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 Social and Cultural Influences on Management for Carbon Sequestration on US Family Forestlands: A Literature Synthesis

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Paige Fischer ◽  
Susan Charnley
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Family Forest

Nonindustrial private—or “family”—forests hold great potential for sequestering carbon and have received much attention in discussions about forestry-based climate change mitigation. However, little is known about social and cultural influences on owners' willingness to manage for carbon and respond to policies designed to encourage carbon-oriented management. We review the published literature to examine how family forest owners' values, ecological knowledge, risk perceptions, and forest management and policy preferences may affect their interest in managing for carbon sequestration. We find that although family forest owners may not be particularly motivated to mitigate climate change, their forest management values and practices compliment many carbon-oriented management strategies. However, the strong value owners place on privacy and autonomy, and the weak importance many place on financial reward, may inhibit participation in policies and programs that incentivize carbon-oriented management. These findings also have implications for policy efforts to encourage management for other ecological values besides carbon sequestration on family forestlands.

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

scholarly journals Assessment of Climate Change Sentiment, Engagement and Adaptation through a Community-Based Outreach Campaign and Questionnaire across the United States

Earth ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-96
Author(s):  
Shahir Masri ◽  
Athina Simolaris ◽  
Suellen Hopfer ◽  
Jun Wu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Assess Climate Change

(1) Background: Human activity is warming the planet and destabilizing the climate through greenhouse gas emissions, which underscores the need for climate communication to overcome barriers to action. (2) Methods: We launched a five-month campaign that included questionnaires (n = 500) and one-on-one interviews (n = 24) to assess climate change sentiment, engagement, adaptation, as well as understand who climate outreach reaches and the observations and concerns such groups report across the U.S. so as to better understand the local context of climate change and enable more effective climate communication and outreach in the future. (3) Results: Results showed outreach efforts to mostly reach college educated Caucasians who identified as Democrats. “Future generations” was the most frequently ranked climate concern, with the economy, property value, and national security ranked last. Communities frequently observed hotter temperatures, increased flooding, and species impacts. Among “climate-concerned” individuals, the majority reported never contacting a local politician about climate change. College students least frequently reported climate change as a top priority and reported a low frequency of civic engagement on the issue. In-person interviews highlighted climate impacts disproportionately affecting low-income communities and communities of color, such as heat-related mortality and gentrification. Climate adaptation strategies were underway, but mostly among farmers, ecologists, and non-governmental organizations (NGO) workers. (4) Discussion: This study helps inform elected officials, urban planners, and climate communicators as it relates to the allocation of resources for climate adaptation and education, and highlights key knowledge gaps that deserve focus by future outreach efforts.

scholarly journals State of the literature on the economic impacts of climate change in the United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (03) ◽  
pp. 411-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Neumann ◽  
Kenneth Strzepek
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
The Us ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Adaptation Costs

Abstract:This paper discusses the current literature on impacts and adaptation costs at the sectoral level. The focus is primarily the US, but includes examples on international applications that highlight key differences or other relevant demonstrations of method and data use. The paper provides an overall framework that addresses the components of economic impacts, including definitions of impacts, adaptation costs, and residual damages. The paper then focuses on understanding the current breadth and depth of the literature that exists to characterize what we know about economic sectors studied in the recent literature (agriculture, coastal resources, water resources, infrastructure, health, crime, energy, labor productivity, and ecosystems), how the methodologies differ, what the gaps and challenges are, and offers a sense of the impacts at the US national level. A new generation of impact studies, including the U.S. EPA’s ongoing Climate Impacts and Risk Analysis (CIRA) project; the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5 Working Group II report; the U.S. National Climate Assessment; and the Risky Business Project led by the Next Generation Foundation, provide the motivation for this review. These efforts, taken together, have advanced the state of US economic impact assessment work along two critical frontiers, both of which support benefit-cost analyses of climate change: assessment of the risk and economic consequences of extreme climatic events; and assessment of ecosystem effects. Yet, the latest work also highlights gaps in the lack of comprehensive sectoral coverage; more complete incorporation of adaptation opportunities in impact assessment; and critical cross- and multi-sectoral effects that remain poorly understood.

scholarly journals Forest Farming: Who Wants In?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie E Trozzo ◽  
John F Munsell ◽  
James L Chamberlain ◽  
Michael A Gold ◽  
Kim L Niewolny
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Family Forest Owners ◽  
Nontimber Forest Products ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Farming ◽  
Family Forest ◽  
Study Results

Abstract Forest farming is an agroforestry practice defined as the intentional cultivation of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) underneath a forest canopy. Forest farming perspectives and preferences among family forest owners are generally understudied, particularly in Appalachia, where many marketable native NTFPs species are found. We surveyed Appalachian family forest owners in fourteen Southwest Virginia counties about their interest in forest farming and likelihood of leasing land for this purpose. We also asked about the owner’s residency and historical connection to the region as well as contemporary land uses, and identified the following types of uses: absentee and vacationers, newcomers, longtime farming residents, and longtime nonfarming residents. We mailed 1,040 surveys and 293 were returned (28.9%). Forty-five percent were interested or extremely interested in forest farming and 36% were likely or extremely likely to lease land. Rates of interest in forest farming and leasing were similar across owner types, suggesting broad appeal among family forest owners. Study Implications Forest farming of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) and leasing forestland for this practice is broadly appealing across diverse family forest owners in Appalachia. Opportunities to scale profitable forest farming are on the rise, potentially improving family forest management and spurring regional economic development. Study results indicate there is a critical mass of family forest owners interested in forest farming who could potentially supply cultivated NTFPs. Forest management professionals and stakeholders would benefit from considering how they can assist family forest owners who are interested in forest farming.

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.

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