Social Pressures Affecting the Sustainability of Family Forests in the U.S.

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Social Pressures Affecting the Sustainability of
Family Forests in the U.S.

• Brett J. Butler
• USDA Forest Service

2004 Human Dimensions of Family and Farm Forestry
Symposium
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Outline

• Forest ownership in the U.S.
• Social pressures
• Sustainability
• Global parallels and implications

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Forest Ownership in the U.S.
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Who owns the family forests?

• 9.6 million families and individuals
• 57 own less than 10 acres
• 45 are 65 or older

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Why do they own it?

• Home and privacy
• Beauty and nature
• Family legacy
• Recreation
• Land investment
• Timber production

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What do they intend to do with it?

• Nothing
• Harvesting
• Land transfers
• Land purchases
• Land use conversions

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Common Trends and Patterns

• Changing demographics
• Land transfers
• Shifting ownership paradigms
• Land use conversions
• Forest management

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Effect of Landholding Size on Forest Ownership
Management
Timber Harvesting
Ownership Objectives
Management Plans
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Why are changes happening?

• Social
• Shifting demographics
• Landowner turnover

• Economic
• Forest products markets
• Land markets

• Political
• Tax policies
• Land use policies

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Effects on the sustainability of

• Forests
• Family forests

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Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators

• Conservation of Biological Diversity
• Maintenance of productive capacity of forest
  ecosystem
• Maintenance of forest ecosystem health
• Conservation and maintenance of soil and water
  resources
• Maintenance of forest contribution to global
  carbon cycles
• Maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple
  socio-economic benefits to meet the needs of
  society
• Legal, institutional and economic framework for
  forest conservation and sustainable management

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Disconnect Between Landowners and Society
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Conclusions

• Family forests in the U.S. are changing
• Implications for other countries vary by
  ownership system
• Globalization is affecting forests and forest
  owners

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Questions?

• Brett Butler
• USDA Forest Service
• 11 Campus Blvd.
• Newtown Square, PA 19073
• [phone]
• bbutler01_at_fs.fed.us