Non-Industrial Private Forests Kenneth Williams Fisheries Extension Specialist Langston University Aquaculture Extension Program Elements of Forestry

NIPF The Statistics NIPF – nonindustrial private forest 7.8 million owners Forestry profession tries to get them to practice good stewardship 42% of total U.S. timber 40% of land held by <1% of owners 91% of land is east of Colorado 70% of eastern timberland is NIPF 70% of nation’s hardwood NIPF land 49% softwood and 51% hardwood

NIPF Owners White, male, over 50 years of age and owns forestland in the same county they live and work. Farmers own more forestland than any other individual group. Avg. size tract – 40.5 ha 16% of land in same ownership for more than 40 years.

NIPF Landowners Intensity of forest management positively correlated with size of forest landholding and landowner’s financial position.

NIPF Landowner Behavior Custodial investors – inherited, no investment strategy Sideline forest investors – incidental part of desired lands, often small, limited attention. Speculators – hold forestland in hopes of increase in value. Minimize holding cost, invest little in forest management.

NIPF Landowner Behavior Hobby investors – tree farmer, follows good stewardship practices, has a forest management plan. Invests in forest productivity. Motivated by sense of land stewardship.

NIPF Landowner Behavior True investor – behave like “economic man”. Respond to investment incentives and market conditions. Primary object is to build their estate or fortune.

NIPF Assistance Programs Forest Stewardship Program – FSP Agricultural Conservation Program – ACP Forestry Incentives Program – FIP Conservation Reserve Program - CRP

Forest Stewardship Program Technical information, management advice and on-site assistance. Federal/state cost share Field implementation – state foresters

Agricultural Conservation Program Assistance may include one of the following practices: Grassed waterways/diversions Contour strips Crop rotation systems Water and sediment control basins Conservation tillage systems Gully control structures Animal waste management systems Field and farmstead windbreaks Wildlife plantings Wetland restorations Financial assistance may be available

Forestry Incentives Program Funds exhausted 2002

Conservation Reserve Program Provides technical and financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on their lands

Conservation Reserve Program The Conservation Reserve Program reduces soil erosion, protects the Nation's ability to produce food and fiber, reduces sedimentation in streams and lakes, improves water quality, establishes wildlife habitat, and enhances forest and wetland resources.

Oklahoma Forestry Programs Federal Programs : Forest Stewardship Program Conservation Reserve Program Environmental Quality Incentives Program Forest Land Enhancement Program Southern Pine Beetle Prevention and Restoration Wetlands Reserve Program Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program State Property taxProperty tax Oklahoma Forest Resources Development Program Private Oklahoma Tree Farm Program

Cooperative Extension Forestry Programs The Stewardship Forest Certification Program Program is designed to help Oklahoman's manage their forestland for multiple natural resources. It is a program to provide technical assistance to landowners interested in more than one benefit from their land and to recognize landowners who apply stewardship skills to their forestland.

NIPF Behavior Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 28,2(December 1996):323–336 O 1996 Southern Agricultural Economics Association Program Participation Behavior of Nonindustrial Forest Landowners: A Probit Analysis Venkatarao Nagubadi, Kevin T. McNamara, William L. Hoover, and Walter L. Mills, Jr. ABSTRACT This study provides an analysis of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners’ participation in forestry assistance programs. A probit model was used for data collected from a random sample of 329 Indiana landowners. The analysis revealed that total land owned, commercial reasons for ownership, government sources of information, and membership in forestry organizations influenced NIPF landowners’ program participation. Age, fear of loss of property rights, and duration since the first wooded tract was acquired also influenced program participation. Location of landowners’ residence on their wooded land and landowners’ knowledge of and willingness to participate in a conservation easement influenced the participation in cost-share programs.

Constraints to Individual Land Owners May not use property in a way that it becomes a nuisance to neighboring land owners or the public at large. May not damage or destroy the property to the extent that its renewable resources are unavailable to future generations of landowners.

Current Trends Increasing environmental regulation of private forestlands to protect watersheds.

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