Karen G. Cox & Shorna R. Broussard, PhD Department of Forestry & Natural Resources Purdue University, West Lafa

1. Private Forest Landowner Management Objectives and Practices: Linking Attitudes, Knowledge, Management Activities, and Forestland Characteristics in a Spatial Environment Karen G. Cox & Shorna R. Broussard, PhD Department of Forestry & Natural Resources Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

2. Presentation Overview • Partnership with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources • Goals of Study • Overview of area and residents • Non-respondent comparison • Ownership Goal Factoring • Spatial comparisons • Summary and acknowledgements

3. The Indiana Department of Natural ResourcesDivision of Forestryhttp://www.in.gov/dnr/forestry/

4. The Classified Forest Program • Indiana’s voluntary stewardship program • Provides • Tax incentive • Initial forest inventory and management plan • Assistance with cost share and grant applications • Reinspection every five years to update management plan • Requires • Posting of property • Adoption of a management plan • Exclusion of livestock and buildings • Completion of an Annual report

5. Research Goals • Improve the ability of foresters to meet the goals of sustainable forestry by improving the communication of landowner goals • Develop the capability to conduct landscape level planning in the Blue River Basin – Knobstone Escarpment Forest Legacy Area in southern Indiana • Improve overall effectiveness of stewardship programs

6. Management Activities Planting Harvesting Timber Stand Improvement (TSI)

7. Directives for Activity

8. Blue River Basin – Knobstone Escarpment Forest Legacy AreaIntroduction to the study area

9. Clark State Forest Hoosier National Forest Louisville, Kentucky Wyandot Woods Harrison Crawford State Forest

10. Where are the properties? Beyond the Louisville Metropolitan Area 2% Scott County 16% Crawford County Within the LMA 8% Clark County 11% Washington County 9% Floyd County 54% Harrison County Where are the owners? 89% of owners live in Indiana 10% of owners live in the greater Louisville area Blue River Basin – Knobstone Escarpment Forest Legacy Area

11. Mail Survey67% Response Rate (366 surveys completed)

12. Preliminary Results from Survey • Compare respondents with non-respondents • Discuss respondent forestry knowledge scores • Investigate respondent characteristics • Investigate management activities in a spatial relationship

13. Non-Respondent Bias? • Response rate 67% (366 complete surveys) • Significant characteristics • Landowners were slightly more likely to respond if • landowner was present at the reinspection • ownership objective: tax relief or timber investment/periodic income • Slightly less likely to respond if • ownership objective: personal enjoyment • Survey responses are representative of the Classified Forest owners in this area

14. Survey Results Respondent Characteristics

15. What is the highest level of education you have completed?What is your best estimate of total household income over the past 12 months? *U.S. Census Bureau 2000

16. How would you describe the area where you have lived most of your life? … the area where you live now? …live now?

17. In what year were you born?

18. In what year did you acquire the majority of this property?

19. Please check the item that best describes your present employment status:

20. Survey Results Knowledge What do respondents know about how forests grow?

21. 16 Question Quiz • High Score 94% - low score 0% • Scores normally distributed • Most frequent scores ranged from 69-81% • Average score 59% • Most frequently missed questions • over 50% of respondents supplied “I don’t know” answers to the 3 questions regarding land ownership • Approximately how many acres of forestland in Indiana • 46% incorrectly identified crown class as “ratio of crown size to total height of tree”

22. Survey Results ActivitiesWhat management activities have landowners conducted on their lands?

23. In the past 5 years, have any of the following occurred on your Classified Forestland?

24. Management Activities:Have you ever ___ on your classified forestland? *TSI defined on survey as, “removed a few trees but not all of them to help improve the health of the forest, cut grapevines, etc.”

25. Attitudes toward Land Ownership-or-Ownership Goals Development of Ownership Scale

26. Ownership Goals • Economic Component • Own as a long term investment • Own for timber production • Legacy • Own as part of my heritage • Own to pass onto children or other heirs

27. Ownership Goals • Naturalist • Own to protect the watershed/provide clean water • Own to provide food and habitat for wildlife • Own to enjoy scenery • Own to learn from nature

28. Ownership Goals • Utility • Own to collect firewood • Own to pick nuts, berries, mushrooms, etc. • Own for hunting and fishing • Own for recreation other than hunting or fishing • Own for privacy • Own to have trees surrounding my primary or vacation home

29. Formula

30. Natural Break for Adoption of Goal • Economic Break Value = 1.02 • Legacy Break Value = 0.84 • Naturalist Break value = 0.45 • Utility Break value = 0.36

31. Survey Results Spatial relationships of goals and management activities

42. 5 4 3 6 2 7 8 1

43. Summary • Objectives varied against activities, more indicators are needed to accurately predict behavior • Next step of research will include owner characteristics, owner’s forest knowledge and forest characteristics in a predictive model • Clusters of like minded neighbors emerged which could aid the forester in developing a landscape level plan for the properties • Coordinating harvest times • Utilizing non-harvest likely properties to provide wildlife corridors as the forests regenerate • Connecting active users in collaborative efforts to develop longer trails and larger hunting areas

44. Acknowledgements & Funding • Extra special thanks to Mike Coggeshall & Don Stump for allowing me access to their files and their time. • Major Professor: Shorna Broussard, PhD • Survey Design and Development and analysis: Lenny Farlee, Bill Hoover, PhD, John Moser PhD, John Stahura, PhD, Amy Ross-Davis, Kenli Schaaf & Mike Steinhour • GIS Design and Development: Larry Theller, PhD, Rick Farnsworth, PhD, Mike Miller, PhD, Phil McGachey, Brett Martin • Data Entry: Jaclyn McClead, June Shao, Melissa Sharkis & Bianca Whitaker • The Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Purdue University • Funding provided by: The Indiana Forest Stewardship Challenge Grant, Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry

45. Karen G. Cox Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Purdue University kcox@fnr.purdue.edu (765) 494-3628 Private Forest Landowner Management Objectives and Practices:Linking Attitudes, Knowledge, Management Activities, and Forestland Characteristics in a Spatial Environment