Call Before You Cut Cotton Randall Ohio Division of Forestry Dave Apsley Ohio State University Extension Mary Tyrell Yale School of Forestry & Env. Studies Brett Butler USFS Forest inventory and Analysis Andy Ware Formerly w/ Ohio Division of Forestry

Background  Almost 75 % of Ohio’s 8 million acres of forestland is in family forests  Less than 5 % of these woodland owners indicate that timber management is a priority  25% of them have harvested timber in the last five years

Background  In essence, there are no forest management or timber harvesting regulations in Ohio –Only water quality regulations with minimal enforcement  Woodland owners often make quick decisions about harvesting timber due to short-term financial need  Poorly planned harvests (which are detrimental to forest and water resources, and the financial interests of woodland owners) are the norm (this is a key threat identified in statewide assessment)

Objectives  Provide consumer protection for Ohio’s woodland owners  Encourage sustainable timber harvesting to ensure future ability of forests to meet landowner objectives  Support the use of professional foresters to assist woodland owners with timber harvesting decisions  Promote the use of trained Master Loggers  Facilitate the development of forest management plans, which guide future decisions

Humble Beginnings  Call Before You Cut began as a tri-fold brochure designed by Rural Action Sustainable Forestry and partners  Provided contact information to woodland owners in an 8 county area in Southeastern Ohio  Successful effort, copied in a number of states, but: –Confusing; too many agencies, numbers, contacts etc. –Difficult to keep current

Program Expansion  An effort to update the old brochure was in process  ODNR – Division of Forestry offered their support in an effort to expand to a state-wide campaign  A committee of representatives from the Division, OSU-Extension and Rural Action-Sustainable Forestry was formed  Other partners were recruited

Current Ohio Partners  Ohio Department of Natural Resources – Division of Forestry  Ohio State University – Extension  Rural Action – Sustainable Forestry  ODNR – Division of Soil and Water  Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts  Ohio Society of American Foresters  Ohio Better Business Bureau  The Nature Conservancy  Ohio Tree Farm  Natural Resources Conservation Service

Ohio’s Call Before You Cut  Toll-free number  Web-page  Information Packets –Welcome Letter –Extension Fact Sheets –ODNR Pamphlets –Promotional Brochures from Partners  Marketing Campaign  Radio Ads  Billboards  Brochures  Earned media  Posters  Top Ten List of reasons to Call Before You Cut  Business cards

Averages over 1,100 visits per month

Expanding Call Before You Cut Across State Lines  Expanded into a Multi-state effort  Illinois  Indiana  Iowa  Missouri  West Virginia  Awarded grant from USFS Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry in 2008 for nearly $250,000 to support this multi-state effort  Shared resources including common landing page, marketing materials, ideas etc.  Sustaining Family Forest initiative (SFFI) provided support to bring a social marketing approach to the campaign

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

Prime Prospects by Attitudinal Segmentations

The Call Before You Cut Campaign by: Center for Nonprofit Strategies February 2009

Feb 25, Methodology Met with landowner groups in OH, IA, & IL 5 with WTLs, 4 with WROs, 2 mixed Discussed:  Messages and appeals  Would you call the number?  What would you expect?  What should be in the information packet?  How can we get the word out?

Feb 25, What was learned Better terminology  e.g., woods or woodlands, not forests Attitudes about logging for different landowner types When would landowners seek advice?  Timber harvest or forest health problems Who do they trust or think of for help?  Most only think of state service foresters or extension foresters

Ohio Web Statistics MonthVisitsPages/VisitAvg. Time on Site % New Visits Bounce Rate FEB : MAR : APR : MAY : TOTALS :

Visits from Ohio 1/20/2010-6/13/2010

Challenges / Lessons Learned Challenges:  Staff turnover/reassignment (e.g., project leader)  Maintaining coordinated effort – keeping process moving  Held periodic conference calls/webinars Lessons learned:  Replicability – significant benefits in this project  Effective communications may need to be dynamic & multi-faceted  Others - from partners in audience??

Questions? (Ohio) (Iowa) (Indiana) (Missouri) (West Virginia)

Attitudinal Segmentation  Woodland retreat  Supplemental income  Working the land  Uninvolved

Prime Prospects Segmentation Engaged in land management Unengaged in land management Favorable attitudes toward stewardship Model Owners Prime Prospects Unfavorable attitudes toward stewardship Potential Defectors Write- offs?