NWOS Corporate Survey Cover letter and First electronic

_{Large Corporate First Cover Letter}

Dear Landowner:

We invite you to participate in the National Corporate Forest Owner Survey conducted by the U.S. Forest Service. Your participation will help policy makers, land managers, and public and private service providers better understand and address the needs and concerns of America’s corporate landowners.

We are interested in hearing from you. You were identified as a corporate landowner from public ownership records. We are contacting only a few owners in each state. Because of the limited number of owners contacted, your answers are especially important. This survey is conducted once every 5 years to understand new topics and changes over time. If you responded during the last cycle, we ask that you respond again.

This is an official U.S. Forest Service survey, but your participation is voluntary. Your answers will be confidential and will be combined with others. The results will only be used to determine patterns and trends. Completing the questionnaire takes, on average, 30 minutes.

If your company does not currently own land, respond to this email saying “No Land Owned.”

If you would like to receive a copy of the results from this survey, please respond to this email with your name and address.

We greatly appreciate your valuable assistance. If you have any questions please call us toll-free at 1-855-233-3372, visit our website at www.fia.fs.usda.gov/nwos/, or write us at USDA Forest Service, National Corporate Forest Owner Survey, 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst MA 01003.

Brett J. Butler, Survey Director

Large Corporate Landowner Survey

OMB # 0596-0078

Expiration date: to be updated

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0596-0078. Without this approval, we could not conduct this survey. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 25 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the U.S.D.A. Forest Service email address [email protected] and include the OMB Control Number in the subject line.

Instructions

• Provide answers for all of the forestland that your company owns in the U.S.

• If your company has one or more subsidiaries, respond for the larger, parent company and all of its subsidiaries.

• If your company manages land on behalf of clients or investors, please include all of the land your company manages. This included timberland investment organizations (TIMOs) and forest management company (FMC).

• Do NOT include any land your company leases from other owners.

• Please have a person knowledgeable about the organization’s forestland in answer this survey. Completed surveys should be emailed to: [email protected] or mailed to: USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey, 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA 01003.

Comments or Questions

If you have any comments or question regarding this survey, please contact as at [email protected] or 855-233-3372.

Forestland Definition

Forestland covers 36% of the U.S. Forestland includes:

• Land at least 1 acre in size, 120 feet wide, and has at least 10% forest cover

• Land at least 1 acre in size, where trees were harvested and will grow again

• Plantations and naturally regenerated forests

Forestland does not include:

• Christmas tree farms, orchards, or nurseries

General Questions about Your Company’s Forestland

1. As of January 1, 2018, in which states does your company own forestland? How many acres does it own in each state?

List each state and acres in that state.

If more space is needed, please use the included supplemental form on page 14.

If you are a TIMO and hold or manage land on behalf of clients or investors, please include all of the land your company manages.

2. How many acres does your company own directly, across all states?

____Acres

3. How many acres does your company manage on behalf of clients/investors?

____Acres

Company Structure

4. What is the structure of your company?

Check one.

• Publicly traded corporation

• Privately held C-corporation

• Privately held S-corporation

• Limited liability company (LLC)

• Other (please specify):

5. Is your company a real estate investment trust (REIT)?

• Yes

• No

6. Is your company a timberland investment organization (TIMO) managing lands on behalf of institutional investors?

• Yes

• No

7. Is your company a forest management company (FMC) managing lands on behalf of clients other than institutional investors?

• Yes

• No

8. Does your company currently own and operate one or more pulp mills, sawmills, or other primary wood processing facilities in the U.S.?

• Yes

• No

Forestland Acquisitions and Sales

9. Approximately, how many acres of forestland has your company acquired in the U.S. in the past 5 years?

Acres

10. Approximately, how many acres of forestland has your company sold, traded, or given away in the U.S. in the past 5 years?

Acres

If no acres have been sold, traded, or given away, skip to question 10

If yes, please answer b

b. If sold or given away, was your property subdivided or split up into multiple parcels?

• Yes

• No

• Don't know

Forest Management Objectives

11. How important are the following reasons for how your company currently manages forestland in the U.S.?

	Very important	Important	Moderately important	Of little importance	Not important	Not applicable
To protect beauty of scenery
To protect nature or biological diversity
To protect water resources
To protect or improve wildlife habitat
For land investment
For firewood
For timber production
For nontimber forest products, such as berries or mushrooms
For cultural/spiritual reasons
For hunting
For recreation, other than hunting
For oil or gas extraction
For extraction of other mineral products, such as sand or gravel
For solar or wind
For carbon capture/sequestration
Other (please specify):

Forest Management Practices

12. On average, how many acres has your company annually harvested on its forestland? Include final cuts, thinnings, real estate cuts, and all other harvesting.

acres harvested per year

13. Which, if any, of the following have occurred on your company’s forestland in the U.S. in the past 5 years?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ Cut and/or removed trees for sale

£ £ Cut and/or removed trees for company use (i.e., for own mills)

£ £ Nontimber forest products, such as pine straw or mushrooms, have been collected

£ £ Reduced fire hazard

£ £ Controlled burn/prescribed fire

£ £ Eliminated or reduced invasive plants

£ £ Eliminated or reduced unwanted insects or diseases

£ £ Road construction or maintenance

£ £ Recreational trail construction or maintenance Improved wildlife habitat

£ £ Agroforestry, including livestock grazing

£ £ Planted trees

£ £ Used herbicides

£ £ Used insecticides

£ £ Used fertilizers

£ £ Real estate cuts

£ £ Other (please specify):

14. Which, if any, of the following silvicultural practices have occurred on your company’s forestland in the U.S. in the past 5 years?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ Clearcut

£ £ Seed tree cuts

£ £ Shelterwood cuts

£ £ Single tree selection

£ £ Group selection

£ £ Pre-commercial thinnings (e.g. stand improvements)

£ £ Commercial thinnings

£ £ Planting trees

£ £ Other (please specify):

Forest Management Intensities

15. What percentage, on average, of your company’s forestland does your company do final cuts on per year? Final cuts include rotation harvests, regeneration harvests, or other treatments that mark the end of a silvicultural rotation.

• 0%

• 1-5%

• 6-10%

• 11-15%

• 16-20%

• 21-25%

• >25%

• I don’t know

16. What percentage, on average, of your company’s forestland does your company do pre-commercial thinning’s (such as timber stand improvements) on per year?

• 0%

• 1-5%

• 6-10%

• 11-15%

• 16-20%

• 21-25%

• >25%

• I don’t know

17. What percentage, on average, of your company’s forestland does your company plant seedlings on per year?

• 0%

• 1-5%

• 6-10%

• 11-15%

• 16-20%

• 21-25%

• >25%

• I don’t know

18. What percentage, on average, of your company’s forestland does your company allow natural regeneration to occur on per year?

• 0%

• 1-5%

• 6-10%

• 11-15%

• 16-20%

• 21-25%

• >25%

• I don’t know

Forest Management and Planning

19. What percentage of your company’s forestland in the U.S. is covered by a written management plan?

percent

20. Is your company's forestland in the U.S. currently certified, or in the process of being certified, under a certification scheme such as the American Tree Farm System, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), or Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)?

• Yes

• No

If yes, answer a and b.

If no, go to Question 21.

• What percent? _____

• Which certification system(s) does your company use for its forestland in the U.S.?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ American Tree Farm System

£ £ Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

£ £ Programme for the Endoresement of Forest Certification (PEFC)

£ £ Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)

£ £ Other (please specify):

21. What percentage of your company’s forestland in the U.S. is currently under a conservation easement?

percent

22. Which, if any, of the following activities has your company ever collected money from people to use its forestland in the U.S.?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ Long-term leasing for timber production

£ £ Mineral, oil, or gas extraction

£ £ Hunting

£ £ Recreation (other than hunting)

£ £ Agroforestry, including grazing/pasturing of livestock

£ £ Public water supply protection

£ £ Wildlife habitat/biodiversity program

£ £ Wetland mitigation bank

£ £ Carbon sequestration

£ £ Solar or wind power generation

£ £ Other (please specify):

23. Who, with your company’s permission, has hunted, hiked, or otherwise recreated on any of your company’s forestland in the U.S. in the past 5 years?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ Company employees

£ £ Neighbors

£ £ The general public free of charge

£ £ People for a fee (e.g., hunting leases, other leases, or day access fees)

£ £ Other (please specify):

If nobody recreated, go to question 24

b. How did they recreate?

Select yes,no, or don’t know for each item

Yes No/Don’t know

£ £ Hunting

£ £ Fishing

£ £ Hiking/walking

£ £ Bicycling

£ £ Nature viewing

£ £ Birding

£ £ Camping

£ £ Horseback riding

£ £ Skiing or snowshoeing

£ £ Off-road vehicles, such as ATVs or snowmobiles

£ £ Other (please specify):

Concerns

24. Please indicate your company’s level of concern about each of the following topics for your company’s forestland in the U.S.

    	Great concern	Concern	Moderate concern	Of little concern	No concern	Not applicable
    Air pollution
    Climate change
    Damage from animals
    Development of nearby lands
    Drought or lack of water
    Damage or noise from off-road vehicles
    Government regulation
    High property taxes
    Invasive plants
    Keeping land intact for future generations
    Misuse of wooded land, such as vandalism or dumping
    Trespassing or poaching
    Unwanted insects or diseases
    Water pollution
    Wildfire
    Wind or ice storms
    Weak timber markets

25. Please indicate your level of concern about each of the following topics for your company’s forestland in the U.S.

	Great concern	Concern	Moderate concern	Of little concern	No Concern	Not Applicable
Changes in national or state tax laws and structure
Changes in state and local ordinances in road use/weight limits
Changes in state and local ordinances in land use or timber regulations
Regulations limiting the use of chemicals in timber management
Changes in the forest products industry
Changes in timber markets
International tariffs
Long-term fiber supply agreements
Securing logging contractors
Liability issues with hunting and recreation leases
Securing seedling planting stock
Changes in investors’ preferences
Meeting and maintaining timber green certification standards
Other (please specify):

Community Relations

26. Which, if any, of the following community engagement activities has your company participated in in the U.S. in the past 5 years?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ Outreach and education to landowners

£ £ Outreach and education to the general public (such as, “Forestry Days”)

£ £ Landowner technical assistance, such as writing forest management plans

£ £ Charitable contributions

£ £ Other (please specify):

Income Generation

27. On average, what percentage of your company’s total revenue is derived from your forestland operations?

Note: This includes receipts from timber sales, sale of forestland, and other revenue streams directly from your forestland. If this company is a subsidiary of a larger, parent company, please respond for the parent company.

• < 25%

• 26-49%

• 50-74%

• 75-99%

• 100%

28. What percentage of your company’s annual harvests in the U.S. in the past 5 years was associated with long-term timber/fiber supply agreements with mills or other primary wood processing facilities for its forestland in the U.S.?

• 0%

• < 25%

• 26-49%

• 50-74%

• 75-99%

• 100%

Labor/Workforce

29. Who manages day-to-day, on-the-ground operations for your company’s forestland in the U.S.?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ Your company (in house)

£ £ Outside your company

30. Does your company allocate/dedicate funds or budget for wildfire suppression in the U.S.?

• Yes

• No

31. Which, if any, of the following activities has your company participated in in the past 5 years in regards to research on tree improvement or other forest management issues in the U.S.?

Select yes or no for each item

Yes No

£ £ Employ in-house researchers

£ £ Contribute to research cooperatives, programs, or institutes

£ £ Directly fund specific research projects

32. How many people are currently employed by this company? Please indicate full time equivalents. For example, an employee scheduled to work 21 hours per week would be 0.6 FTE when the full-time workweek is 35 hours. FTE calculations are about hours worked rather than number of employees.

________FTEs

Comments

33. A. If we have questions about your responses in this survey, can we contact you?

• Yes

• No

If yes, please answer b.

b.What is your contact information?

__________________Name

__________________Phone number

__________________Email address

32. If there are any additional comments or concerns that you would like to share, please write them below.

_______________________________________

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