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Thriving or Surviving? Forester Adaptations to Parcelization in New York State

Author
L'Roe, Andrew; Broussard Allred, Shorna
Abstract
Consulting forester business practices are challenged by significant
decreases in the sizes of private forest properties and the changes in landowner
values that accompany forestland parcelization. Though researchers have discussed
the potential ways entrepreneurial foresters could adapt to these new ownership
patterns and landscape dynamics, actual responses by foresters working in parcelizing landscapes are largely undocumented. We conducted twenty in-depth interviews with foresters working in New York State to determine (1) how foresters have
experienced parcelization of properties they work with, (2) what challenges are
associated with forestry projects on decreasing property sizes, and (3) what kinds of
changes foresters are making to adapt to decreasing property sizes. We found that
foresters across the state observe decreasing sizes of forest properties and see values
of forest owners shifting beyond timber production, although most do not consider
these changes to be the most urgent challenges to sustainable forestry and profitable
forest consulting. Professional foresters are reacting to parcelization in diverse
ways; while some are trying entrepreneurial approaches to reach new clients or offer
different services, others are primarily interested in maintaining their traditional
practices and roles. These findings indicate that strictly relying on independent
entrepreneurial responses by private foresters may not be sufficient to close the gap
between the historical role of consulting foresters and the trajectory of modern
forest parcels. Additional measures like specialized training and policy changes may
also be required to address the management challenges associated with forestland
parcelization.
Date Issued
2013Publisher
Springer Link
Subject
Foresters; private landowners; small business entrepreneurs; parcelization
Related DOI:
10.1155/2011/320170Previously Published As
L'Roe, A. and S. Broussard Allred. 2012. Thriving or Surviving? Forester Adaptations to Parcelization in New York State. Small-Scale Forestry DOI 10.1007/s11842-012-9216-0.
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Type
article
The following license files are associated with this item:
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International