Understanding and Reaching
Family Forest Owners
Brett J. Butler
U.S. Forest Service
Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters
Forest Resource Planning Committee Annual Meeting
June 7-9, 2011 Portsmouth, NH

Conclusions
• Family forest owners rule!
• Size matters
• Beauty, privacy, nature, and legacy
• To manage or not to manage?
• They’re a bunch of old guys
• Family forest owners don’t own forests
2

Pop Quiz

Who is this?
A. William McKinley
B. Teddy Roosevelt
C. Eleanor Roosevelt
D. Smokey Bear
4

Who is this?
A. Walt Whitman
B. Henry David Thoreau
C. John Muir
D. Teddy Roosevelt
5

Who is this?
A. The first chief of the
U.S. Forest Service
B. Gifford Pinchot
C. The former governor of Pennsylvania
D. All of the above
6

Who is this?
A. John W. Weeks
B. John E. Weeks
C. John W. Weeks
D. Edgar Weeks
7

What do these people have in common?
Catalysts of Forest Conservation
8

Pop Quiz

According to 1,000 likely voters: who owns most of the forests in the U.S.?
A. U.S. Government
B. Forest industry
C. Family forest owners
10

U.S.
Forest Ownership
Northern U.S.
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 11

12

Forest Conservation: The Next Phase
13

National Woodland Owner Survey
Conducted by the U.S. Forest
Service, Forest Inventory and
Analysis program
To better understand:
• Who the landowners are
• Why they own land
• How they have used it
• How they intend to use it
15

National Woodland Owner Survey
• Family Forests Owners of the United States,
2006 (NRS-GTR-27)
• NWOS Table Maker
• www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos
16

Size of Family Forest Holdings
Northern U.S., 2006
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 18

Size Matters
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey
19

Family Forest Ownership Objectives
Northern U.S., 2006
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 21

Family Forest Ownership Objectives
Northern U.S., 2006
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 22

Management of Family Forests
• Timber harvesting
53% of family forestland
• Forest management plan
16% of family forestland
• Management advice
31% of family forestland
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 24

Demographics of Family Forest Owners
Age: 40% 65 or older
Occupation: 49% retired
Gender: 86% male
Race: 98% white
Education: 34% college degree
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 26

Plans for Family Forestland
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 27

Concerns
1. Property taxes
2. Family legacy
3. Trespassing
4. Insects and plant diseases
5. Dumping/vandalism
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey 28

Pop Quiz

Who is this?
A. Woodsy Owl
B. Smokey Bear
C. Connie Fir
D. Santa Claus
31

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
A collaboration among government, industry, conservation, certifications, landowner, and academics organizations
Our goal is to conduct social marketing research:
• That will serve as a wide-ranging resource
• To aid in the development of outreach and services
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
32

Social Marketing
Selling ideas, not products
Examples:
• Anti-smoking
• Mothers Against Drunk
Driving
• Smokey Bear
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
33

Social Marketing
A program designed to promote a voluntary change in behavior by a target audience for personal and social benefit
Three components:
• Research
• Attitudinal segmentation
• Prime prospects
• Focus groups
• Campaign
• Evaluation (behavior change?)
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
34

• Woodland retreat
• Supplemental income
• Working the land
• Uninvolved
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
35

Attitudinal Segmentation
Northern U.S., 2006
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
36

Prime Prospects Segmentation
Engaged in land management
Favorable attitudes toward stewardship
Model
Owners
Unfavorable attitudes toward stewardship
Potential
Defectors
Unengaged in land management
Prime
Prospects
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
Writeoffs?
37

Prime Prospects Segmentation
Northern U.S., 2006
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
38

Prime Prospects and Attitudinal Segmentations
Northern U.S., 2006
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
39

Social Marketing:
“Surround Sound” Communications
Online
News
Media
Partnerships
Events
PSA/
Advertising
Celebrity
Sightings
Direct
Mail
Retail
Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.
40

Words Matter
• Very few forest owners own any forest
– Trees, Woods, Wildlife
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
Richard Scarry
41

Words Matter
• What is forestry, foresters and loggers?
Dr. Seuss
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
42

Words Matter
• Terms like stewardship, sustainable management, and forest health are not part of their regular vernacular
• They do not strongly differentiate between conservation and preservation
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
43

Group Membership
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
44

General Information Sources
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
45

Preferred Methods for Receiving
Forest Management Information
U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey
46

Communication Messages
Do
• Target
• Hit hot button issues
• Stress options
• Use their words
Don’t
• Be preachy
• Go global
Sustaining Family Forests Initiative
47

Pilot Study: Call Before You Cut http://callb4ucut.com/
48

Traditional Tools
1. Working forests
2. Management plans
3. Cost share
4. Conservation easements
5. Preferential tax programs
53

New Tools
1. Targeted marketing
2. Succession planning
3. Peer to peer
4. Ecosystem services
5. Health care
54

Forest Health-Human Health Initiative
Human
Health Insurance
Provider
Carbon
Investor
Forest
Health
Forest Owner
(& Offspring)
The Pinchot Institute for Conservation 55

Conclusions
• Family forest owners rule!
• Size matters
• Beauty, privacy, nature, and legacy
• To manage or not to manage?
• They’re a bunch of old guys
• Family forest owners don’t own forests
56

Credits
• National Woodland Owner
Survey
– Brett Butler
– Jake Hewes
– Earl Leatherberry
• Sustaining Family Forests
Initiative
– Brett Butler
– Mary Tyrrell
– Purnima Chawla
– Geoff Feinberg
– Judy Langer
– Ravi Singh
57

Questions?
Brett Butler
U.S. Forest Service, Amherst, MA bbutler01@fs.fed.us; 413.545.1387
www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos www.EngagingLandowners.org
www.FamilyForestResearchCenter.org
58