Peer Influence of Non-Industrial Private Forest Owners in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Abstract

Understanding how non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners gain and share information regarding the management of their property is very important to policy makers, yet our knowledge regarding how and to what degree this information flows over privately owned landscapes is limited. The work described here seeks to address this shortfall. Widely administered surveys with close-ended questions may not adequately capture this information flow within NIPF owner communities. This study used open-ended questions in interviews of clusters of NIPF owners to determine whether and to what extent owners in-fluence each other directly (through conversations or referrals to sources of advice) or indirectly (through observation of management). We obtained data from thirty-four telephone interviews with owners of NIPF properties in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and analyzed the data using open coding. Roughly half of the forest owners we interviewed were influenced either directly or indirectly by other members of their NIPF communities. Reasons for owning forests (such as privacy, hunting and nature recreation, and economics) also influenced owners’ management behaviors and goals. This peer-to-peer flow of information (whether direct or indirect) has significant implications for how to distribute management and programmatic information throughout NIPF owner communities, and how amenable these communities may be to cooperative or cross-boundary programs to achieve ecosystem and landscapescale goals.

Share and Cite:

Schubert, J. & Mayer, A. (2012). Peer Influence of Non-Industrial Private Forest Owners in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Open Journal of Forestry, 2, 150-158. doi: 10.4236/ojf.2012.23018.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Babbie, E. R. (2010). The practice of social research (12th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
[2] Best, C., & Wayburn, L. (2001). America’s private forests: Status and stewardship. Washington, DC: Island Press.
[3] Bieling, C. (2004). Non-industrial private-forest owners: Possibilities for increasing adoption of close-to-nature forest management. European Journal of Forest Research, 123, 293-303. doi:10.1007/s10342-004-0042-6
[4] Bliss, J. C., & Martin, A. J. (1989). Identifying NIPF management motivations with qualitative methods. Forest Science, 35, 601-622.
[5] Blumberg, S., & Luke, J. (2010). Wireless substitution: Early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, July-December 2009. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[6] Brook, A., Zint, M., & DeYoung, R. (2003). Landowners’ responses to an Endangered Species Act listing and implications for encouraging conservation. Conservation Biology, 17, 1638-1649. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2003.00258.x
[7] Butler, B. J., Leatherberry, E. C., & Williams, M. S. (2005). Design, implementation, and analysis methods for the National Woodland Owner Survey. Amherst, MA: US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northern Research Station GT.
[8] Butler, B. (2008). Family forest owners of the United States, 2006. Amherst, MA: US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northern Research Station GT.
[9] Butler, B., & Ma, Z. (2011). Family forest owner trends in the Northern United States. Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, 28, 13-18.
[10] Cialdini, R. B., Trost, M. R., Gilbert, D. T., Fiske, S. T., & Lindzey, G. (2008). Social influence: Social norms, conformity, and compliance. Handbook of Social Psychology, 2, 151-192.
[11] Creighton, J. H., Baumgartner, D. M., & Blatner, K. A. (2002). Ecosystem management and nondindustrial private forest landowners in Washington State, USA. Small-Scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy, 1, 55-69.
[12] DeWalt, K. M., & DeWalt, B. R. (2002). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
[13] Erickson, D. L., Ryan, R. L., & De Young, R. (2002). Woodlots in the rural landscape: Landowner motivations and management attitudes in a Michigan (USA) case study. Landscape and Urban Planning, 58, 101-112. doi:10.1016/S0169-2046(01)00213-4
[14] Finley, A. O., Kittredge Jr., D. B., Stevens, T. H., Schweik, C. M., & Dennis, D. C. (2006). Interest in cross-boundary cooperation: Identification of distinct types of private forest owners. Forest Science, 52, 10-22.
[15] Fischer, A. P., Bliss, J., Ingemarson, F., Lidestav, G., & L?nnstedt, L. (2010). From the small woodland problem to ecosocial systems: the evolution of social research on small-scale forestry in Sweden and the USA. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 25, 390-398. doi:10.1080/02827581.2010.498386
[16] Fortney, J., Arano, K. G., & Jacobson, M. (2011). An Evaluation of West Virginia’s Managed Timberland Tax Incentive Program. Forest Policy and Economics, 13, 69-78. doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2010.08.002
[17] Froese, R., Hyslop, M., Miller, C., Garmon, B., McDiarmid Jr., H., Shaw, A., Leefers, L., Lorenzo, M., Brown, S., & Shy, M. (2007). Large-tract Forestland Ownership Change: Land Use, Conservation, and Prosperity in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Ann Arbor, MI: National Wildlife Federation.
[18] Gan, J., Kolison Jr., S. H., & Tackie, N. O, (2003). African-American Forestland Owners in Alabama’s Black Belt. Journal of Forestry, 101, 38-43.
[19] Gootee, R. S., Blatner, K. A., Baumgartner, D. M., Carroll, M. S., & Weber, E. P. (2010). Choosing what to believe about forests: Differences between professional and non-professional evaluative criteria. Small-scale Forestry, 9, 137-152. doi:10.1007/s11842-010-9113-3
[20] G?tmark, F. (2009). Conflicts in conservation: Woodland key habitats, authorities and private forest owners in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 24, 504-514. doi:10.1080/02827580903363545
[21] Greene, J. L., Straka, T. J., & Dee, R. J. (2004). Nonindustrial private forest owner use of federal income tax provisions. Forest Products Journal, 54, 59-66.
[22] Greene, J., Daniels, S., Jacobson, M., Kilgore, M., & Straka, T. (2005). Existing and potential incentives for practicing sustainable forestry on non-industrial private forest lands. Final Report to the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry, NCSSF Research Project C2, 31 October 2005. URL (last checked 5 July 2011). http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/econ/data/forestincentives/ncssf-c2-final-report.pdf
[23] Gustafson, E. J., & Loehle, C. (2008). How will the changing industrial forest landscape affect forest sustainability? Journal of Forestry, 106, 380-387.
[24] Haymond, J. L. (1988). NIPF opinion leaders: What do they want? Journal of Forestry, 86, 30-31, 34-35
[25] Hujala, T., & Tikkanen, J. (2008). Boosters of and barriers to smooth communication in family forest owners’ decision manking. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 23, 466-477. doi:10.1080/02827580802334209
[26] Hujala, T., Tikkanen, J., H?nninen, H., & Virkkula, O. (2009). Family forest owners’ perception of decision support. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 24, 448-460. doi:10.1080/02827580903140679
[27] Irland, L. C. (1994). Getting from here to there: Implementing ecosystem management on the ground. Journal of Forestry, 92, 12-17.
[28] Jacobson, M. G. (2002). Ecosystem management in the southeast United States: Interest of forest landowners in joint management across ownerships. Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy, 1, 71-92.
[29] Jones, S. B., Luloff, A. E., & Finley, J. C. (1995). Another look at NIPFs: facing our myths. Journal of Forestry, 93, 41-44.
[30] Kilgore, M. A., Greene, J. L., Jacobson, M. G., Straka, T. J., & Daniels, S. E. (2007). The Influence of Financial Incentive Programs in Promoting Sustainable Forestry on the Nation’s Family Forests. Journal of Forestry, 105, 184-191.
[31] Knoot, T. G., & Rickenbach, M. (2011). Best management practices and timber harvesting: The role of social networks in shaping landowner decisions. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 26, 171182. doi:10.1080/02827581.2010.545827
[32] Leatherberry, E. C., Kingsley, N. P., & Birch, T. W. (1998). Private timberland owners of Michigan, 1994. St. Paul, MN: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, NC Resource Bull.
[33] Lieberherr, E. (2011). Acceptability of the Deschutes Groundwater Mitigation Program. Ecology Law Currents, 38, 25-35.
[34] L?nnstedt, L. (1997). Non-industrial private forest owners’ decision process: A qualitative study about goals time perspective, opportunities and alternatives. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 12, 302-310. doi:10.1080/02827589709355414
[35] Ma, Z., Kittredge, D. B., & Catanzaro, P. (2012). Challenging the traditional forestry extension model: Insights from the Woods Forum Program in Massachusetts. Small-scale Forestry, 11, 87-100. doi:10.1007/s11842-011-9170-2
[36] Mayer, A. L., & Tikka, P. M. (2006). Biodiversity conservation incen-tive programs for privately owned forests. Environmental Science and Policy, 9, 614-625. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2006.07.004
[37] Mehmood, S., & Zhang, D. (2001). Forest parcelization in the United States: A study of contributing factors. Journal of Forestry, 99, 3034.
[38] Michigan Department of Natural Resources (2011). Commercial Forest (CF) Information and Forms. URL (last checked 16 February 2011) http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-30301_30505_34240-3401600.html
[39] Nagubadi, V., McNamara, K. T., Hoover, W. L., & Mills Jr., W. L. (1996). Program participation behavior of non-industrial forest landowners: A probit analysis. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 28, 323-336.
[40] Nelson, C. M. (2001). Economic implications of land use patterns for natural resource recreation and tourism. Lansing, MI: Michigan Land Resource Project, Public Sector Consultants.
[41] Newman, D. H., Aronow, M. E., Harris Jr., T. G., & Macheski, G. (1996). Changes in timberland ownership characteristics in Georgia. In M. J. Baughman (Ed.), Symposium on nonindustrial private forests: Learning from the past, prospects for the future. St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota.
[42] Patton, M. Q. (1992). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
[43] Potter-Witter, K. (2005). A cross-sectional analysis of Michigan non-industrial private forest landowners. Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, 22, 132-138.
[44] Reed, A. S. (2001). Extension in Oregon—Educational leadership for sustainability. Journal of Forestry, 99, 18-21.
[45] Rickenbach, M., & Reed, A. (2002). Cross-boundary cooperation in a watershed context: The sentiments of private forest landowners. Environmental Management, 30, 584-594. doi:10.1007/s00267-002-2688-5
[46] Rickenbach, M., Zeuli, K., & Sturgess-Cleek, E. (2005). Despite failure: The emergence of “new” forest owners in private forest policy in Wisconsin, USA. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 20, 503513. doi:10.1080/02827580500434806
[47] Rogers, E., & Shoemaker, F. (1971). Communication of innovations: A cross-cultural approach. New York, NY: The Free Press.
[48] Rossi, F. J., Carter, D. R., Alavalapati, J. R. R., & Nowak, J. T. (2010). Forest landowner participation in State-Administered Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Cost-Share Programs. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry, 34, 110-117.
[49] Shandas, V. (2007). An empirical study of streamside landowners’ interest in riparian conservation. Journal of the American Planning Association, 73, 173-184. doi:10.1080/01944360708976151
[50] Tikkanen, J., Isok??nt?, T., Pyk?l?inen, J., & Leskinen, P. (2006). Applying cognitive mapping approach to explore the objective-structure of forest owners in a Northern Finnish case area. Forest Policy and Economics, 9, 139-152. doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2005.04.001
[51] US Census Bureau (2009). Homes with cell phones nearly double in first half of decade. URL (last checked 24 March 2012). http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb09-174.html
[52] Vokoun, M., Amacher, G. S., Sullivan, J., & Wear, D. (2010). Examining incentives for adjacent non-industrial private forest landowners to cooperate. Forest Policy and Economics, 12, 104-110. doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2009.08.008
[53] West, P. C., Fly, J. M., Blahna, D. J., & Carpenter, E. M. (1988). The communication and diffusion of NIPF management strategies. Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, 5, 265-270.
[54] Zhang, Y., Zhang, D., & Schelhas, J. (2005). Small-scale non-industrial private forest ownership in the United States: rationale and implications for forest management. Silva Fennica, 39, 443-454.

Journals Menu
Follow SCIRP
Contact us
+1 323-425-8868
customer@scirp.org
WhatsApp +86 18163351462(WhatsApp)
Click here to send a message to me 1655362766
Paper Publishing WeChat

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.