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Project Context. Develop and establish collaborative processes between private forestland owners and land management agency personnel to sustain ecosystems across the Central Hardwood Region. Project Context.
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Project Context • Develop and establish collaborative processes between private forestland owners and land management agency personnel to sustain ecosystems across the Central Hardwood Region
Project Context • Provide private forestland owners with science-based information with which they can make educated land management decisions
Missouri Study Sites Upper St. Francis and Black River Watersheds Ozark Highland Ecological Section
Black River Watershed St. Francis Watershed USGS Unit: 11010007 Lake area: 4,227 acres Total area: 1,925 sq. miles
Do Fences Really Make Good Neighbors? A Collaborative Ecosystem Stewardship Approach to Private Land Conservation Community Watershed Ecosystem Faren Wolter McCord William B. Kurtz, Ph.D. University of Missouri – Columbia Department of Forestry Funded by USDA Cooperative State Research Extension and Education Service Neighbors
Objective One • Identify private forest landowner characteristics and beliefs that indicate a willingness to work collaboratively with other landowners and natural resource professionals to manage their resources sustainably
Objective Two • Identify and analyze incentives and mechanisms by which private forestland owners may form collaborative land management alliances
Objective Three • Determine if and how the presence of a coordinated private landowner group affects expressed resource management objectives of individual landowners
Methodology • Selection of Study Cells • Research Approach • Collaborative Landowner Group
Research Approach • Interview natural resource professionals working in the focal watershed • Interview all private forestland owners of 8.5ha (20 acres) within the study areas
Completed Interviews • 13 key informant interviews • Local landowner interviews 4 consented 13 declined 19 not yet reached • Absentee landowner interviews 6 consented 7 declined 9 not yet reached
Preliminary Key Informant Interview Conclusions • Natural resource issues - excessive timber harvesting - compromised water quality • Landowner long-term view of natural resources - very short-term oriented - little land change past 70 years
Preliminary Key Informant Interview Conclusions • Landowner characteristics - independent, self-reliant and very private - trust issues with state and federal government agencies • Landowner willingness to collaborate - capable but not willing
Preliminary Landowner Interview Conclusions • Natural resource issues - no specific concerns - fear more land regulations • Landowner long-term view of natural resources - little natural resource change in their lifetime
Preliminary Landowner Interview Conclusions • Landowner characteristics - long generational attachment to the land - strong distrust and suspicion toward any government agency • Landowner willingness to collaborate - existing informal network
Key Interview Points • Approximately 95% of forestland in the Missouri Ozarks is privately owned • Historically entrenched trust and private property rights issues • Inconsistent land management
Implications • Must contact the landowners through existing social and professional networks • Fostering the development of a collaborative ecosystem stewardship alliance will be challenging
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead