycle. Our results show that, after controlling for market and locational variables for all sampled plots in the study, the probability of reforestation was higher for institutional and industrial owners than for nonindustrial private forest owners and was the highest for timberland investment management organizations. These findings imply that the institutional timberland owners do reforest and embrace sustainable forestry practices.

Harvesting choices and timber supply among landowners in the southern United States

Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economic | 2015

By Daowei Zhang, Xing Sun, Brett J. Butler, and Jeffrey P. Prestemon

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The recent rise of institutional timberland ownership has led to a significant change in the structure and conduct of the timber industry in the United States. In this study,we apply a two-period harvest model to assess the timber harvesting behavior of various landowners at the stand level by utilizing USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data for nine southern states. Forest industry and institutional timberland owners were found to be more likely to conduct partial and final harvests than nonindustrial private forest landowners. Aggregately, Timberland Investment Management Organizations were found to be most, and timberlandReal Estate InvestmentTrusts to be least, price-responsive among ownership groups.

A comparison of techniques for generating forest ownership spatial products

Applied Geography | 2014

By Brett J. Butler, Jaketon H. Hewes, Greg C. Liknes, Mark D. Nelson, and Stephanie A. Snyder

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.09.020

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To fully understand forest resources, it is imperative to understand the social context in which the forests exist. A pivotal part of that context is the forest ownership. It is the owners, operating within biophysical and social constraints, who ultimately decide if the land will remain forested, how the resources will be used, and by whom. Forest ownership patterns vary substantially across the United States. These distributions are traditionally represented with tabular statistics that fail to capture the spatial patterns of ownership. Existing spatial products are not sufficient for many strategic-level planning needs because they are not electronically available for large areas (e.g., parcels maps) or do not provide detailed ownership categories (e.g., only depict private versus public ownership). Thiessen polygon, multinomial logit, and classification tree methods were tested for producing a forest ownership spatial dataset across four states with divergent ownership patterns: Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, and Oregon. Over 17,000 sample points with classified forest ownership, collected as part of the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, were divided into two datasets, one used as the dependent variable across all of the models and 10 percent of the points were retained for validation across the models. Additional model inputs included a polygon coverage of public lands from the Conservation Biology Institute’s Protected Areas Database (PAD) and data representing human population pressures, road densities, forest characteristics, land cover, and other attributes. The Thiessen polygon approach predicted ownership patterns based on proximity to the sample points in the model dataset and subsequent combining with the PAD ownership data layer. The multinomial logit and classification tree approaches predicted the ownership at the validation points based on the PAD ownership information and data representing human population, road, forest, land cover, and other attributes. The percentage of validation points across the four states correctly predicted ranged from 76.3 to 78.9 among the methods with corresponding weighted kappa values ranging from 0.73 to 0.76. Different methods performed slightly, but statistically significantly, better in different states Overall, the Thiessen polygon method was deemed preferable because: it has a lower bias towards dominant ownership categories; requires fewer inputs; and is simpler to implement.

Effectiveness of landowner assistance activities: an examination of the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Stewardship Program

Journal of Forestry | 2014

By Brett J. Butler, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Stephanie Snyder, Paul Catanzaro, David B. Kittredge, Kyle Andrejczyk, Brenton J. Dickinson, Derya Eryilmaz, Jaketon H. Hewes, Paula Randler, Donna Tadle, and Michael A. Kilgore

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.13-066

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The USDA Forest Service’s Forest Stewardship Program (FSP) is the nation’s most prominent private forestry assistance program. We examined the FSP using a multiple analytic approach: analysis of annual FSP accomplishments, survey of state FSP coordinators, analytic comparison of family forest owners receiving and not receiving forestry practice assistance, and focus groups with family forest owners. We found the FSP reaches a small fraction of eligible landowners; states use FSP funds to address local private forestland issues; landowners obtaining assistance commonly associated with the FSP (e.g., management plans) differ from others in sociodemographics, ownership objectives, and land management actions but not in terms of intent to sell/subdivide forestland; and traditional FSP activities are not influencing inactive family forest owners to become active managers. We believe current practices (e.g., state-level flexibility) help the FSP reach its goals, alternative assistance-related efforts may increase the reach of the FSP and support strategic goals, and data collection improvements may enrich future FSP evaluations.

Assisting Family Forest Owners with Conservation-Based Estate Planning: A Preliminary Analysis

Journal of Extension | 2014

By Paul Catanzaro, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Anita Milman, and David Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.52.02.26

Conservation‐based estate planning (CBEP) offers a spectrum of options to meet landowner financial and ownership goals. This study analyzes a survey of individuals who obtained CBEP information through extension programs. Participation in these programs was greater in older landowners and landowners with larger properties. Our findings suggest women and multiple generations likely play an important role in decisions about the future of the land. Cost and family‐related issues were most frequently cited as barriers. Because respondents were at various stages of the process, outreach interventions should be flexible and able to assist landowners wherever they are in the planning process.

Family forest owners and federal taxes

Forest Policy and Economics | 2014

By John L. Greene, Brett J. Butler, Paul F. Catanzaro, Jaketon H. Hewes, Michael A. Kilgore, David B. Kittredge, Zhao Ma, and Mary L. Tyrrell

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2013.10.001

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Focus groups were conducted with family forest owners to investigate the effect of government tax policies on their decisions regarding their land. Two groups each were held in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama, Wisconsin, and Washington, USA, one with owners enrolled in the state preferential property tax program for forested land and one with owners who were not so enrolled. Each focus group consisted of 8–10 owners and lasted approximately 2 h. Overall, only two beneficial federal income tax provisions (treatment of timber income as a long-term capital gain and timber depletion deductions) and five federal estate tax provisions (the effective exemption for estates, the annual exclusion for gifts, use of a will, the step-up in basis for inherited assets, and the effective exemption for gifts) were brought up in over half of the groups. Groups composed of tax program enrollees tended to discuss federal income tax provisions more distinct times than those composed of tax program non-enrollees, and tended to be familiar with more federal estate tax provisions; otherwise, there was little difference between them. Misconceptions about tax provisions were common. As well, groups in every region noted the negative effects of tax uncertainty and that not all professionals are knowledgeable about federal taxes as they apply to family forest owners.

Map of distribution of six forest ownership types in the conterminous United States

Research Map | 2014

By Jaketon H. Hewes, Brett J. Butler, Greg C. Liknes, Mark D. Nelson, and Stephanie A. Snyder

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RMAP-6

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This map depicts the spatial distribution of ownership types across forest land in the conterminous United States circa 2009. The distribution is derived, in part, from Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data that are collected at a sample intensity of approximately one plot per 2400 ha across the United States (U.S. Forest Service 2012). Ownership categories were mapped to the landscape using Thiessen polygons, and a forest/nonforest mask was applied to limit ownership portrayal to forested areas (Butler et al. 2014). Inset maps depict states by the percentage of forest land held by owner type indicated. States that appear darker do not necessarily have more forested land of a particular type than other states, but rather have a greater percentage of their forested land in a given ownership type.

The effectiveness of state preferential property tax programs in conserving forests: Comparisons, measurements, and challenges

Land Use Policy | 2014

By Zhao Ma, Brett J. Butler, Paul F. Catanzaro, John L. Greene, Jaketon H. Hewes, Michael A. Kilgore, David B. Kittredge, and Mary Tyrrell

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.09.016

Forest property taxes have been identified as one of the major driving forces behind forest loss and parcelization. Among various policy alternatives for reducing the burden of forest property taxes on landowners, preferential property tax programs have been widely used across states. Existing research has mostly focused on individual property tax programs, particularly those based on current use valuation, while little has been done to document, analyze and compare programs across states. By examining survey data from state preferential property tax program administrators across the United States, this paper describes the commonalities and differences among states regarding their preferential property tax programs, provides a preliminary understanding of the relationship between state preferential property tax policy and trends in private forest conditions, and identifies issues related to the effectiveness of state preferential property tax programs and private forest land management and conservation. Our analysis revealed three fundamental disconnects: (1) Program attributes that were previously considered to be important for preferential property tax programs to be effective in retaining forest land and fostering management did not consistently correlate with program effectiveness as viewed by the administrators of these programs; (2) These program attributes did not consistently correlate with actual program effectiveness as measured at the state level by forest trend indicators used in this study (i.e., change in private forest land cover, change in average size of private forest holdings, extent to which private forest land is being actively managed); and (3) The self-assessed program effectiveness did not consistently correlate with actual program effectiveness, either. The various ways in which the effectiveness of preferential property tax programs is defined and measured contribute to explaining these disconnects. It is particularly important for researchers and policy makers to be explicit about how they define and measure effectiveness and the scale on which they conduct their analysis before assessing and comparing programs or suggesting improvement strategies.

Five anthropogenic factors that will radically alter forest conditions and management needs in the Northern United States

Forest Science | 2014

By Stephen R. Shifley, W. Keith Moser, David J. Nowak, Patrick D. Miles, Brett J. Butler, Francisco X. Aguilar, Ryan D. DeSantis, and Eric J. Greenfield

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.09.016

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The Northern United States includes the 20 states bounded by Maine, Maryland, Missouri, and Minnesota. With 70 million ha of forestland and 124 million people, it is the most densely forested (42% of land area) and most densely populated (74 people/km²) quadrant of the United States. Three recent, large-scale, multiresource assessments of forest conditions provide insight about trends and issues in the North, and collectively these and other supporting documents highlight factors that will be extraordinarily influential in large-scale northern forest management needs over the next 50 years. This review article discusses five of those factors: (1) northern forests lack age-class diversity and will uniformly grow old without management interventions or natural disturbances, (2) the area of forestland in the North will decrease as a consequence of expanding urban areas, (3) invasive species will alter forest density, diversity, and function, (4) management intensity for timber is low in northern forests and likely to remain so, and (5) management for nontimber objectives will gain relevance but will be challenging to implement. Suggested actions to address these factors include the following: develop quantifiable state and regional goals for forest diversity, understand the spatial and structural impacts of urban expansion on forests, develop symbiotic relationships among forest owners, forest managers, forest industry and the other stakeholders to support contemporary conservation goals, and work to understand the many dimensions of forest change. In the next several decades, climate change seems unlikely to overwhelm or negate any of the five factors discussed in this article; rather it will add another complicating dimension.

Cost-share Program Participation and Family Forest Owners’ Past and Intended Future Management Practices

Forest Policy and Economics | 2014

By Nianfu Song, Francisco X. Aguilar, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2014.06.003

Cost-share programs are commonly-used policy tools designed to influence management on privately-owned lands. Widely popular on agricultural lands, these programs and their association with landowner behavior have not been as thoroughly studied on forested lands. Based on a dataset of over 3500 observations and using propensity score matching to reduce possible selection bias, this study found that family forest owners in the U.S. Northern region enrolled in cost-share programs were more actively engaged in both silvicultural and conservation management activities than non-participants. These findings point to the capacity of cost-share public programs to promote better forest management. This study found that cost-share participation varied across size of forest holdings, owners’ demographic characteristics, ownership objectives and forest location. Owners of smaller sized forestlands had a lower participation rate and might be a prime target group of future cost-share programs to widen forest and wildlife habitat management.

Conservation Easements and Management by Family Forest Owners: A Propensity Score Matching Approach with Multi-Imputations of Survey Data

Forest Science | 2014

By Nianfu Song, Francisco X. Aguilar, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/forsci.12-107

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Increasingly, private landowners are participating in conservation easement programs, but their effects on land management remain to be addressed. Data from the USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey for the US Northern Region were used to investigate how conservation easement participation is associated with selected past and future forest management practices. Multiple data imputation was used to correct for missing data bias, and propensity score matching was applied to correct for selection bias. Results show that only the adoption of forest management plans, among 17 forest management practices, was significantly and positively correlated with easement participation. Conservation easements legally bind participants to maintain land forested, but there was no evidence of greater association between easement participation and active forest management practices, including timber harvesting. These findings suggest that adoption of conservation easements is a policy tool that can preserve forestland from changing to other uses but may not necessarily be conducive to wider implementation of land practices necessary for long-term protection of forests.

How Personal Connections Shape Decisions about Private Forest Use

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2013

By David B. Kittredge, Mark G. Rickenbach, Tricia G. Knoot, Emma Snellings, and Angelica Erazo

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/njaf.11-004

Most private landowners do not have management plans or avail themselves of professional advice before the sale of timber. We designed a pilot study to determine the extent to which they rely on social networks of professionals, peer landowners, neighbors, relatives, friends, and others for information before making decisions to either sell timber or place an easement on their land. We estimated that informal networks of 7‐10 people may in some way be related to an owner’s land and a subset of 1 or 2 are influential in a timber sale or easement decision. The size of the network may not be related to decision satisfaction. Peer landowners, local people from the community, and professionals play important roles in decisionmaking.

How are America’s private forests changing? An integrated assessment of forest management, housing pressure, and urban development in alternate emissions scenarios

Land Use Policy | 2013

By Pinki Mondal, Brett J. Butler, David B. Kittredge, and Warren K. Moser

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.10.014

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Private forests are a vital component of the natural ecosystem infrastructure of the United States, and provide critical ecosystem services including clean air and water, energy, wildlife habitat, recreational services, and wood fiber. These forests have been subject to conversion to developed uses due to increasing population pressures. This study examines the changing patterns in the private forests across the urban-rural gradient in 36 states in the eastern United States. We combine observed forest management activities, housing pressure, and 50-year projections of development pressures under alternate IPCC emission scenarios (A1, A2, B1, and B2) to produce a forest pressures index for a total of 45,707 plots located on privately owned land. We find evidence of continued forest loss in suburban/urban regions, and imminent pressure on private forests in exurban regions, while forests in rural regions are found to be relatively stable in next 50 years. Patterns of forest pressures differ depending on the sub-regions, which can be attributed to differing socio-ecological context of these sub-regions. Forest pressures also differ depending on the alternate scenarios considered, as projected increases in impervious surfaces is higher for the A1 and A2 scenarios as compared to the B1 and B2 scenarios. Land owners, often influenced by changing economic, demographic, and environmental trends, will play an important role in managing goods and services provided by these private forests. While it remains challenging to model forest owner attributes, socio-economic factors appear to be critical in shaping the future forested landscape in the United States.

A Comparative Analysis of Conservation Awareness among New York and Massachusetts Woodland Owners

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2013

By Emma L. Schnur, Shorna B. Allred, and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/njaf.13-026

The Conservation Awareness Index (CAI) is a survey instrument used to assess how prepared family forest landowners are to make informed decisions about their land. First developed in Massachusetts, we report results of its application in New York. Administered to 496 randomly selected New York family forest landowners and 158 benchmark landowners who had received conservation training, results confirmed instrument validity and exposed low levels of awareness about conservation options among forest landowners in the study, especially concerning New York’s current-use tax program and conservation easements. Education level, ownership acreage, and location were associated with higher levels of conservation awareness. A comparative analysis between New York and Massachusetts forest landowners revealed significantly higher levels of conservation awareness for the New England state’s landowners. The CAI can be used to improve outreach efforts by targeting education toward the conservation options for which landowners have low levels of awareness. A high level of conservation awareness is the foundation for informed forest stewardship decisions.

Taxing Family Forest Owners: Implications of Federal and State Policies in the United States

Journal of Forestry | 2012

By Brett J. Butler, Paul F. Catanzaro, John L. Greene, Jaketon H. Hewes, Michael A. Kilgore, David B. Kittredge, Zhao Ma, and Mary L. Tyrrell

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.11-097

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Taxes are a prominent policy tool and one of a number of factors that have the potential to influence the decisions of the millions of family forest owners across the United States. After a literature review, tax policies most relevant to family forest owners were catalogued, preferential property tax program administrators were surveyed, focus groups with family forest owners and forestry/conservation professionals were held, and results were synthesized with the aid of experts. The results suggest that tax policies, in and of themselves, are not causing forest owners to take unplanned actions such as prematurely selling their land or harvesting trees. However, in combination with other factors, tax policies, especially property tax policies, can influence ownership and forest management decisions. Preferential forest property tax policies exist across the United States, but a general lack of awareness, confusion, and misinformation about these programs and their often complicated and/or restrictive requirements are preventing them from reaching their full potential.

Estimated participation in U.S. carbon sequestration programs: A study of NIPF landowners in Massachusetts

Journal of Forest Economics | 2012

By Brenton J. Dickinson, Thomas H. Stevens, Marla Markowski Lindsay, and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfe.2011.06.002

Although carbon sequestration programs for non-industrial forestland owners in Massachusetts are being developed, very little is known about the program attributes of importance to different types of landowners or the likelihood that landowners will participate in any given program. This study estimates the probability that Massachusetts landowners will participate in several carbon offset programs using data from a survey of 3000 Massachusetts forestland owners. Results from an ordered logit discrete choice model suggest that the likelihood of enrollment in most programs is quite low. Landowners are clearly motivated by economic factors, but other aspects of carbon sequestration may also be important in their decision making.

Forest-based biomass supply in Massachusetts: How much is there and how much is available

Journal of Environmental Management | 2012

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Paul Catanzaro, David Damery, David B. Kittredge, Brett J. Butler, and Thomas Stevens

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.03.051

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Forest owners in Massachusetts (U.S.) live in a densely populated state and near forestland that is under pressure of development and characterized by small parcel size. Forest-based biomass harvesting in Massachusetts is a renewable energy topic generating a great deal of discussion among all constituents. To provide perspective on these discussions, our analysis asks how much forested land in Massachusetts could be available for biomass supply. This analysis considers the level of bioenergy production that could be maintained on an annual basis given the amount of woody biomass that is likely to be supplied from private- and state-owned Massachusetts forests, which comprises nearly 90% of the state’s forests. Applying the most recent information on forest ownership and owner attitudes in Massachusetts, we estimate that between 80,000 and 369,000 dry tons/year of available wood-based biomass from forest management practices on private- and state-owned forests, or between 1.4 trillion and 6.2 trillion BTUs/ year. These estimates represent between 0.09% and 0.42% of all Massachusetts residential, commercial and industrial annual consumption. These estimates are well below Kelty et al.’s (2008) estimate of 891,000 dry tons/year; the largest factors in this reduction are the reduced contribution of biomass due to social constraints and the amount of state land considered to be open to active management. Conversations regarding the use of biomass and its impacts on forests, as well as the development of biomass-related policy, should consider the supply of biomass that is likely available. While overall forest inventory estimates suggest one degree of availability, our research suggests that this needs to be tempered with the reality of ownership size and owner attitudes.

Family forest owner preferences for biomass harvesting in Massachusetts

Forest Policy and Economics | 2012

By Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Thomas Stevens, David B. Kittredge, Brett J. Butler, Paul Catanzaro, and David Damery

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2011.08.001

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U.S. forests, including family-owned forests, are a potential source of biomass for renewable energy. Family forest owners constitute a significant portion of the overall forestland in the U.S., yet little is known about family forest owners’ preferences for supplying wood-based biomass. The goal of this study is to understand how Massachusetts family forest owners feel about harvesting residual woody biomass from their property. The study estimates the probability that Massachusetts landowners will harvest biomass as part of a timber harvest using data from a survey of 932 Massachusetts family forest owners. Logistic regression results suggest that the likelihood of harvesting for biomass is quite low, and that the supply of participation in biomass harvesting is inelastic with respect to price. These low probabilities may be due to the method used to account for preference uncertainty, as well as the unique nature of Massachusetts forests, forest markets, and landowner attitudes in comparison to other states (e.g., Minnesota). The study suggests that it would be more effective to target renewable energy policy toward different regions and/or markets rather than develop a uniform national policy.

Stumpage Prices in Southern New England (1978‐2011): How Do Red Oak, White Pine, and Hemlock Prices Vary over Time?

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry| 2012

By Jas S. Smith, Marla Markowski-Lindsay, John E. Wagner, and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/njaf.11-033

We analyzed 33 years of red oak, white pine, and hemlock real stumpage prices—after removing inflationary effects—in southern New England. All real prices fluctuated; the real stumpage prices for white pine appear stable, hemlock decreased, but only red oak stumpage increased meaningfully over the 33-year period. This speaks to the importance of management—including silvicultural prescriptions to improve volume increment over time.

A national assessment of public recreational access on family forestlands in the United States

Journal of Forestry | 2012

By Stephanie A. Snyder and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.11-090

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Private forestlands in the United States are important for public recreation, but access to them may be threatened. Using the US Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey, we examined the following questions: (1) How prevalent is public recreational access on family forestland? (2) What influences whether a family forest owner allows public access? (3) Are there regional differences in the supply of public access? We found the provision of public access was modest, with 15% of respondents allowing it. Factors positively correlated with public access provision included owning more forestland, being a resident owner, owning an associated farm/ranch, participating in leasing or timber management activities, possessing a management plan, and allowing private recreational access. Negative factors included posting one’s land, having privacy concerns, owning land for hunting, and being an older or more educated owner. Compared with landowners in the North, Southern landowners were less likely and Rocky Mountain landowners more likely to provide public access. Our results raise the question of whether family forest landowners are responsive to public access incentive programs.

Reimagining Family Forest Conservation: Estimating Landowner Awareness and Their Preparedness to Act with the Conservation Awareness Index

Journal of Forestry | 2012

By Tyler E. Van Fleet, David B. Kittredge, Brett J. Butler, and Paul F. Catanzaro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.11-021

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The Conservation Awareness Index (CAI) is a new, necessary survey instrument designed to assess family forest conservation progress. This article describes the rationale, development, and pilot testing of the CAI, which estimates family forest owner awareness (including familiarity, knowledge, and experience) of forest conservation options and sources of information. Administered to 500 randomly selected Massachusetts family forest owners and 64 benchmark landowners, results indicated instrument validity and revealed low conservation awareness among random respondents, especially regarding estate planning and conservation easements. Distance from land, education level, ownership size, and location were related to conservation awareness. Applications of the CAI include understanding family forest owner preparedness to make informed decisions about their land, improving outreach interventions, and measuring the spatial and social dynamics of conservation awareness over time.

The diverse values and motivations of family forest owners in the United States: An analysis of an open-ended question in the National Woodland Owner Survey

Small-scale Forestry | 2011

By David N. Bengston, Stanley T. Asah, and Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-010-9152-9

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The number of family forest owners in the USA has increased continuously in recent decades, and the fate of much of US forests lies in the hands of this diverse and dynamic group of people. The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) is a recurring and comprehensive national survey of US private forest owners, including family forest owners. The NWOS includes an open-ended question that explores forest owners’ motivations and values related to their woodland. The open-ended question format allows respondents to express their own frame of reference in their own words, rather than respond to predetermined, fixed-response categories of motivations. This paper describes the system of values and motivations that emerged from analysis of responses to the open-ended question, and compares these findings to a closed-ended, fixed-response question also included in the NWOS. Diverse and multidimensional motives were expressed by respondents.

Family Forest Owners Rule! 

Forest History Today | Spring/Fall 2011

By Brett J. Butler

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Family Forest Owner Trends in the Northern United States

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2011

By Brett J. Butler and Zhao Ma

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Understanding forest ownership trends is critical for understanding forest trends. In the northern United States, where 55% of the forestland is controlled by families and individuals, it is imperative that we understand the trends within this complex and dynamic group of owners. The US Forest Service conducted forest landowner surveys across this region, and the rest of the United States, in 1993 and 2006. The published results are not directly comparable because of differences in what was reported and how the data were processed. Fortunately, the same sample designs were used and a subset of identical or near identical questions was asked on both surveys so that reprocessing the data allows for trends to be accurately assessed. The average size of family forest holdings decreased from 25 to 20 ac, reasons for owning remained amenity centered, and the owners are now more likely to be older, retired, have a higher income, and more educated.

Factors associated with landowner involvement in forest conservation programs in the U.S.: Implications for policy design and outreach

Land Use Policy | 2011

By Zhao Ma, Brett J. Butler, David B. Kittredge, and Paul Catanzaro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.05.004

One-third of the forestland in the U.S. is owned by 10.4 million family forest owners. Their collective decisions have a great impact on the sustainability of forest landscape across the country. Public policies and programs for encouraging landowners to properly manage their land include cost-share, forest certification, and conservation easements. However, to date, less than 6% of the family forest owners have participated in a cost-share program, less than 1% have certified their land, and less than 2% have an easement. By analyzing data from USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey, we examined the characteristics of family forest owners who had participated in these programs and identified strategies to capitalize on these landowner characteristics to improve current programs and attract a wider range of participants. We found that family forest owners with larger land holdings were more likely to participate in all three types of programs. Obtaining forest management information or advice was important for program participation; however, the effects differed depending on the types of programs and the sources of information. Income was not significant in predicting participation in cost-share programs, implying family forest owners from lower-income strata were not more likely to use cost-share program. The results also suggest the importance of targeting the right audience when promoting forest certification programs, namely those who are participants of cost-share programs, own forestland for reasons other than farming or ranching, and plan to harvest sawlogs or pulpwood in the future. Age was not significant in any of the empirical models. This result is particularly intriguing in the context of conservation easement, considering recent discussions about the high cost of dying unprepared and the potential for promoting conservation easement as part of estate planning among older family forest owners. Finally, few variables were significant in the model predicting landowner decision about donating or selling an easement, suggesting the easement decision is very different from cost-share and forest certification decisions and further efforts are needed to understand the dynamics of this increasingly popular conservation policy tool. In summary, this study provides a better understanding of the relationship between program participation and the demographics, attitudes and behaviors of family forest owners. This understanding contributes to the development of outreach strategies for improving landowner interest in forest conservation programs.

Challenging the Traditional Forestry Extension Model: Insights from the Woods Forum Program in Massachusetts

Small-scale Forestry | 2011

By Zhao Ma, David B. Kittredge, and Paul Catanzaro

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-011-9170-2

Traditional forestry education and outreach activities tend to focus on transfer-of-knowledge, often through workshops initiated and led by professionals to “teach” landowners about forest management and conservation. Less than 10 percent of family forest owners in the US have a management plan, participated in cost-share programs, certified their forest land, or hold a conservation easement, suggesting flaws in this traditional model. Some researchers and practitioners have suggested the need for a paradigm shift away from transfer-of-knowledge to more facilitative, participatory approaches, among which peer learning has gained growing attention and is supported by a number of behavioral theories. By analyzing data from participant feedback of a peer learning pilot program in Massachusetts and a follow-up mail survey, this paper examines the perceived usefulness of peer-to-peer interactions and the effect of peer learning over time. The results suggest peer learning did not only appeal to landowners with forestry background, but also succeeded in attracting inexperienced landowners. Participants rated their peer-to-peer experience positively. The retention of information obtained through the program was reflected by participants’ ability to correctly identify foresters, land trust organizations, and reasonable sources of forestry or land management advice. Participants also shared a strong willingness to spread information obtained through peer learning. This study contributes to the identification of potential barriers to and opportunities for peer learning, informs forestry extension efforts in the US and beyond, and highlights the importance of integrating peer learning into the broader forestry education, technical assistance, and financial incentive programs to increase participation and promote sustainable forest management and conservation.

How Family Forest Owners Consider Timber Harvesting, Land Sale, and Conservation Easement Decisions: Insights from Massachusetts, USA

International Journal of Forestry Research | 2011

By Zhao Ma and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/290353

Ten million family forest owners own 35 percent of US forestland. Although one owner′s action may be insignificant, many owners′ decisions across the landscape and over time can together affect the forest ecosystem. By analyzing survey data from Massachusetts, this paper examines the thought processes of family forest owners when considering timber harvesting, land sale, and conservation easement decisions, all having great potential to shape the future of individual properties and forest landscape. Some factors (e.g., attitudes towards forestland and desire for and experience of cooperation) were important for engaged and unengaged owners, some factors (e.g., attained education level, age, and absenteeism) were irrelevant, and some factors (e.g., acreage and information sources) had mixed effects depending on the decision and landowner engagement level. The results suggest the need to avoid any one-size-fits-all approach, differentiate landowners based on their engagement level, and tailor outreach efforts to address the interests and concerns of particular audiences.

Barriers to Massachusetts forest landowner participation in carbon markets

Ecological Economics | 2011

By Marla ​Markowski-Lindsay, Thomas Stevens, David B. Kittredge, Brett J. Butler, Paul Catanzaro, and Brenton J. Dickinson

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.08.027

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U.S. forests, including family-owned forests, are important carbon sinks and sources for carbon sequestration. Family forest owners constitute a significant portion of the overall forestland in the U.S., but little is known about their preferences for participating in carbon sequestration programs. The goal of this research is to understand what motivates Massachusetts family forest owners to participate in carbon markets. The study estimates the probability these landowners would engage in carbon sequestration programs using data from a survey of 930 Massachusetts family forest owners. Results from a random effects ordered probit indicate that under a carbon scenario similar to the current voluntary scheme, very few of these landowners would be interested in participating. Supply analysis indicates these landowners are more influenced to participate by factors other than price. Regression analysis results suggest that survey respondents are concerned about early withdrawal penalties, additionality requirements, and contract length. Forest owner harvesting plans, opinions about forest usage, and beliefs about climate change all play a significant role in the decision to participate. The study suggests that policy makers should consider the reasons behind these low participation rates, because private forest owners could play a pivotal role in the carbon sequestration potential of forests.

The influence of land use and climate change on forest biomass and composition in Massachusetts, USA

Ecological Applications | 2011

By Jonathan R. Thompson, David R. Foster, Robert Scheller, and David Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/10-2383.1

Land use and climate change have complex and interacting effects on naturally dynamic forest landscapes. To anticipate and adapt to these changes, it is necessary to understand their individual and aggregate impacts on forest growth and composition. We conducted a simulation experiment to evaluate regional forest change in Massachusetts, USA over the next 50 years (2010–2060). Our objective was to estimate, assuming a linear continuation of recent trends, the relative and interactive influence of continued growth and succession, climate change, forest conversion to developed uses, and timber harvest on live aboveground biomass (AGB) and tree species composition. We examined 20 years of land use records in relation to social and biophysical explanatory variables and used regression trees to create “probability-of-conversion” and “probability-of-harvest” zones. We incorporated this information into a spatially interactive forest landscape simulator to examine forest dynamics as they were affected by land use and climate change. We conducted simulations in a full-factorial design and found that continued forest growth and succession had the largest effect on AGB, increasing stores from 181.83 Tg to 309.56 Tg over 50 years. The increase varied from 49% to 112% depending on the ecoregion within the state. Compared to simulations with no climate or land use, forest conversion reduced gains in AGB by 23.18 Tg (or 18%) over 50 years. Timber harvests reduced gains in AGB by 5.23 Tg (4%). Climate change (temperature and precipitation) increased gains in AGB by 17.3 Tg (13.5%). Pinus strobus and Acer rubrum were ranked first and second, respectively, in terms of total AGB throughout all simulations. Climate change reinforced the dominance of those two species. Timber harvest reduced Quercus rubra from 10.8% to 9.4% of total AGB, but otherwise had little effect on composition. Forest conversion was generally indiscriminate in terms of species removal. Under the naïve assumption that future land use patterns will resemble the recent past, we conclude that continued forest growth and recovery will be the dominant mechanism driving forest dynamics over the next 50 years, and that while climate change may enhance growth rates, this will be more than offset by land use, primarily forest conversion to developed uses.

Private forest landowner attitudes toward off-highway vehicle access: A Minnesota case study

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2010

By Dennis R. Becker, Grant L. Wilson, and Stephanie A. Snyder

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Off-highway vehicle (OHV) riding has increased dramatically in the past decade, creating challenges for finding suitable places to ride, particularly where access to public lands is limited. This research examines the attitudes and willingness of private forest and seasonal recreation landowners to provide OHV access. A series of focus groups was conducted to inform a survey questionnaire mailed to a random sample of landowners in north central Minnesota. Results indicate low willingness among landowners to provide public OHV riding opportunities. Approximately 3% of respondents currently allow public access, but that increases significantly if OHV riding behaviors are to reflect lowered noise levels, increased age of riders, low speeds, and small group sizes. Results also indicate that landowner attitudes regarding OHV effects and rider behaviors differ when riders are family and friends versus the public.

Social versus biophysical availability of wood in the northern United States

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2010

By Brett J. Butler, Ma Zhao, David B. Kittredge, and Paul Catanzaro

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The availability of wood, be it harvested for sawlogs, pulpwood, biomass, or other products, is constrained by social and biophysical factors. Knowing the difference between social and biophysical availability is important for understanding what can realistically be extracted. This study focuses on the wood located in family forests across the northern United States. Family forest owners control 54% of the 7,685 million dry tons of wood in the region. To estimate availability, we begin with the total resource and then apply constraints related to slope, drainage, site productivity, tree size, size of forest holdings, distance to roads, harvesting restrictions, population pressures, and ownership attitudes. These constraints reduce wood availability significantly, by nearly two-thirds according to our calculations. The vast majority of this reduction is due to social factors, in particular owner attitudes. The greatest state-level reductions in wood availability are in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, all of which have estimated reductions of more than 75%.

Are Family Forest Owners Facing a Future In Which Forest Management Is Not Enough?

Journal of Forestry | 2010

By Anthony W. D’Amato, Paul F. Catanzaro, David T. Damery, David B. Kittredge, and Kristina A. Ferrare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jof/108.1.32

Family forests represent the largest proportion of forestland within the United States; however, the processes of forest conversion, fragmentation, and parcelization are drastically impeding the ability to manage these lands and maintain the benefits they provide. One factor suggested as driving this trend is the inability of landowners to meet the property tax burden on their land. We evaluated the effectiveness of three tools commonly suggested for meeting the financial demands of property taxes: (1) use of economic returns from timber management, (2) enrollment in a current-use tax program, and (3) sale of a conservation easement, within a rural watershed in western Massachusetts. Our results indicate that revenue from timber management is insufficient at covering property taxes and that application of measures such as the sale of conservation easements will be critical in maintaining the viability of forest ownership in areas of rising land values and property taxes.

Using real estate records to assess forest land parcelization and development: A Minnesota case study

Landscape and Urban Planning | 2010

By J. Mundell, S.J. Taff, M.A. Kilgore, and S.A. Snyder

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.08.001

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We measure the extent and location of forest parcelization activity in a heavily forested Minnesota county between 1999 and 2006 and examine both the immediate and extended relationship between parcelization and development activity. We document forest land parcelization and development activity over time utilizing readily available real estate parcel data. Despite widespread perceptions of rapidly increasing rates of parcelization, we observed no significant positive or negative trend in parcelization activity in Itasca County during the study period: an average of only 0.4% of private forest land was parcelized each year. Parcelization was more common near cities, water, and public lands. While the overall rate of parcelization observed in this study may seem meager, closer examination of specific parcels suggest that parcelization is intimately tied to development activity and that this development occurs not long after parcelization.

Urban forestry priorities of Massachusetts (USA) tree wardens

Urban Forestry and Urban Greening | 2010

By David Rines, Brian Kane, H. Dennis, P. Ryan, and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2010.06.006

As part of a survey we sent to tree wardens (individuals responsible for public trees) in communities in Massachusetts, USA, we examined which urban forest management tools and activities were most important to tree wardens themselves. Tree wardens generally agreed that inter-departmental communication and Chapter 87 (a state law promulgating the powers of a tree warden) were more important than having a qualified tree warden, an advocacy/advisory group, or a management plan (measures recognized by the USDA Forest Service in the Community Accomplishment Reporting System). Nearly all tree wardens prioritized removing dead and hazard trees. We discuss management implications of our results, paying particular attention to the importance of state laws in supporting urban forest management.

Forest Landowners’ Willingness to Sell Carbon Credits: A Pilot Study

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2009

By Lena S. Fletcher, David Kittredge, Jr., and Thomas Stevens

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/njaf/26.1.35

Sequestered carbon is a new forest product that could help private forest owners earn financial returns while keeping their forests intact. Private forest owners are responsible for 78% of forests in Massachusetts, and the carbon these trees sequester could be traded in emerging cap-and-trade carbon markets in the United States. In forming policy about climate change and forestry, it is important to understand the factors that influence the likelihood of landowners choosing to sell sequestered carbon and participate in the carbon marketplace. In this pilot study, we explored the likelihood of Massachusetts forest owners selling carbon sequestered on their forestland. We found that landowners significantly favor higher payments, no withdrawal penalty, and, unexpectedly, longer time commitments. We also found that at current carbon prices, very few participants (less than 7%) would be willing to sell. Additional studies need to be conducted, with a larger sample of respondents, which may elucidate how socioeconomic variables and ownership attitudes influence forest owners’ willingness to enroll in carbon markets.

The Fire in the East

Journal of Forestry | 2009

By David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jof/107.3.162

Willingness-to-sell conservation easements: A case study

Journal of Forest Economics | 2009

By Michael LeVert, Thomas Stevens, and Dave Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfe.2009.02.001

A contingent valuation survey of forest landowners in Southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts suggests that it would cost about $700 per acre to entice about one-half of Massachusetts and 33% of Vermont respondents to permanently conserve their forestland. Policies that promote early development of management plans and cooperation with neighbors are recommended because these activities appear to increase the likelihood that landowners will convey conservation easements. Education and a strong environmental ethic also improve the chances that respondents would sell conservation easements. A prediction-based contingent valuation format designed to reduce incentives for strategic behavior suggests that our results likely represent a lower bound estimate of landowner response to a large-scale conservation easement program.

Motivations and Land-Use Intentions of Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners: Comparing Inheritors to Noninheritors

Forest Science | 2009

By Indrajit Majumdar, David Laband, Lawrence Teeter, and Brett Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/55.5.423

The documented importance of intergenerational human capital transfers in agriculture generally gives us reason to suspect that such transfers may be important in a forestry context and that there may be important implied differences between first-generation woodland owners and multigeneration woodland owners with respect to their motivations and future intentions. In turn, knowledge of the motivations and intentions of nonindustrial private landowners may be extremely important because such knowledge may be vital in terms of our ability to predict future timber supply and the availability of nontimber amenities. Also, the effectiveness of public policies targeting nonindustrial private forest landowners may depend critically on their motivations and intentions. In this article, we analyzed 8,373 responses to the National Woodland Owner Survey to compare characteristics, motivations, and intentions of multigeneration forest landowners against those of single-generation forest landowners. In brief, we found there were significant differences in their motivations and management behavior; inheritors are more active forest managers and manage for both timber and nontimber forest products more aggressively than noninheritors who typically value esthetics, privacy, protection of biodiversity, and nonhunting recreation.

Time and Distance: Comparing Motivations Among Forest Landowners in New England, USA

Smale-scale Forestry | 2009

By Mark Rickenbach and David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-008-9071-1

Parcelization and shifting landownership are critical forces reshaping forested ecosystems in the USA and elsewhere. These forces create a mosaic of new and long-time landowners as well as differences in residency. Using survey data (n = 879) of landowners in Massachusetts and Vermont, USA, we begin the process of sorting out time (i.e., length of landownership) and distance (i.e., distance of primary residence from forest holding), and their relationships to motivations for continued landownership and management. Both time and distance, and their interaction were significant in explaining three motivations for landownership: enjoyment, production, and protection as well as the number of neighbors with which respondents were acquainted. Distance is the statistically more important factor—negatively related to all dependent variables, but time and its interaction with distance offer the more useful insights for intervention.

Does forest land posted against trespass really mean no hunter access?

Human Dimensions of Wildlife | 2009

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Michael A. Kilgore, Steven J. Taff, and Joseph Schertz

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10871200902856120

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Hunters report diminishing access to private forest land in the United States due to increasing numbers of landowners posting their land against trespass. While many hunters assume posting is synonymous with prohibited access, the relationship between the two is not clear. To address this issue, we predicted the likelihood a family forest landowner who posts their property will, in fact, allow hunter access. Factors that influence this likelihood were identified. We found that the probability of a landowner who posts allowing access was approximately 47%, with all explanatory variables evaluated at their means. Factors decreasing the likelihood of access included a perception that allowing access would interfere with their own hunting or result in property damage. Factors increasing the likelihood of allowing access included increasing parcel size, a perception of excellent hunting opportunity on their parcel, and a high percentage of the surrounding area that is open to public hunting.

Family Forest Owners of the United States, 2006

General Technical Report | 2008

By Brett J. Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-27

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This report summarizes results from the U.S. Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey of the estimated 10 million family forest owners who own 264 million acres (35 percent) of forest land in the United States. We collected information between 2002 and 2006 on family forest owners’ forest holding characteristics, ownership histories, ownership objectives, forest uses, forest management practices, preferred methods for receiving information, concerns, future intentions, and demographics. National, regional, and state summary tables are included.

Characterizing Family Forest Owners: A Cluster Analysis Approach

Forest Science | 2008

By Indrajit Majumdar, Lawrence Teeter, and Brett Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/54.2.176

For policy implementation to promote better stewardship on family forestlands, it is necessary to understand what motivates landowners. This study characterizes family forest owners in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, based on their feelings about forest stewardship and their stated reasons for owning forestland. Multivariate cluster analysis suggests that family forest owners are, in fact, a diverse set of owners who can be grouped into three attitudinal types, namely, multiple-objective, nontimber, and timber. The multiple-objective ownership type was found to be the largest group (49.1% of respondents) with almost half the family forest owners in the sample population belonging to this category. Owners belonging to the timber cluster (29.4%) indicated only timber management and land investment as strong motivating factors behind their forestland ownership, whereas owners belonging to the nontimber cluster (21.5%) value the nonconsumptive uses of their forestland such as aesthetic values, biodiversity, recreation, and privacy.

Family forest stewardship: Do owners need a financial incentive?

Journal of Forestry | 2008

By Michael A. Kilgore, Stephanie Snyder, Steven Taff, and Joseph Schertz

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This study assessed family forest owner interest in formally committing to the types of land use and management practices that characterize good stewardship if compensated for doing so, using Minnesota’s Sustainable Forest Incentives Act (SFIA) as a proxy measure of forest stewardship. The SFIA provides an annual payment in return for obtaining and using a forest management plan and adhering to Minnesota’s timber harvesting and forest management guidelines, among other requirements. Results of a mail survey indicate the typical Minnesota family forest owner has relatively small acreage, owns the land for a long time, lives in a rural area, is an absentee owner, considers hunting the most important reason for forestland ownership, and is not an active forest manager but supplies timber to the marketplace. Analysis of the survey data using a logit model found landowner interest in enrolling in the SFIA program was significantly influenced by the SFIA payment amount, acres of forestland owned, intention to obtain a forest management plan, opposition to the program’s covenant requirement, and familiarity with the program. The model also estimated considerable compensation is needed to secure substantial participation of family forest owners in the SFIA program?nearly $24/ac per year to enroll one-half of the owners surveyed. Marketing efforts to increase the program visibility and extolling the virtues of a forest management plan should be part of a strategy to increase family forest owner participation in the SFIA program.

The cost of acquiring public hunting access on family forests lands

Human Dimensions of Wildlife | 2008

By Michael A. Kilgore, Stephanie A. Snyder, Joesph M. Schertz, and Steven J. Taff

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To address the issue of declining access to private forest land in the United States for hunting, over 1,000 Minnesota family forest owners were surveyed to estimate the cost of acquiring non-exclusive public hunting access rights. The results indicate landowner interest in selling access rights is extremely modest. Using binary logistic regression, the mean annual compensation required to purchase public access on these lands is estimated at $50 per acre. Significant predictors of landowner willingness to sell unrestricted public hunting access rights are the compensation offered, owner’s use of the property for hunting, land’s hunting quality and market value, location of owner’s residence, current posting practices, future ownership intentions, and concern for property damage. The high payment required to purchase this right reflects the value owners attach to exclusive hunting rights, cost of enrolling in a governmentsponsored program, and inability to control who and how many hunt on the property.

What does it take to get family forest owners to enroll in a forest stewardship-type program?

Forest Policy and Economics | 2008

By Michael A. Kilgore, Stephanie A. Snyder, Joseph Schertz, and Steven J. Taff

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2008.05.003

We estimated the probability of enrollment and factors influencing participation in a forest stewardship-type program, Minnesota’s Sustainable Forest Incentives Act, using data from a mail survey of over 1000 randomly-selected Minnesota family forest owners. Of the 15 variables tested, only five were significant predictors of a landowner’s interest in enrolling in the program: compensation amount, intention to obtain a forest management plan, opposition to the program’s land covenant, prior awareness of the program, and total acres of forest land owned. The estimated median minimum compensation required was approximately $24 per acre per year. One-fourth of the survey respondents were undecided about whether they would participate in the stewardship program, suggesting there may be potential to capture additional interest and participation. Marketing efforts to raise program awareness, increasing annual stewardship payments, and eliminating the land covenant are likely to be effective strategies for increasing program participation.

Estimating Ownerships and Parcels of Nonindustrial Private Forestland in Massachusetts

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2008

By David B. Kittredge, Anthony W. D’Amato, Paul Catanzaro, Jennifer Fish, and Brett Butler

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/njaf/25.2.93

Woodland ownership for three regions of Massachusetts is estimated using property tax assessor data. These data are nonspatially explicit and are based on commercial, industrial, residential, or other activity rather than actual land cover. A heuristic was used to aggregate similar parcels to provide an estimate of actual landownership. The estimated average statewide ownership is 17.9 ac, and when properties less than 10 ac are excluded, the average rises to 42.5 ac. The median ownership varies from east to west in the state across the spectrum of suburban development radiating from the metropolitan Boston area, with the median being 4.8, 7.8, and 8.6 ac in the eastern, central, and western part of the state, respectively. These results are compared with ownership estimates generated by the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis.

Estimating a family forest landowner’s likelihood of posting against trespass

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2008

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Michael A. Kilgore, Steven J. Taff, and Joseph M. Schertz

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Hunters and other recreators face challenges to gain access to private forestland in the United States because of an increasing number of landowners posting their land. A landowners’ decision to post their land is influenced by a variety of factors, including landowner characteristics, hunter behavior, and parcel attributes. We used a logit model to help understand why family forest landowners in Minnesota post their land against public trespass. Factors that increased the likelihood of posting included younger owners, a perception that allowing access would interfere with one’s own hunting, a perception that allowing access would result in damage to one’s property, hunting as the primary reason for forestland ownership, larger parcel size, having a management plan, higher property values, and a high percentage of surrounding area open to public hunting. Implications of increased posting by family forest owners on hunting access and wildlife management are discussed.

Influence of purchaser perceptions and intentions on price for forest land parcels: a hedonic pricing approach

Journal of Forest Economics | 2008

By Stephanie A. Snyder, Michael A. Kilgore, Rachel Hudson, and Jacob Donnay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfe.2007.04.002

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A hedonic model was developed to analyze the market for undeveloped forest land in Minnesota. Variables describing in situ conditions, locational characteristics, buyer perceptions and intentions, and transactional terms were tested for their influence on sale price. The independent variables explained 67% of the per hectare sale price variation. Water frontage, road access and density, absentee ownership, future intentions, and financing arrangements had large, positive influences on price. Lack of a real-estate agent and agricultural land in the vicinity of the parcel had negative influences. A parcel’s merchantable timber volume was not a significant predictor of price.

Understanding and reaching family forest owners: lessons from social marketing research

Journal of Forestry | 2007

By Brett J. Butler, Mary Tyrrell, Geoff Feinberg, Scott VanManen, Larry Wiseman, and Scott Wallinger

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Social marketing–the use of commercial marketing techniques to effect positive social change–is a promising means by which to develop more effective and efficient outreach, policies, and services for family forest owners. A hierarchical, multivariate analysis based on landowners’ attitudes reveals four groups of owners to whom programs can be tailored: woodland retreat, working the land, supplemental income, and ready to sell. A prime prospect analysis segmenting landowners according to their level of engagement and interest in land management can be used to improve the efficiency of program implementation. Landowners showing low levels of engagement but high levels of interest are of special interest because they are likely to be receptive to a social marketing message and therefore should be a priority target for any such efforts. Using the demographic profile of the average family forest owner, newspapers and television were identified as important means for mass communication.

Interest in Cross-Boundary Cooperation: Identification of Distinct Types of Private Forest Owners

Forest Science | 2006

By Andrew O. Finely, David B. Kittredge, Jr., Thomas H. Stevens, Charles M. Schweik, and Donald C. Dennis

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/52.1.10

This article presents quantitative results from a study that evaluated private forest (PF) owner interest in cross-boundary cooperation. The intent was to reveal subgroups, referred to here as segments, of PF owners that align with different forms and levels of cooperative activities. Segmentation analysis used 783 mail-back surveys from Franklin County, Massachusetts, PF owners in spring 2002. The analysis indicates that there are four segments of PF owners in Franklin County, each maintaining a distinct level of interest in proposed forms of cooperation. Two segments define positive interest in cooperation (General Cooperators, 27%; Conservation Cooperators, 21%), and the other two represent apathy (Neutralists, 27%), and disinterest (Non-Cooperators, 24%). Furthermore, each segment presents a unique profile of items and scales that measure personal values and attitudes about cross-boundary cooperation and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Segment profiles show a strong association between interest in cooperation and profiling variables such as age, affluence, personal values, and attitudes. By identifying the specific needs and wants among PF owners, these findings can help in the development of responsive initiatives to promote cross-boundary cooperation in Franklin County. Furthermore, the outlined segmentation analysis could aid PF owner studies identify and describe key segments and determine interest in cross-boundary cooperation.

Thoreau, Muir, and Jane Doe: Different Types of Private Forest Owners Need Different Kinds of Forest Management

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry | 2006

By Andrew O. Finely and David B. Kittredge, Jr.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/njaf/23.1.27

We present a three-phase segmentation analysis designed to highlight the heterogeneity of forest ownership values and attitudes toward government control, privacy, and environmental protection held by a sample of Massachusetts private forest owners. This case study explores private forest owner characteristics that are associated with enrollment into Massachusetts’ Chapter 61 current-use forest property tax program, which requires a professionally prepared 10-year forest management plan. We suggest the key to increasing landowner participation in forest management programs is to (1) recognize this heterogeneity of the target population, and (2) tailor the program to meet segment specific needs and desires.

Forest harvesting and land-use conversion over two decades in Massachusetts

Forest Ecology and Management | 2006

By Robert I. McDonald, Glenn Motzkin, Michael S. Bank, David B. Kittredge, John Burk, and David R. Foster

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.02.006

Forest harvesting is an important, ongoing disturbance that affects the composition, structure, and ecological function of the majority of the world’s forests. However, few studies have examined the interaction between land-use conversion and harvesting. We utilize a unique, spatially explicit database of all cutting events (n > 13,000) and land-cover conversions for Massachusetts over the past 20 years to characterize the interactions between land-use conversion and harvesting, and their relationship to physical, social, and economic factors. We examined three key variables: the proportion of forest harvested within an ecoregion (%), the mean harvest intensity (m³ ha⁻¹), and the mean harvest event area (ha). The mean harvest intensity (43 m³ ha⁻¹), mean harvest area (15 ha), and average species composition of harvests were remarkably constant over time. However, the proportion of forest harvested varied widely across the state, ranging from 0.01 to 1.48% annually. Harvesting activity ceases near the far outer suburbs of major metropolitan areas, as well as along the coast. There is a strong negative correlation (r = −0.89) between the proportion of forest lost to land-use conversion and the proportion of forest harvested. CART analysis shows that road density is the most important overall predictor of probability of forest harvest, with median house price also an important predictor. Harvest intensity, in contrast, appears related to ownership type, with state-owned lands having more intensive harvests (53 m³ ha⁻¹). Our results suggest that current forest management regimes are determined largely by the economic influence of nearby urban centers.

Assessing Private Forest Owner Attitudes Toward Ecosystem-Based Management

Journal of Forestry | 2005

By Daniel L. Belin, David B. Kittredge, Thomas H. Stevens, Donald C. Dennis, Charles M. Schweik, and Bernard J. Morzuch

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jof/103.1.28

Nonindustrial private forest owners in Vermont, New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward an ecosystem-based approach to management. In all cases, respondents showed favorable attitudes toward: unique, small-scale ecological features like rare species and wetlands; management at spatial scales larger than the individual parcel; and ownership beyond a single generation. Even nonrespondents, when interviewed on the telephone, indicated attitudes sensitive to these issues. We believe future conservation of nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) lands will be successful if professionals design management alternatives sensitive to these attitudes and policy makers craft appealing and effective programs that are perceived as relevant.

The cooperation of private forest owners on scales larger than one individual property: international examples and potential application in the United States

Forest Policy and Economics | 2005

By David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2003.12.004

A relatively small number of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners in the United States has recently expressed interest in cooperating with one another at scales broader than their individual properties. There are many good reasons to do so, which would enhance their individual ownership benefits, as well as the suite of greater public benefits that accrue from a privately owned forest landscape. An Internet and literature review of private forest owner cooperation in temperate nations with developed economies resulted in a broad array of evidence of longstanding and successful activities from 19 countries. Forms of cooperation and resulting activities vary, ranging from low levels of commitment for purposes of information/education, to more structured participation for financial and marketing purposes. Likewise, the origins of cooperation differ from country to country, though common elements emerge (e.g. the role of government, reaction to a stimulus or threat). This review and analysis of private forest owner cooperation provides examples of tactics and successful results that contribute towards the development of potential cooperation of private forest owners in places where such activity is contemplated.

America’s family forest owners

Journal of Forestry | 2004

By Brett J. Butler and Earl C. Leatherberry

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The number of family forest owners in the conterminous United States increased from 9.3 million in 1993 to 10.3 million in 2003, and these owners now control 42% of the nation’s forestland. The reasons why people own forestland are diverse. Some of the more common ones are aesthetic enjoyment, the tract is part of a farm or homesite, and to pass the land on to heirs. Half of the family forest owners have harvested trees, but only 3% of them have a written forest-management plan. Trends in owners’ ages and future land-use intentions suggest widescale transfers of family forestland in the near future.

Extension/Outreach Implications for America’s Family Forest Owners

Journal of Forestry | 2004

By David B. Kittredge

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jof/102.7.15

The increasing number of family forest owners presents a challenge to effective outreach. Family woodland in some parts of the country represents the dominant ownership type. Sustained provision of a host of greater social goods and services depends on functional forest landscapes, yet fragmentation and parcelization of family woodlands pose a threat. Segmentation of the family owner audience into different types, and targeting of outreach toward two specific decisionmaking junctures, may improve our ability to reach this important audience.

The illusion of preservation: a global environmental argument for the local production of natural resources

Journal of Biogeography | 2002

By Mary M. Berlik, David B. Kittredge, and David R. Foster

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2002.00768.x

The United States (US) and other affluent countries consume vast quantities of global natural resources, but contribute proportionately less to the extraction of many raw materials. This imbalance is due, in part, to domestic policies intended to protect the environment. Ironically, developed nations are often better equipped to extract resources in an environmentally prudent manner than the major suppliers. Thus, although citizens of affluent countries may imagine that preservationist domestic policies are conserving resources and protecting nature, heavy consumption rates necessitate resource extraction elsewhere and oftentimes under weak environmental oversight. A major consequence of this ‘illusion of natural resource preservation’ is greater global environmental degradation than would arise if consumption were reduced and a large portion of production was shared by affluent countries. This paper considers some implications of the consumption, management and conservation of forests and wood at a local and global scale.

Massachusetts Family Forests: Birth of a Landowner Cooperative

Journal of Forestry | 2001

By P.K. Barten, D. Damery, P. Catanzaro, J. Fish, S. Campbell, A. Fabos, and L. Fish

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jof/99.3.23

The story is as old as our profession: private lands, low-value species, a stagnant rural economy, development pressure, and loss of forests. A group of foresters and landowners is trying to reverse this cycle by forming a cooperative enterprise. This article summarizes our approach and experiences during the start-up phase. The overarching objective of Massachusetts Family Forests is to sustain or enhance the forest resources, rural character, and economy of our region.