Acres Of Forest Land Research Articles

Open conversations: Finding ways to improve communication between family forest landowners and consulting foresters

Alabama is comprised of 23 million acres of forestland, of which family forest landowners (FFLs) own 56 % of that acreage. Therefore, FFLs are vital to maintaining the quality and diversity of Alabama's forests. However, FFLs possess varying attitudes towards management, value their land for different reasons, and have differing management objectives. In addition, FFLs are comprised of diverse backgrounds, own vastly different acreages, and fall within differing income brackets, all of which have been shown to affect management usage. This research aims to assess consulting foresters and FFLs in Alabama to learn why FFLs are hesitant to use consulting foresters for land management. It also aims to educate FFLs and consulting foresters in Alabama on better communicating their needs, services, and benefits. To study these two groups, a set of interviews and two surveys were used to collect perceptions, experiences, and needs. While consulting foresters are willing to work with smaller acreage, there are still constraints preventing management, and cost was mentioned by both groups. Still, FFLs are interested in consulting foresters' services, but many do not actively market FFLs. As a result, FFLs are unaware of the different types of forestry professionals, causing competition for consulting foresters who must be registered. Both consulting foresters and FFLs need to become more active in organizations, and consulting foresters need to adopt newer marketing techniques, while FFLs should seek more educational opportunities and opportunities to interact with consulting foresters directly.

Improving Communications to Increase Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowner (NIPF) Participation in Forest Certification Programs: A Case Study in Arkansas, USA

Despite the socioeconomic and ecological significance of the 10.4 million acres of forestland owned by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners across Arkansas (approximately 58% of forestland in the state), only 5% of this land is certified through the American Tree Farm System. As such, understanding how to improve the reach and content of communications to NIPF landowners is vital for expanding certification participation and subsequent improvement of forest management in Arkansas and throughout the southern United States. To explore current and optimal communications to increase NIPF participation, we employed Berlo’s source–message–channel–receiver (SMCR, 1960) model to analyze survey data collected from Arkansas NIPF landowners regarding their familiarity with, interest in, and information sources for forest certification programs. Our results indicate that NIPF landowners have a relatively low familiarity with certification programs and a low interest in adopting a certification program regardless of personal involvement throughout the certification process, the transparency of on-sight inspections to the public, and the requirements of forest management plans. However, positive correlations were found between self-reported familiarity with certification programs and the perceived usefulness of various information sources, indicating that communications to NIPF landowners have the ability to be influential. Furthermore, the results showed that the greatest perceived benefits to landowners were improved timber growth and health, better management actions, and environmentally-friendly timber harvesting, whereas the most concerning perceived drawbacks were increased record-keeping and paperwork as well as management costs. These findings will offer actionable insights into future messaging campaigns and provide directions for new approaches of reaching NIPF landowners to increase their participation in forest certification.

Applying the Transtheoretical Model of Change to Legacy Planning Decisions

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.

Timber Use, Processing Capacity, and Capability within the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region Timber-Processing Area

Abstract Over the past two decades, more than half a million acres of forested land has experienced extensive insect- and disease-caused tree mortality within the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region 2 (R2) of the National Forest System. To plan for timber harvest treatments needed to restore forest health, managers need information on forest product facility capacity and capability to profitably process timber of various size classes. To answer this need, the authors summarized timber harvest volumes by state and county group, identified facilities in the R2 area, quantified timber-processing capacities and size class capabilities, and analyzed the geographic variability of timber flows from county of harvest to mill. Results showed that nearly 285.5 million board feet Scribner of timber flowed from the study area to 101 processors throughout the R2 timber-processing area. Approximately 70 percent of annual milling capacity can profitably process trees ≧10 in. dbh, whereas just 8 percent can process timber <7 in. dbh. When planning forest-management activities, land managers should balance the need to remove small and/or dead trees with the local industry’s ability to profitably use that material.

A Survey of Forestry Extension Clientele in South Carolina, USA

The U.S. South contains nearly one-third of the nation’s forests and 40% of its productive timberland. This makes the southern U.S. an important part of the wood supply chain. In South Carolina, family forests cover 55% of the 13 million acres of forestland, and contribute significantly to the annual timber harvest volume. However, not all family forest owners are engaged in forest management activities. To better understand the needs and behaviors of family forest owners that are actively engaged in forest management an online survey was developed and sent to family forest owners that actively seek the help of extension agents. Results of a latent-class analysis of survey responses showed that there are three distinct groups of family forest owners that engage with extension agents: hands-on timber managers, hands-off timber managers, and multiple-use land managers. These groups differ in their utilization of help from a consulting forester and their ways of selecting timber harvesting contractors for forest management activities. Eighty-eight percent of respondents reported that their major goal of a thinning was to maximize future revenues. When asked about the expected outcome of a cleat-cut, 69% expected all trees to be removed, whereas the rest expected outcomes similar to selection, seed-tree, or commercial clear-cuts. Overall, this survey provides initial information to better focus outreach and extension efforts, but also highlights how family forest owners engage in their timber harvest.

Landsat Image Analysis of Tree Mortality in the Southern Sierra Nevada Region of California during the 2013-2015 Drought

The United States Forest Service (USFS) observed marked increases in tree mortality in the southern Sierra Nevada foothills and mountains of California using aerial monitoring surveys in April 2015. Aircraft flew over 4 million acres of forested land and found that about 20 percent of forest stands had detectable mortality, totaling 10.45 million dead trees. In this study, Landsat satellite imagery was analyzed at over 90% of these high tree mortality sites in the southern Sierra to understand how the three consecutive years (2013-2015) of extreme drought conditions compared to changes in forest stand growth rates dating to the mid-1980s across this region. Results showed that changes in Landsat droughtsensitive indices from the years 2011 to 2015 closely matched patterns of tree mortality across USFS April 2015 aerial survey locations in the southern Sierra Nevada. The historically low snow year of 2015 could have essentially reset the average forest canopy density for many forests in the region to late 1980s levels, due to drought-related mortality, combined with numerous large stand-replacing wildfires. The corresponding patterns and trends in Landast droughtsensitive indices with observed tree mortality rates can better inform region-wide assessments of forest growth trends and enable long-term drought impact monitoring.

WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR POTENTIAL STANDING TIMBER INSURANCE

AbstractLandowners rarely insure standing timber, suggesting the limited products available do not appeal to potential clientele. We estimated landowner willingness to pay (WTP) for standing timber insurance. Data were generated through a contingent valuation survey. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of Mississippi private forest landowners with 100+ acres of forestland. WTP for standing timber insurance was derived using an interval-censored survival model and a Kaplan-Meier Turnbull nonparametric model. The estimated WTP premium rate was approximately $3.20 per $1,000 of standing timber value, well below existing premium rates. This partially explains the underinsurance of standing timber among landowners.

Public Land Management Agencies’ and Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners’ Perceptions towards Ecosystem Services

The state of Florida has more than 16 million acres of forestland. From clean air to pulp for paper to aesthetic landscapes, humans benefit from private and public forests in many different ways. However, small private landowners and public land management agencies manage the majority of this land, and it is up to these people to decide how society will benefit from those forests. This paper uses the concept of ecosystem services to explore the reasons why public land management agencies and private landowners manage their forests. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Taylor Stein, Namyun Kil, Alexis Frank, Alison E. Adams, Damian C. Adams, and Francisco J. Escobedo, and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation, July 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr380

Institutional Pressures and an Evolving Forest Carbon Market

ABSTRACTIt is estimated that 87 million acres of forestland in the United States (US) is managed by private industrial forestland owners (nearly 14% of the forestland nationwide). Private industrial forestland owners include forest product companies, Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Current regulatory and voluntary carbon markets, as well as proposed national emission reduction legislation, in the US make provisions for substantial carbon offsets from domestic forestry projects. This research employs the theory of planned behavior by means of an online questionnaire in order to survey large industrial forestland owners (>30 000 acres) regarding intentions to manage forestland for carbon sequestration and trading. Quantitative results suggest that very few organizations (18%) were managing forestland for carbon values. Attitudes towards carbon sequestration and trading were significantly influenced by the managers' beliefs that emission reduction legislation would become law and that US forest carbon offsets can be used as a legitimate climate change mitigation tool. Qualitative results revealed that most organizations are taking a passive approach to carbon sequestration and trading until a suitable regulatory framework emerges and carbon prices provide the conditions for a sound investment. The researchers suggest that, given the size and scope of the climate change phenomenon as well as the multifaceted and unified mitigation strategy required to address it, the development of functional carbon markets will be an iterative process and may require a global carbon framework that reflects the globalized nature of the forest economy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Landowner Willingness to Supply Timber for Biofuel: Results of an Alabama Survey of Family Forest Landowners

Abstract A key factor determining the potential for development of cellulosic bioenergy in the southeastern United States (the South) will be the availability of feedstock, which in turn depends on landowner willingness to direct timber production to biomass rather than existing markets or nonmarket uses. Most timberland in this region is owned by family forest landowners whose forest management objectives are varied. This study evaluates the conditions under which family forest landowners from Lee County, Alabama, would be willing to supply wood biomass energy feedstock for a prospective local biofuel industry. Using standard survey methodology, a questionnaire was mailed to every family forest landowner of 20 or more acres of forestland in Lee County, resulting in 363 valid responses and a response rate of 41%. Results indicate that most family forest landowners are willing to supply both timber and harvest residues for production of biofuels and that such willingness is positively correlated with the number of acres owned, the existence of an effective market, and the opportunity to contribute to local economic development and global climate change. Three-quarters of all respondents indicated willingness to manage their land for biomass production, compared with 43% of respondents who actively manage their land at present.

An evaluation of West Virginia's Managed Timberland Tax Incentive Program

Preferential property tax treatment of forested land is part of legislative policy in all 50 states. West Virginia's Managed Timberland (Managed Timberland) is designed to retain private forest land in forested use. In West Virginia, although private forest land owners hold 9.7 million acres of forest land (83% of forest land), Managed Timberland enrolled acres have remained at approximately 2 million acres since 1998. This lack of enrollment may be a cause for concern regarding the success and benefits of the program. This study evaluates West Virginia's Managed Timberland program, examines the factors that influence forest landowners' decision to participate in the program, and proposes strategies for increasing enrollment and improving the program. The data for this study were collected from a mail survey of participants and non-participants of the program conducted in the fall of 2008 on West Virginia forest landowners. Participants tended to hear about the Managed Timberland program from a professional forester and the majority of them were satisfied with the program administration. Aspects of the program that participants opposed most strongly were the annual contract renewal requirement and the tax assessors' overriding authority. Most participants (51%) indicated that a longer contract time was a favorable change to the program. Many non-participants reported that they were not enrolled in Managed Timberland because they had never heard of the program. Although most non-participants were undecided as to whether they would enroll in the future, 25% said they would consider it. Significant factors influencing enrollment were age, income, place of residence, county location of the enrolled property, and perceived benefits of the program.

The Fire in the East

The Fire in the East

Family Forest Stewardship: Do Owners Need a Financial Incentive?

Abstract 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.

"You've Been Wonderful Neighbors": Key Factors in the Successful Integration of a Wiccan Coven into a Suburban Community in the Southeastern United States

In May 2000 the House of Oak Spring (HOS), a Wiccan group, purchased eighteen acres of forested land and a home in a typical suburban Atlanta neighborhood, with the goal of establishing a covenstead. While residents of the suburb initially reacted with considerable fear and hostility, they soon came to accept and even appreciate their Wiccan neighbors. This essay seeks to explain the successful integration of HOS into the larger community in terms of the benefits the community enjoys as a result of the presence of HOS. The case of HOS suggests that similar dynamics may have informed the successful integration of other religious minorities in different communities.

Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowner Characteristics and Use of Forestry Services in Four Southern States: Results from a 2002–2003 Mail Survey

Abstract Forest resources are important economic assets to the southern United States; however, many landowners do not realize the full benefit of their forestland. It was believed that few landowners were being served by forestry-related educational programs or other relevant activities. Therefore, forest landowners in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee were engaged in focus groups and surveyed to determine barriers to participation. Six thousand surveys were mailed to landowners owning 10 or more acres of forestland. A total of 1,689 surveys were returned for an adjusted rate of return of 30.7%. From a sociodemographic standpoint, significant differences (α = 0.05) between states existed for ethnic background (P = 0.000) and educational attainment (P = 0.000) only. Landowners' served status was determined by their responses concerning use of a professional forester (37%), information previously received pertaining to forestry (40%), membership in a forestry-related organization (11%), and attendance at forestry-related educational programs (14%). Based on an index compiled from these responses, 75% of forest landowners were deemed underserved. Landowners stated the main reason they had not taken advantage of these programs or services was because they were unaware of them. This indicated a need for more comprehensive outreach efforts targeting landowners. The results revealed that forestry professionals can potentially increase landowner awareness of educational programs by mailing newsletters, pamphlets/brochures, and/or letters to all forest landowners within a reasonable distance of the program. Overall, respondents reported wildlife management, insects/diseases, and marketing timber as topics of paramount interest for future educational programs. South. J. Appl. For. 29(4):194–199.

The Economics of the Estate Tax: An Update

This analysis examines the arguments for and against the federal estate and concludes that the estate generates costs to taxpayers, the economy, and the environment that far exceed any potential benefits that it might arguably produce. This paper updates a previous Joint Economic Committee report on the federal estate tax. Based on the analysis presented here, the existence of the estate has reduced the stock of capital in the economy by approximately $497 billion, or 3.2 percent. The estate is a leading cause of dissolution for thousands of family-run businesses, diverting resources available for investment and employment. The estate is a virtue tax in the sense that it penalizes work, saving and thrift in favor of large-scale consumption. On the flip side, the analysis finds the benefits to be comparitvely less. Empirical and theoretical research indicates that the estate is ineffective at reducing inequality and may actually increase inequality of consumption. The estate raises very little, if any, net revenue, since the distortionary effects of the estate result in income losses that are roughly the same size as estate revenue. In addition, estate taxes force the development of environmentally sensitive land. Through 2001, 2.6 million acres of forest land were harvested and 1.3 million acres were sold each year to raise funds to pay for estate taxes.

Agricultural Expansion in Northern Alberta

Since the early 1980s some 40,000 acres of forested land have been cleared and placed under cultivation by Mennonite farmers near the small town of La Crete in northern Alberta's Peace River district. This incipient agriculture has been accompanied by dramatic increases in road building and home construction and by the establishment of churches and schools. The principal force behind the acquisition of land has been a desire of families to have homes in rural areas where they can enjoy lifestyles based on traditional Mennonite values. Because most new farmers cannot earn a living in the district from agriculture alone, they must rely on the wood industries to supplement their incomes. Demand is building for the province to open still more land, but disagreements between the government and the Mennonite community about the most appropriate location for developing new farms has put further expansion on hold until the conflict can be resolved.

Entomophaga maimaiga : Salvation from the Gypsy Moth or Fly in the Ointment?

& Soper (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales), a fungal pathogen of the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (L.), has received much attention lately because of its apparent rapid spread and devastating effects on gypsy moth populations (Reardon and Hajek 1993). Through aerial defoliation surveys of the entire state of Delaware in 1995,1996, and 1997, I witnessed firsthand the recent wave of fungal infection. Defoliation levels of 30% or more were caused by the gypsy moth on 65,462 acres of forest land in 1995 but on just 534 acres in 1996 and on zero acres in 1997. Laboratory analysis of infected larvae performed at Cornell University confirmed the presence of E. maimaiga in all three Delaware counties by 1995, concurrent with the detection of numerous late instar cadavers throughout infested areas of the state. These cadavers exhibited the typical dried, head-down signs of death caused by E. maimaiga (Hajek and Roberts 1992). The 1995 epizootic apparently did not affect many gypsy moth populations signif

Bertram M. Bernheim: A southern vascular surgeon

Bertram M. Bernheim: A southern vascular surgeon

Logging and Forest Roads Related to Increased Debris Slides in Southwestern Oregon

Abstract Debris slides over a 20-year period were inventoried on 137,500 acres of forested land in the Klamath Mountains of southwest Oregon. Frequency during the study period was about one slide every 4.3 years on each 1,000 acres--an erosion rate of about ½ yd³ per acre per year. Erosion rates on roads and landings were 100 times those on undisturbed areas, while erosion on harvested areas was seven times that of undisturbed areas. Three-quarters of the slides were found on slopes steeper than 70 percent and half were on the lower third of slopes. The study area was subdivided into nine geomorphological erosion response units which exhibited profound differences in natural erosion rates and responses to disturbance. The results serve as a guide to appraising slide risk associated with planned timber harvests or road construction on forested slopes.