Dear Landowner:
We invite you to participate in the National Woodland 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 private landowners.
Whether you own one acre of trees, thousands of acres, or something in between, we are interested in hearing from you. You were identified as a 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, 25 minutes.
If you do not currently own land, please return the questionnaire using the postage-paid return envelope and write on the cover “No Land Owned.”
If you would like to receive a copy of the results from this survey, write your name and address on the back of the return envelope.
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 Woodland Owner Survey, 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst MA 01003.
Brett J. Butler, Survey Director
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
Please provide answers for all of the wooded land that you or your company owns in [STATE]. If you are part of more than one group that owns wooded land, please respond for the group that is listed on the outside of the envelope.
The owner who makes most of the decisions about your or your company’s wooded land in [STATE] should answer this survey.
If this survey is received by a company or other organization, please have a person knowledgeable about the organization’s wooded land in [STATE] answer this survey.
General Questions About Your land
1. How many total acres of land do you currently own in [STATE]?
_______Acres of land in [STATE]
2. Wooded land covers 89% of [STATE]. Wooded land includes:
Woods, woodlots, timberland, and forests
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 removed, and trees will grow again
Wooded land does not include:
Christmas tree farms, orchards, or nurseries
Land that is mowed for lawn
How many acres of wooded land do you own in [STATE]?
_______Acres of wooded land in [STATE]
If you own any wooded land in [STATE], please complete this survey.
If you do not own wooded land in [STATE], please return this survey in the postage-paid envelope provided and write on the cover "No Wooded Land"
General Questions About Your Ownership
3. Which category below best describes your ownership?
Select only one.
Individual
Joint, with husband or wife
Joint, such as with other family members or friends
Family partnership or family LLC or LLP
Family trust or estate
Corporation or business (for-profit)
Corporation or business (non-profit)
Other (please specify):________________________________
4. How many people are a part of this ownership, including you?
_________Owners
5. Do you currently own more than one separate, unconnected property with wooded land in [STATE]?
Yes
No
6. Is your home (primary residence) on or within a mile of any of your wooded land in [STATE]?
Yes
No
Not Applicable
7. Do you have a vacation home or cabin on or within a mile of any of your wooded land in [STATE]?
Yes
No
Not Applicable
8. Do you own any land within a mile of any of your wooded land in [STATE] that is farmed or ranched?
For the purpose of this survey, a farm or ranch is a place where, in most years, $1,000 or more is earned from the sale of crops (other than forest products) or animals.
Yes
No
Not applicable
9. Which of the following water body, if any, occurs on your wooded land in [STATE]?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Pond/lake
£ £ River/stream/creek
£ £ Wetland/bog
£ £ Other (please specify):
Your Reasons for Owning Wooded Land
10. How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own wooded land in [STATE]?
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Very Important |
Important |
Moderately Important |
Of little Importance |
Not important |
Not applicable |
To enjoy beauty or scenery |
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To protect nature or biological diversity |
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To protect water resources |
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To protect or improve wildlife habitat |
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For land investment |
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For privacy |
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To raise my family |
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To pass land on to my children or other heirs |
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For cultural/spiritual reasons |
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For firewood |
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For timber products, such as logs or pulpwood |
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For nontimber forest products, such as berries or maple syrup |
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For grazing/shade animals |
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For hunting |
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For recreation, other than hunting |
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The History of Your Wooded Land
11. a. How did you get your or your company’s wooded land in [STATE]?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Purchased
£ £ Inherited
£ £ Received as gift
£ £ Other (please specify):
b. From whom did you get your wooded land?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ My parents and/or my husband or wife's parents
£ £ My husband or wife
£ £ Another family member
£ £ Other individual(s)
£ £ A business
£ £ A government agency
£ £ Other (please specify):_______________
c. In what year did you, personally, first take ownership of your
wooded land in [STATE]?
_________Year
12.a. Have you ever sold or given away any of your wooded land in [STATE]?
Yes
No
If no, skip to question 13
If yes, please answer b, c and d.
b. If sold or given away, was your property subdivided or split up into multiple parcels?
Yes
No
Don't know
c. If sold or given away, who received it?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ My children
£ £ Another family member
£ £ Other individual(s)
£ £ A business
£ £ A government agency
£ £ Other (please specify):
d. Have you sold or given away any of your wooded land in [STATE] in the past 5 years?
Yes
No
Uses of Your Wooded Land
13.Who makes the management decisions, such as whether or not to harvest trees, for your wooded land in [STATE]?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Me
£ £ My husband or wife
£ £ My children
£ £ My parents
£ £ Another family member
£ £ My business partner
£ £ My land manager or forester
£ £ Other (please specify):
14. A management or stewardship plan may be written in order to help the landowner meet their goals for their wooded land.
a. How familiar are you with these types of plans?
Extremely familiar
Moderately familiar
Somewhat familiar
Slightly familiar
Not at all familiar
b. Do you have a written management or stewardship plan for any of your wooded land in [STATE]?
Yes
No
Don't know
If no or don't know, skip to question 15
If yes, please answer c, d, and e
c. Who was the primary writer?
Select one.
I was
Private consultant forester
Federal/State/local government forester
Other (please specify):
d. How was it funded?
I paid for it
A program paid for it
Other (please specify):
e. Have you take actions to implement it?
Yes
No
15. a. What types of products, if any, were cut or removed from any of your wooded land in [STATE] since you have owned it?
Select yes or no for each item
YES NO
£ £ Firewood, for sale
£ £ Firewood, for personal use
£ £ Logs, for sale
£ £ Logs, for personal use
£ £ Wood chips or pulpwood, for sale
£ £ Wood chips or pulpwood, for personal use
£ £ Other (please specify):
b. Was a professional forester used to plan, mark, contract, or oversee any of the cuts?
Yes
No
Don't know
Not applicable
16. What types of nontimber forest products, if any, were collected from any of your wooded land in [STATE] since you owned it? Edibles include items such as [berries or maple syrup]. Medicinals include items such as [ginseng or St. John’s wort]. Landscaping includes items such as [transplants]. Decoratives include items such as [boughs or birch bark].
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Edibles, for sale
£ £ Edibles, for personal use
£ £ Medicinals, for sale
£ £ Medicinals, for personal use
£ £ Landscaping, for sale
£ £ Landscaping, for personal use
£ £ Decorative, for sale
£ £ Decorative, for personal use
£ £ Other (please specify):
17. Which of the following have occurred on your wooded land in [STATE] 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 own use
£ £ Planted trees
£ £ Collected nontimber forest products, such as berries or ginseng
£ £ Reduced fire hazard
£ £ Controlled burn/prescribed fire
£ £ Eliminated or reduced invasive plants
£ £ Eliminated or reduced unwanted insects or diseases
£ £ Road construction or maintenance
£ £ Trail construction or maintenance
£ £ Improved wildlife habitat
£ £ Livestock grazing
£ £ Other (please specify):
18.Which of the following will likely occur on your wooded land in [STATE] in the next 5 years?
Select yes, no/don’t know for each item
Yes No/Don’t know
£ £ Cut and/or remove trees for sale
£ £ Cut and/or remove trees for own use
£ £ Plant trees
£ £ Collect nontimber forest products, such as berries or ginseng
£ £ Reduce fire hazard
£ £ Controlled burn/prescribed fire
£ £ Eliminate or reduce invasive plants
£ £ Eliminate or reduce unwanted insects or diseases
£ £ Road construction or maintenance
£ £ Trail construction or maintenance
£ £ Improve wildlife habitat
£ £ Livestock grazing
£ £ Other (please specify):
19.To encourage good woodland management, groups have created green certification programs to recognize landowners who comply with the groups’ standards. Examples include Tree Farm, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
a. How familiar are you with green certification?
Extremely familiar
Moderately familiar
Somewhat familiar
Slightly familiar
Not at all familiar
b. Is any of your wooded land in [STATE] currently green certified?
Yes
No
Don't know
20. Some state and local governments have programs that defer, reduce, or eliminate property taxes for wooded land. In [STATE], there are the Tree Growth Tax Law and Open Space Tax Law programs.
How familiar are you with these programs?
Extremely familiar
Moderately familiar
Somewhat familiar
Slightly familiar
Not at all familiar
Is any of your wooded land in [STATE] currently enrolled in one of these programs or a similar one?
Yes
No
Don't know
21. Development rights for land can be sold or voluntarily given away. This is usually in the form of a conservation easement.
a. How familiar are you with this concept?
Extremely familiar
Moderately familiar
Somewhat familiar
Slightly familiar
Not at all familiar
Have development rights been sold or voluntarily given away on any of your wooded land in [STATE] by either you or a previous owner?
Yes
No
Don’t know
Cost-share/financial assistance programs provide landowners with money to help them establish or otherwise manage their wooded land. Examples include the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, and various state funded programs.
How familiar are you with cost-share/financial assistance programs?
Extremely familiar
Moderately familiar
Somewhat familiar
Slightly familiar
Not at all familiar
In the past 5 years, have you used a cost-share program to help you establish or manage your wooded land in [STATE]?
Yes
No
Don't know
23. Have you leased any of your wooded land in [STATE] in the past five years for the following
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Logging
£ £ Hunting
£ £ Recreation (other than hunting)
£ £ To graze/pasture livestock
£ £ Solar/wind
£ £ Oil/gas
£ £ Other (please specify):
In efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change, public programs and private markets have been created that pay owners of wooded land for capturing or sequestering carbon.
a. How familiar are you with carbon capture programs or markets?
Extremely familiar
Moderately familiar
Somewhat familiar
Slightly familiar
Not at all familiar
b. Is any of your wooded land in [STATE] currently enrolled in one of these carbon capture programs or markets?
Yes
No
Don't know
Recreation on Your Wooded Land
25 a. Who, with your permission, has hunted, hiked, or otherwise recreated on your wooded land in [STATE] in the past 5 years?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Me and/or my husband or wife
£ £ My children
£ £ Other family members
£ £ Friends
£ £ Neighbors
£ £ The general public for free
£ £ The general public for a fee
£ £ The general public as part of an access program
£ £ Other (please specify):
b. How did you/they recreate, if at all?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ 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):
26. What activity, if any, is posted to restrict access and/or use by the general public on any of your wooded land in [STATE]
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Trespassing
£ £ Hunting
£ £ Motorized vehicles
£ £ Other (please specify):
Sources of Information
27. Have you talked with anyone or received information/advice about
the care, management, or protection of your wooded land in [STATE] in the past 5 years?
Yes
No
If no, skip to question 28.
If yes, please answer a, b, and c.
What was it about?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Unwanted insects or plant diseases
£ £ Wildlife or wildlife habitat
£ £ Timber production
£ £ Land conservation
£ £ Fire safety
£ £ Invasive plants
£ £ Other (please specify):
How did it happen?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Talked to someone
£ £ Someone visited my land
£ £ Received a brochure or other written material
£ £ Web/web search
£ £ Social media
£ £ Conference or workshop -in person
£ £ Conference or workshop - virtual
£ £ Other (please specify):
Who was involved?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Federal/State/local government employee
£ £ Extension forester or other university employee
£ £ Private consultant
£ £ Non-profit/NGO
£ £ Another landowner
£ £ Family member or friend
£ £ Other (please specify):
28. Which of the following would be helpful to you?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Cost-sharing for woodland management
£ £ More favorable tax policies
£ £ Stronger timber markets
£ £ Other (please specify):
29.Which of the following information/advice topics would be helpful
to you?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Timber management
£ £ How to transfer land to the next generation
£ £ Conservation easements
£ £ Wildlife management
£ £ Invasive plants
£ £ Wildfire risk reduction
£ £ Unwanted insects or diseases
£ £ Carbon programs
£ £ Green certification programs
£ £ Tax programs
£ £ Other (please specify):
30. How would you prefer to get information or advice related to your wooded land?
Select yes or no for each item
Yes No
£ £ Talk to a neighbor
£ £ Talk to an expert
£ £ Have someone visit my land
£ £ Written materials, such as brochures or other publications
£ £ Web/web search
£ £ Social media
£ £ Conference or workshop -in person
£ £ Conference or workshop - virtual
£ £ Other (please specify):
£ £ I don't want/need information or advice
Concerns
31. Please indicate your level of concern about each of the following topics for your wooded land in [STATE].
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Great concern |
Concern |
Moderate concern |
Of little concern |
No concern |
Not applicable |
Air pollution |
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Climate change |
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Damage from animals |
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Development of nearby lands |
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Drought or lack of water |
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Damage or noise from off-road vehicles |
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Government regulation |
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High property taxes |
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Invasive plants |
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Keeping land intact for future generations |
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Misuse of wooded land, such as vandalism or dumping |
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Trespassing or poaching |
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Unwanted insects or diseases |
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Water pollution |
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Wildfire |
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Damage from storms |
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Weak timber markets |
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The Future of Your Wooded Land
32. a. How likely is it that you will sell, give away, or otherwise transfer any of your wooded land in [STATE] in the next 5 years?
Extremely likely
Likely
Undecided
Unlikely
Extremely unlikely
If likely or extremely likely, answer b.
If undecided, unlikely, or extremely unlikely, skip to question 33.
b.Who will likely receive it?
Select yes, no, or don’t know for each item
Yes No/Don’t know
£ £ My children
£ £ Another family member(s)
£ £ Other individual(s)
£ £ A business
£ £ A government agency
£ £ Other (please specify):
33. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements about the future of your wooded land.
Select one box for each item
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Strongly agree |
Agree |
Neither agree nor disagree |
Disagree |
Strongly disagree |
I want my wooded land to stay wooded |
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I would sell my land if I was offered a reasonable price |
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34. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements about your knowledge and feelings about your wooded land
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Strongly agree |
Agree |
Neither agree nor disagree |
Disagree |
Strongly disagree |
I know my wooded land very well |
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I want to know more about my wooded land |
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I have a strong emotional attachment to my wooded land |
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I believe my wooded land provides benefits to my community |
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General Questions About You
This section asks questions about you to help us understand private forest owners more broadly. As with the rest of the survey, your responses are anonymous and will not be used to identify you. If you are responding on behalf of a company or other organization, skip this section.
35. What is your age?
_______Years
36. What is your gender?
Male
Female
37. What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed?
Less than 12th grade
High school/GED
Some college
Associate degree
Bachelor's degree
Advanced degree
38. Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin?
Yes
No
39. What is your race?
Select one or more.
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
40. What is your household’s annual income?
Less than $25,000
$25,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $199,999
$200,000 or more
41. On average, what percentage of your household’s annual income comes from the wooded land that you own?
_______Percent
File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
Author | Sarah Butler |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2024-08-05 |