1. 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

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Ohio’s Call Before You Cut  Toll-free number 1-877-424-8288 http://callb4ucut.com  Web-page http://callb4ucut.com  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

9. http://osafdirectory.com Averages over 1,100 visits per month

10. 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

11. 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 http://www.sustainingfamilyforests.org/

12. Prime Prospects by Attitudinal Segmentations

13. http://www.engaginglandowners.org/

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

15. Feb 25, 2009 15 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?

16. Feb 25, 2009 16 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

17. http://callb4ucut.com

18. Ohio Web Statistics MonthVisitsPages/VisitAvg. Time on Site % New Visits Bounce Rate FEB1374.342:5786.8638.69 MAR1744.833:4386.7832.18 APR1575.184:0787.2623.57 MAY1934.563:2283.9430.05 TOTALS7884.843:4186.1730.46

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

22. 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??

23. Questions? http://callb4ucut.com 1-877-424-8288 (Ohio) 1-800-865-2477 (Iowa) 1-888-939-9493 (Indiana) 1-877-564-7483 (Missouri) 1-888-498-2292 (West Virginia)

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

25. 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?