Marylands Strategic Forest Lands Assessment Forest Lands of Economic Importance Allegheny SAF 2002 Winter Meeting February 27, 2002 Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Identify Strategic Forest Lands, or those parts of the state where forest conservation and stewardship efforts would make the greatest contribution toward achieving a sustainable (ecologically and economically) forest resource land base. Marylands Strategic Forest Lands Assessment

Strategic Forests Assessment Components Ecological Assessment Socioeconomic Assessment Vulnerability Assessment Programmatic Assessment Integration with other Efforts Strategic Forests Identification

Socioeconomic Assessment GIS Based Approach to quantifying … l Population Density: Influences on forest management l Parcelization l Local Economic Importance l Forest Ownership (public vs. private) l Water Supply Watersheds l Sourcing or Procurement Zones l Forest Products Operators Economically Important Forest Lands

Socioeconomic Influences on Forest Management Objectives Forest Management Objectives Wildlife HabitatForest Products Soil, Water and Air QualityRecreation TemperatureAesthetics/Quality of Life Management Objectives differ in response to many factors l Sustainable Commercial Forestry and Land Uses l Urban Forests:Less likely: smaller parcels, less tolerant (noise, view, safety) l Rural Forests: More likely: larger parcels, more direct economic ties to forest resource-based economy

Regional Influences on Harvesting Probabilities Population Density Parcelization Local Importance of Forest Products Industry

Population Density as a Predictor of Sustainable Commercial Forestry Probability of sustainable commercial forestry Population Density (persons/mile 2 ) Management Objectives Near 0 %> 150Urban Harvests = Real Estate cuts 0 % - 25 %70 – % - 50 %45 – 69Transitional 50 % - 75 %20 – 44Rural Harvests = Sustainable Management 75 % %< 20 Liu and Scrivani Virginia Department of Forestry

Population Density by Census Block

Logging probability

Parcelization Identify Forest Land with higher potential for resource extraction Target Stewardship Incentives Promote Sustainable Forest Management Activities Identify Vulnerable At Risk Forests More Landowners Small Lots Fewer Landowners Large Lots ,800 private owners 55 % < 10 acres ,600 private owners 65 % < 10 acres Parcelization Fragmentation

Percent of Forest Acres Nationwide with Landowner Intent to Harvest Timber within the next 10 years (1993) Acreage Category Percent of total acreage Birch, T.W

GIS Method used to map Parcelization Maryland PropertyView l GIS database developed by Maryland Department of Planning l Parcel centroids attributed with ownership, lot information and land value Parcelization grid development l Interpolate point features to produce a continuous surface l Values reflect parcel size (acres)

Maryland PropertyView 360 acres 10 ~10 acre lots 3,060 acres

Parcelization of private land

Forest Land parcelization

Is the fifth largest industry in the state. Generates over 2.2 billion dollars annually. Supplies over 14,500 jobs statewide. Creates three (3) jobs are elsewhere in the economy for every job in the forestry and wood products industry. Local Economic Importance The Forestry and Wood Products Industry…

The Forestry and Wood Products Industry Timber Management and Harvesting Operation of timber tracts, tree farms and nurseries Reforestation services Harvesting and transporting logs Primary Wood Manufacturing Processing logs into lumber, veneer, plywood, pulp and other products (Mills) Secondary Wood Manufacturing Remanufacture of primary manufacturers products into finished products Examples include furniture, toys, containers, etc.

Economic Indicators IMPLAN * Database: County Level Multiple data sources: US Population Census, County Business Patterns, Regional Economic Information System (REIS) data, BLS ES-202 wage and employment data Estimate the gaps (non-disclosure rules) Indicators Employment: annual average jobs part and full time workers, self-employed * Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc., 1997

Trends:Timber Management and Harvesting: Eastern Region Primary Wood Manufacturing: Western Region Secondary Wood Manufacturing: Central Region Total employment

Relative employment logging and mills

Score attributes in each layer relative to economic importance l Rank Weight GIS layers relative to overall economic importance Combine layers Logging Probability Score Near 0 %1 0 % - 25 %2 25 % - 50 %5 50 % - 75 %7 75 % %10 Parcel sizeScore > % EmploymentScore 0 – 1 %1 2 – 4 %4 4 – 6 %8 > 6 %10 Identification of Economically Important Strategic Forest Lands

Identification of Economically Important Strategic Forest Lands Score attributes in each layer relative to economic importance l Rank Weight GIS layers relative to overall economic importance Combine layers % Employment 0 – 1 % 2 – 4 % 4 – 6 % > 6 % Parcel size > Logging Probability Near 0 % 0 % - 25 % 25 % - 50 % 50 % - 75 % 75 % % x 5x 3x 4 ++

Privately Owned Lands Assessment

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources gratefully acknowledges the support of the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry for financial assistance for this project. Strategic Forests Land Assessment