Farm woodlots in northern New England, USA: Characteristics, management, and contributions to the whole farm system

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.F. Egan
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Northern New England ◽  
Forest Stewardship ◽  
Stewardship Behavior ◽  
Farm System

AbstractFarms and forests dominate the rural landscape of the northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, among the most heavily forested states in the US. However, we know little about the stewardship of farm woodlots and their contributions to the whole farm system, despite region-wide increases in farm forest acreage. Using a mail survey, this study found that almost half of respondents had a written management plan for their forestland, most of which had been written by a forester, and approximately three-quarters took an active role in the management of their woodlots. Farm woodlot harvesting and management contributed over 7% of total farm income. Variables such as respondent's state of residence, age, education and type of farm were investigated in order to better understand farmers’ forest stewardship behavior. Implications for effective outreach to farm forest owners are offered.

Transborder interactions in the sawmill industry of Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec: A survey analysis

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 936-947
Author(s):  
Debra Straussfogel ◽  
Theodore Howard ◽  
Sylvain Masse ◽  
Difei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Sawmill Industry ◽  
Northern New England ◽  
National Boundaries

The objectives of this mail survey of sawmills in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of southern Québec were (1) to establish the level of transborder interaction of these sawmills, with regard to wood sources and final markets; (2) to discover their perceptions of local versus international economic and business factors with regard to their business success; and (3) to examine the role and importance of the size of the sawmills in Chaudière-Appalaches relative to the nature of their engagement in either raw material import from or finished product export to the US. Our results demonstrate that a transborder forest economy exists and that the conception of "local" in transboundary regions must be flexible enough to permit resource management strategies, that, to some extent, ignore national boundaries. Key words: sawmill industry, transborder interaction, Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec, Northern New England

Conservation of woodland birds in a fragmented rural landscape

1994 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Barrett ◽  
H. A. Ford ◽  
H. F. Recher
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
North East ◽  
Core Species ◽  
Local Species Richness ◽  
Land Bird

Increasingly, conservation efforts are being extended towards agricultural and pastoral areas outside large reserves. This indicates a change from the view of the landscape as islands of native habitat in a hostile matrix, to one in which the landscape is regarded as a patchwork of differing levels of disturbance. This latter view considers the whole of the landscape as the biological resource. These trends are discussed in relation to land bird species near Armidale on the New England Tablelands, north-east New South Wales, Australia. We assess the conservation status of 137 species of land birds. Of these, six species are locally extinct, 18 are thought to be declining and 35 are vulnerable due to their dependence on healthy woodland. Only 33 species are abundant and widely distributed on the Tablelands. The remaining 45 species tend to be habitat specialists that are marginal to the Armidale Plateau, and may never have been common in the study area. Most of the species that are dependent on large areas of continuous woodland (>400 ha) are in this last group, and it is demonstrated that an emphasis on these species may result in a conservation strategy that is inappropriate for most of the land birds in the region. Indeed, this could result in the extinction of species that at present are secure. An alternative strategy, specific to areas outside large reserves, is proposed that aims to maintain local species richness. In this management plan, priority is given to core species that are tolerant of intermediate levels of habitat fragmentation.

Purchasing foods produced on organic, small and local farms: A mixed method analysis of New England consumers

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Berlin ◽  
W. Lockeretz ◽  
R. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
New England ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Food System ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Consumer Values ◽  
Method Analysis

AbstractResearch focused on consumer behavior and attitudes toward organic, small-scale and locally produced foods can help organic producers understand consumer values, and in turn develop production and marketing approaches that match these values. This research on New England area food shoppers included focus groups, individual interviews, and a mail survey, all of which helped us to identify relationships between organic food buying and consumers' views of the food system. Comments made in focus groups and individual interviews revealed a frequent blending of the concepts of local, small-scale and organic, and their associated benefits. Subsequent mail surveys identified similar tendencies, although respondents made some distinctions among the reasons why they bought food from the three farm categories. When there were differences, respondents tended to attribute greater importance to reasons to buy from local farms, as compared to organic or small farms. The six questions for which the differences across farm categories had the lowest P-values were related to the environment, rural economy, rural landscape, farmers, product freshness and product taste. However, freshness, taste, nutritional quality and safety were some of the most compelling reasons that were attributed to all three farm categories. The challenge for the small, local and organic producer will be to continue to hold the consumer's attention as the general perception of organic farming shifts to a more industrialized model.

Cyprinid distributions in Northeast U.S.A. lakes: evidence of regional-scale minnow biodiversity losses

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1593-1607 ◽  
Author(s):  
T R Whittier ◽  
D B Halliwell ◽  
S G Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
New England ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Southern New England ◽  
Sample Data ◽  
Golden Shiner ◽  
Northern New England

Fish assemblages were sampled in 195 randomly selected lakes in the northeastern United States during the summers of 1991-1994. Most lakes in northern Maine had three to seven minnow species, constituting 40-80% of species in each lake. Lakes in New Jersey, southern New York, and southern New England rarely had minnows, other than golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas). Lakes in the Adirondacks and the remainder of northern New England had intermediate numbers. We examined minnow native ranges and autecology and evaluated species richness related to littoral predators and human disturbance. Sample data suggested alteration in the minnow assemblages over much of the region. The most consistent factor related to minnow species richness was the presence of littoral predators. Median number of minnow species was two in lakes lacking predators and zero in lakes with predators. Non-native predators, especially Micropterus spp., have been introduced throughout the Northeast; 69% of the sampled lakes had non-native predators. In the absence of predators, minnow species declined with increased human activity in the watershed and along lake shorelines. Only in northern Maine did lake minnow assemblages seem relatively intact.

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