Comparing the profiles, objectives and behaviours of new and longstanding non-industrial private forest owners in Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Owing primarily to private forest owners' important role in supplying wood to the forest products industry, various studies have attempted to describe owners' profiles, objectives and behaviour. However, there have been few detailed examinations of the differences between the new generation of owners and the previous one. To better understand these differences, an analysis was carried out of data obtained from a telephone survey of a representative sample (n=1723) of the 134,000 private forest owners in Quebec, Canada.The results reveal differences between the new (<10years of ownership) and longstanding forest owners (>20years of ownership) responding to the survey. In terms of owners' profiles, a number of variables differed significantly between the two categories of owners: education level, family income, way the first forest was acquired and the distance between the closest woodlot and the owner's place of residence. Differences in the two groups' objectives for owning a forest and for carrying out management work were also identified. Certain behaviours such as harvesting levels and sources of information consulted on forestry also differed significantly between the new and longstanding owners participating in the survey.In short, a shift is occurring towards owners who are from the professional class, are more highly educated and live farther away from their forests. The forest is integrated into these new owners' lifestyles in a different way since it is a leisure-time activity rather than part of their main occupation. The increasing diversity among owners will require a new approach by the agencies and associations offering them services and the government, which wants to encourage owners to harvest wood from their forests.