*November Highlight*

Who are the Woodland Owners of southern Vermont?

Last summer the ACORN (A CoOperative Resource Network) team at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst administered a mail survey to 1,700 randomly selected woodland owners of greater than 10 acres in the West and Deerfield River watersheds of southern Vermont. This survey was developed in cooperation with the Woodland Owners Association (Windham County, Vermont) and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. 250 surveys were returned as undeliverable, resulting in an eligible sample population of 1,450 woodland owners. 635 responded, resulting in a response rate of 44%.

The majority of respondents live on their land (55%). Almost half of responding landowners (49%) have owned their land for over 20 years. The average property is 63 acres, with a maximum ownership of 1,000 acres. The minimum ownership is 10 acres. Three quarters of respondents are older than 51 and were mostly male (65%). 72% have completed college or beyond. Very few responding landowners (< 4%) derive significant income from their woodland.

Just under half of respondents participate in at least one of the listed activities (e.g., Current Use, Tree Farm, membership in a conservation organization, subscription to Northern Woodlands). 22% indicate that they participate in Vermont’s Current Use Value Assessment property tax program. A small percentage participates in the Forest Stewardship or Tree Farm programs (7% and 3% respectively). Ten percent have harvested timber in the past five years. Fourteen percent are members of a conservation organization, while 3.5% consider themselves active members. Less than 5% of responding woodland owners have a conservation restriction on their property.

Eighty percent of responding landowners use the internet at least monthly, with almost 60% online on a daily basis. Of these internet users, about half use high speed connection and half use dial-up. Eleven percent indicate that they use the internet to find information about their forestland. 70% of respondents reported that they don’t believe they need information, since all their needs as a landowner are currently being met. Only 12% of responding internet users have heard of ACORN, with less than 8% visiting the site.

The majority of responding landowners have never considered the sale of their property (64%). Eleven percent, however, have considered selling their land in the last six months. Forty-seven percent have never considered a management plan. Almost three-quarters have never considered conveying a conservation easement. Most responding landowners have not considered cooperating with their neighbors: 67% of respondents never having considered contacting their neighbor and 74% of respondents indicating that they have never been contacted by their neighbor. Thirty percent of responding landowners have considered a timber sale in the past year, while 33% have never considered selling their timber.

When considering a decision about their land, responding landowners weigh professional advice most importantly, with 57% indicating that professional advice is very or extremely important. Next in importance is a landowner’s own knowledge or experience, with 43% ranking this as very or extremely important. Advice from family or friends is next in importance, followed by a management plan and written materials. Online information plays the least importance in land decisions, with fewer than 14% indicating this as very or extremely important.

Responding Vermont landowners feel a strong social responsibility towards their land. Three quarters agree or strongly agree that what they do on their land affects others. Seventy percent feel that their land benefits society. Over 80% believe that land should provide future ecological benefits. And almost 90% indicate agreement or strong agreement with the statement, “I have responsibility to leave my land in at least as good condition as I found it.” Fifty-six percent say that they would be pleased with finding a rare species on their land. Less than a quarter of responding landowners indicate agreement that their land must pay its way.

The ecological benefits from owning land are also important to responding Vermont forestland owners. Seventy percent indicate that providing habitat for wildlife and protecting the environment are very or extremely important reasons to owning their land. Sixty percent indicate that protecting land from development is very or extremely important. Family legacy is also an important reason for owning land: 63% consider passing their land on to their children as very or extremely important; 56% list preserving family tradition as very or extremely important. Personal recreation, a place to live, and to enjoy the scenery are also important reasons for owning land, with 65%, 72%, and 83% indicating a very or extremely important response respectively. Conversely, incomes from timber or agriculture were not identified as important ownership objectives: 43% and 60% respectively stated that these objectives were not important at all. Three quarters of responding landowners cite privacy as a very or extremely important reason for continuing to own forestland.

Survey results indicate that more than half of the respondents are not involved in typical activities designed to appeal to them or promote forestry, and roughly 45% of them are absentee owners who do not live on their land. Many have not been in a position to need information about the sale of their land or timber, but are at or approaching an age where they may need to make decisions and will benefit from information. Interestingly, respondents apparently value professional advice, but show much less interest in a formally prepared management plan for their land. Respondents appear to have strong positive attitudes towards the ecological benefits that come from their land and an understanding of their public benefits. Though many of these public benefits like wildlife, water quality, and beautiful landscapes that support tourism occur at scales larger than individual ownerships, respondents value their privacy and have not shown much interest in contacting or cooperating with neighbors. The ACORN experiment is based on the premise that though landowners may not be interested in cooperating on the ground, they may be interested in sharing information and learning from one another. While most responding landowners use the Internet, few have heard of ACORN so far, which implies a need for improved marketing. Though small in number, three fourths of those who have heard of ACORN have visited the site and had positive impressions. After two years, the ACORN experiment continues in southern Vermont to assess the value of using a locally based internet site to appeal to woodland owners who have not availed themselves of more traditional approaches to information about their land. In the end, helping woodland owners understand their land, its role in the watershed, and make informed decisions is what ACORN is all about. Will it appeal to all owners? Probably not, since some currently prefer to receive their information from other places. Is ACORN a substitute for an owner meeting with a forester on the ground? Of course not, but many owners are absentee, and are thus tough to reach face-to-face. Will it appeal to some or the ones not currently “reached”? Stay tuned for future results of this ongoing experiment!

** If you have ideas for future highlights please send an email to
acorn@forwild.umass.edu **