Attitudes toward joint forest planning among private landowners

On fragmented forest lands, ecosystem or landscape management approaches must cut across multiple ownerships. Therefore, communication and joint planning between neighboring landowners may be necessary for successful implementation of ecosystem management. This study examines landowners' interest in, and attitude toward, ecosystem management. Specifically, we use a survey and logistic regression model to explain landowner interest in joint planning as a proxy for their interest in ecosystem management. Survey results show that almost 70% of the landowners are interested in joint planning. However, most landowners require certain conditions be met before they would participate. Variables pertaining to attitudes and beliefs about ecosystem management or property rights, and receiving incentives for cooperation across the landscape are more important than demographic, land management, or spatial characteristics in explaining landowners' interest in joint planning. Landowners who believe in managing forests for environmental, wildlife and water quality as well as timber are more likely to be interested. The primary concern of those interested in joint planning is the impact it may have on their timber and/or land values. Planners who develop ecosystem management approaches that involve landowner cooperation should make the environmental impacts and benefits clear, and ensure that it will not reduce land and timber values.