Identifying Woodland Owner Characteristics Associated with Timber Management

Abstract

Abstract Discriminant analysis of 47 variables from a questionnaire mailed to 3,200 randomly selected woodland owners in Arkansas yielded models for the combined Ozark-Ouachita and Coastal Plain regions of the state that were nearly 80 percent successful in differentiating between timber managers and nonmanagers. Simpler field-use models, developed from a subset of 17 variables that can be determined prior to contacting an owner, averaged over 70 percent successful in classifying owners. Contact with a forester, the owner being a farmer, and the owner being well-educated were associated with timber management in models for both regions, as were variables related to large woodland size and some nontimber objectives of ownership. Forest Sci. 32:135-146.