1. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 1 Status Report on the National Woodland Owner Survey Brett J. Butler USDA Forest Service NE-FIA User’s Group Meeting April 13, 2004

2. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 2 Outline National Woodland Owner Survey Current landowners Management practices Forest ownership trends Sustainability implications

3. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 3 National Woodland Owner Survey: Background Objectives: –Who are the landowners? –Why do they own land? –How do they use it now? –What do they intend to do with it in the future? History: –1953 –1978 –1993

4. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 4 National Woodland Owner Survey: Methods Randomly selected owners Annual design –5-year cycle Self-administered mail questionnaire –Telephone follow-up

5. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 5

6. 6 Questions that can be Answered How many family forest owners are there? Who are family forest owners? How familiar are family forest owners with their land? What size holdings do they have? Why do they own forestland? How important is timber production? How likely are owners to harvest timber? How prevalent is forest management? What do they intend to do with it?

7. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 7

8. 8 Who are family forest owners? Number of owners 2.7 million Forested acres owned 52.9 million Education 56% some college Occupation 49% retired Average age 61 years

9. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 9 Size of Family Forest Landholdings Northeastern U.S.

10. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 10 Size of Family Forest Landholdings Northeastern U.S.

11. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 11

12. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 12 Why do they own forestland?

13. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 13 How prevalent is forest management?

14. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 14 Relationship between Landholding Size and Timber Harvesting

15. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 15 What do they intend to do with it in the next 5 years?

16. DO NOT CITE OR QUOTE 16 National Woodland Owner Survey: Future Plans Increasing sample sizes Increasing spatial resolution Tabular and spatial products Increased cooperation with states