Expanding Family Forest Owner Options to Keep Their Land in Forest Use

Family forest owners (FFOs) own the majority of US forests and 47% of forests in the Northeast. Over 90% of northeastern FFOs want their land to stay wooded. Maintaining forest-based ecosystem services necessitates finding ways to help FFOs achieve goals for keeping their land undeveloped. Conservation easements (CEs) prohibit residential and commercial development, typically in perpetuity, but are currently underused. Understanding what drives CE interest may help maximize their potential as a conservation tool. We explored northeastern FFOs’ likelihood of CE adoption through contingent behavior responses to permanent and temporary CE scenarios. For each commitment length, we tested a range of financial compensation amounts and FFO characteristics. Increased financial compensation did not increase CE adoption likelihood for either commitment length, whereas attitudinal variables strongly influenced intention for both. Respondents did not appear to prefer temporary to permanent easements but were equally likely to consider adoption, suggesting that providing both tools may be in order. Providing FFOs with more options to keep their land in forest use, especially when there is currently high interest in this goal but low participation, has the potential to attract new and different segments of FFOs, thereby sustaining the essential ecosystem services derived from forests. Study Implications Family forest owner interest in land protection in the northeastern US is high; over 90% owning four or more ha have indicated they want their land to stay wooded. Few, however, have taken advantage of conservation easements (CEs) to protect their land. Highly effective at ensuring the continual provision of forest benefits, CEs prohibit land uses such as residential and commercial development. Although research acknowledges CE interest, little is known about what characteristics of the tool are desirable. Gaining greater understanding of these characteristics can help expand the options FFOs have to achieve their goal of keeping their land in forest use.