What does it take to get family forest owners to enroll in a forest stewardship-type program?

Michael A. Kilgore, Stephanie A Snyder, Joseph Schertz, Steven J Taff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

We estimated the probability of enrollment and factors influencing participation in a forest stewardship-type program, Minnesota's Sustainable Forest Incentives Act, using data from a mail survey of over 1000 randomly-selected Minnesota family forest owners. Of the 15 variables tested, only five were significant predictors of a landowner's interest in enrolling in the program: compensation amount, intention to obtain a forest management plan, opposition to the program's land covenant, prior awareness of the program, and total acres of forest land owned. The estimated median minimum compensation required was approximately $24 per acre per year. One-fourth of the survey respondents were undecided about whether they would participate in the stewardship program, suggesting there may be potential to capture additional interest and participation. Marketing efforts to raise program awareness, increasing annual stewardship payments, and eliminating the land covenant are likely to be effective strategies for increasing program participation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)507-514
Number of pages8
JournalForest Policy and Economics
Volume10
Issue number7-8
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2008

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by the Blandin Foundation and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (Project MN-42-049). The authors wish to thank Drs. Charlie Blinn and Jeff Kline for their constructive suggestions in the development of this manuscript.

Keywords

  • Contingent valuation
  • Family forest
  • Financial incentives
  • Forest stewardship
  • Willingness to accept

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