Understanding and Reaching

Family Forest Owners

Brett J. ButlerU.S. Forest Service

Mary TyrrellYale University

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forestry Futuring MeetingSeptember 17, 2008

2

Conclusions

• Family forest owners rule!

• Size matters

• Beauty, legacy, and privacy

• To manage or not to manage?

• They are a bunch of old guys

• Family forest owners don’t own forests

• Surround sound communications

Pop Quiz

4

Who is this?

A. William McKinley

B. Teddy Roosevelt

C. Eleanor Roosevelt

D. Smokey Bear

5

Who is this?

A. Walt Whitman

B. Henry David

Thoreau

C. John Muir

D. Teddy Roosevelt

6

Who is this?

A. The first chief of the

U.S. Forest Service

B. Gifford Pinchot

C. The former governor

of Pennsylvania

D. All of the above

7

Who is this?

A. John W. Weeks

B. John E. Weeks

C. John W. Weeks

D. Edgar Weeks

8

What do these people have in common?

Catalysts of Forest Conservation

9

The Three Stages of Conservation

1. Individual

2.Federal

3.Private

Pop Quiz

11

According to 1,000 likely voters: who

owns most of the forests in the U.S.?

A. U.S. Government

B. Forest industry

C. Family forest owners

12

Forest Ownership

United States, 2006

Family

36%

Federal

33%

State

9%

Local

1%

Other

Private

21%

13

14

Private Forest Ownership Trends

United States

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1978 1993 2006

Year

Are

a (

1,0

00,0

00

ha)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Ow

ners

(1

,00

0,0

00

)

Area Owners

15

Size of Private Forest Holdings

United States

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1978 1993 2006

Year

Mean S

ize o

f F

am

ily .

Fore

st H

old

ings

(ac)

16

Forest Conservation: The Next Phase

Who are the

family forest

owners?

18

National Woodland Owner Survey

To better understand:

• Who the landowners are

• Why they own land

• How they have used it

• How they intend to use it

Conducted by the U.S. Forest

Service, Forest Inventory and

Analysis program

Size Matters

20

Size of Family Forest Holdings

United States, 2006

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100-199 200-499 500-999 1000+

Size of Family Forest Holdings (Acres)

Area

Owners

21

Size Matters

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

0.90

1.00

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000

Size of forest holdings (acres)

Pro

port

ion o

f fa

mily

fore

st

land

Management plan

Management advice

Commercial harvest

Beauty, Legacy,

and Privacy

23

Family Forest Ownership Objectives

United States, 2006

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Land investment

Part of home or cabin

Nature protection

Privacy

Family legacy

Aesthetics

Percent of Family Forest Land

24

Family Forest Ownership Objectives

United States, 2006

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Nontimber forest products

Firewood production

Timber production

Other recreation

Part of farm

Hunting or fishing

Percent of Family Forest Land

To Manage or

Not to Manage –

That is the

Question

26

• Timber harvesting

58% of family forestland

• Forest management plan

18% of family forestland

• Management advice

37% of family forestland

Management of Family Forests

United States, 2006

They are a

bunch of

old guys

28

Age: 44% 65 or older

Occupation: 52% retired

Gender: 78% male

Race: 96% white

Education: 41% college degree

Income: 27% $100,000 or greater

Demographics of Family Forest Owners

United States, 2006

29

Plans for Family Forest Land

United States, 2006

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Buy

Heirs/sell

Timber

Firewood

None/minimal

Percent of Family Forest Land

30

Concerns

United States, 2006

1. Family legacy

2. Insects and plant diseases

3. Fire

4. Trespassing

5. Property taxes

Family Forest

Owners Don’t

Own Forests

32

What is a forest?

Richard Scarry

How do we

reach them?

Pop Quiz

35

Who is this?

A. Woodsy Owl

B. Smokey Bear

C. Connie Fir

D. Santa Claus

36

Social Marketing

Selling ideas, not products

Examples:

• Anti-smoking

• Mothers Against Drunk

Driving

• Smokey Bear

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, 2006

37

Attitudinal Segmentation

• Woodland retreat

• Supplemental income

• Working the land

• Uninvolved

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, 2006

38

Attitudinal Segmentation

United States, 2006

Woodland

Retreat

30%

Uninvolved

23%

Working the

Land

25%

Supplemental

Income

22%

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, 2006

39

Prime Prospects Segmentation

Engaged in

land management

Unengaged in

land management

Favorable

attitudes toward

stewardship

Model

Owners

Prime

Prospects

Unfavorable

attitudes toward

stewardship

Potential

Defectors

Write-

offs?

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, 2006

40

Prime Prospects Segmentation

United States, 2006

Model

Owners

27%

Prime

Prospects

29%

Write-offs?

8%

Potential

Defectors

36%

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, 2006

41

Prime Prospects and Attitudinal Segmentations

United States, 2006P

erc

en

t o

f F

ore

st

Lan

d

0

10

20

30

40

50

Model

Owners

Prime

Prospects

Potential

Defectors

Write-offs?

Woodland Retreat Supplemental Income

Uninvolved Working the Land

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, 2006

42Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.

Online

Partnerships

PSA/

Advertising

News

Media

Celebrity

SightingsRetail

Direct

Mail

Events

Social Marketing:

“Surround Sound” Communications

43

Communication Messages

Do

• Hit hot button issues

• Stress options

• Use their words

Don’t

• Be preachy

• Go global

Sustaining Family Forests Initiative, 2006

47

Conclusions

• Family forest owners rule!

• Size matters

• Beauty, legacy, and privacy

• To manage or not to manage?

• They are a bunch of old guys

• Family forest owners don’t own forests

• Surround sound communications

48

Reports

49

NWOS

Table Maker

50

Credits

• National Woodland Owner Survey– Brett Butler

– Earl Leatherberry

• Sustaining Family Forests Initiative– Scott Wallinger

– Mary Tyrrell

– Brett Butler

– Larry Wiseman

– Geoff Feinberg

– Bill Banzhaf

– Bob Fledderman

– Eric Norland

– Judy Langer

– Don Ferguson

– Scott van Manen

51

Questions?

Brett Butler

U.S. Forest Service, Amherst, MA

bbutler01@fs.fed.us; 413.545.1387

www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos

www.sustainingfamilyforests.org

52

A Social Marketing Example

Grandpa, Please Don’t Sell!

53

A Social Marketing Example

Is this your legacy???

54

A Social Marketing Example

We sold the

family

forest…do we

look happy?

55

Questions?

Brett Butler

U.S. Forest Service, Amherst, MA

bbutler01@fs.fed.us; 413.545.1387

www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos

www.sustainingfamilyforests.org