scholarly journals Financial Effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners: A Comparative Study for 10 Southern States of the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 584-597
Author(s):  
Srijana Baral ◽  
Yanshu Li ◽  
Bin Mei
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Median Income ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Landowners ◽  
Family Forest ◽  
Southern States ◽  
Income Family ◽  
Jobs Act

Abstract Changes in tax codes applicable to timberland investments can affect tax treatment of timber revenues and expenses. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is regarded as the most expansive overhaul of tax codes in the United States since 1986; however, our understanding of its effects on timberland investments for family forest owners has yet to be explored. Using the discounted cash-flow method, we estimated and compared effects of TCJA on land expectation value (LEV) and net tax from managing timberland for two classifications of median-income family forest owners in 10 southern states. Results showed a decrease in LEV and net tax for both material participants and investors, with a greater effect on landowners managing timberland as investments. Thus, owning timberland can become less beneficial under the current law for median-income family forest landowners. Study Implications: Family forests occupy a large portion of the total forest area in the United States and provide various goods and services to society. Taxes and tax policies are regarded as important issues for these landowners because policies could ultimately influence timberland investment, ownership structure, and management activities. After the 2017 tax reform, landowners became concerned about the effect of the new act on profitability and financial return from timberland investment. Here, we attempt to provide a better understanding of tax effects by estimating change in net benefit of owning and managing timberland under the current law compared with the previous law in 10 southern states. For policymakers, this study can provide insight into the importance of considering unique characteristics of timberland investment during the tax policy design and evaluation process. For landowners, this study can facilitate the timberland investment decisionmaking process and serve as a guide to the effects of the new tax rules on returns.

scholarly journals Taxing Family Forest Owners: Implications of Federal and State Policies in the United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 110 (7) ◽  
pp. 371-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett J. Butler ◽  
Paul F. Catanzaro ◽  
John L. Greene ◽  
Jaketon H. Hewes ◽  
Michael A. Kilgore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Policies ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Family Forest

Minority Family Forest Owners in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-85
Author(s):  
Sarah M Butler ◽  
John Schelhas ◽  
Brett J Butler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Family Forest ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
National Woodland Owner Survey ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Attention To Diversity

Abstract Family forest owners own more forestland in the United States than any other group. There have been no national studies of racial and ethnic minority family forest owners in the United States, in spite of increasing attention to diversity in forestry. Using the US Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey data, we sought to better understand minority owners by looking at their characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors. Of the over 4 million family forest ownerships with 10+ ac in the United States, minorities comprise 6.6 percent of the ownerships and own 5.1 percent of the 265 million ac. Although many similarities exist between minority and nonminority owners, such as reasons for owning land and concerns, minority landowners tend to be more regionally located, have smaller forest holdings, are less likely to manage their forests, and are less likely to have participated in assistance programs. Broad insight into the attitudes and behaviors of minority family forest owners can help policymakers, program directors, and outreach coordinators begin to understand the needs of minority landowners, providing this historically underserved group with tools they need to attain their forest management and land-use goals. By increasing minority landowner engagement, we can hopefully slow the loss of land by minority landowners.

scholarly journals U.S. Family Forest Owners' Forest Management for Climate Adaptation: Perspectives From Extension and Outreach Specialists

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolena vonHedemann ◽  
Courtney A. Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Family Forest ◽  
The Us

In the United States (US), family forest owners, a group that includes individuals, families, trusts, and estates, are the largest single landowner category, owning approximately one-third of the nation's forests. These landowners' individualized decision-making on forest management has a profound impact on US forest cover and function at both local and regional scales. We sought to understand perceptions among family forest specialists of: climate impacts and adaptation options across different forested US regions; how family forest owners are taking climate adaptation into consideration in their forest management, if at all; and major barriers to more active management for adaptation among family forest owners. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 48 forest experts across the US who work with family forest owners, including extension specialists, state forestry agency employees, and consulting foresters who focus on family forest engagement. Our interviewees shared details on how both climate change impacts and forest management for climate adaptation vary across the US, and they perceived a lack of active forest management by family forest owners. They explained that western forest landowners confronting the imminent threat of catastrophic wildfires are more likely to see a need for active forest management. By contrast, in the east, where most forestland is privately owned, interviewees said that landowners see relatively fewer climate impacts on their forests and less need for forest management to respond to climate change. Perceived barriers to more active family forest management for climate adaptation include the lack of more robust markets for a wide range of forest products, a higher capacity forestry workforce, education and assistance in planning forest management, and addressing the issue of increased parcelization of family forest lands. We situate these perceptions in conversations on the role of boundary organizations in climate adaptation, how individual adaptation occurs, and how governing methods frame adaptation possibilities.

scholarly journals Estimating a Family Forest Landowner's Likelihood of Posting against Trespass

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 180-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Snyder ◽  
Michael A. Kilgore ◽  
Steven J. Taff ◽  
Joseph M. Schertz
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Property Values ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Landowners ◽  
Family Forest ◽  
Parcel Size ◽  
Private Forestland ◽  
Gain Access

Abstract Hunters and other recreators face challenges to gain access to private forestland in the United States because of an increasing number of landowners posting their land. A landowners' decision to post their land is influenced by a variety of factors, including landowner characteristics, hunter behavior, and parcel attributes. We used a logit model to help understand why family forest landowners in Minnesota post their land against public trespass. Factors that increased the likelihood of posting included younger owners, a perception that allowing access would interfere with one's own hunting, a perception that allowing access would result in damage to one's property, hunting as the primary reason for forestland ownership, larger parcel size, having a management plan, higher property values, and a high percentage of surrounding area open to public hunting. Implications of increased posting by family forest owners on hunting access and wildlife management are discussed.

scholarly journals Hansel and Gretel Walk in the Forest, Landowners Walk in the Woods: A Qualitative Examination of the Language Used by Family Forest Owners

2016 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Andrejczyk ◽  
Brett J. Butler ◽  
Mary L. Tyrrell ◽  
Judith Langer
Keyword(s):  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Landowners ◽  
Family Forest

scholarly journals A Typology of Family Forest Owners in North Central Indiana

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Ross-Davis ◽  
Shorna Broussard
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
The United States ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Private Forest ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
North Central ◽  
Family Forest ◽  
Management Behaviors

Abstract Patterns of forest cover across the United States partly reflect the diverse and dynamic ownership motivations and management behaviors of family forest owners. The objectives of this study were to (i) identify distinct types of landowners with regard to ownership motivations and other ownership characteristics and (ii) compare these types of landowners in terms of (a) use of specific forest management practices, (b) information seeking, (c) familiarity with and participation in private forest conservation programs, and (d) ownership and sociodemographic characteristics. A two-step cluster analysis of responses to a mail questionnaire distributed to family forest owners in north central Indiana revealed three distinct types of landowners. Forest managers attributed importance to diverse values with regard to owning their forest. New forest owners owned their properties for the least amount of time and attributed importance to all ownership motivations with the exception of producing timber. Passive forest owners owned the smallest forested acreages and attributed importance to none of the ownership motivations operationalized in this research with the exception of enjoying scenery. Results are discussed in terms of typologies previously described in the literature and the implications of the relationships among landowner types with regard to management.

scholarly journals Preferences for Northern Hardwood Silviculture among Family Forest Owners in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander C Helman ◽  
Matthew C Kelly ◽  
Mark D Rouleau ◽  
Yvette L Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Upper Peninsula ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Family Forest ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Single Tree ◽  
Single Tree Selection

Abstract Managing northern hardwood forests using high-frequency, low-intensity regimes, such as single-tree selection, favors shade-tolerant species and can reduce tree species diversity. Management decisions among family forest owners (FFO) can collectively affect species and structural diversity within northern hardwood forests at regional scales. We surveyed FFOs in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan to understand likely future use of three silvicultural treatments—single-tree selection, shelterwood, and clearcut. Our results indicate that FFOs were most likely to implement single-tree selection and least likely to implement clearcut within the next 10 years. According to logistic regression, prior use of a treatment and perceived financial benefits significantly increased the odds for likely use for all three treatments. Having received professional forestry assistance increased likely use of single-tree selection but decreased likely use of shelterwood. We discuss these results within the context of species diversity among northern hardwood forests throughout the region.

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