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
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
[email protected]; 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
[email protected]; 413.545.1387
www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos
www.sustainingfamilyforests.org
