The Family Forest Research Center recently conducted a mail survey of about 1,400 Massachusetts landowners. Respondents were given questions about themselves and their land and were then asked to rate three carbon sequestration programs in terms of their likelihood to participate. An ordered logit model is used to estimate probabilities that landowners would participate in various improved forest management programs. There are several estimation issues to consider with the ordered logit model. The relative merits of alternative models, including the multinomial and binomial logit, rank-ordered logit, binary logit and mixed ordered logit are discussed. Results of the ordered logit indicate that older males with less education and who own less than 100 acres are less likely to participate in an improved forest management program. All landowners are less likely to participate in a program that requires a management plan and that has a lengthy time commitment, low revenue stream and early withdrawal penalty. Policy implications and direction for future research are discussed.

Most energy sources are derived from the sun, directly or indirectly. Stopping the increase of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will likely require more reliance on current rather than ancient terrestrial solar input. Yet which forms of renewable energy are most appropriately used is a significant question for the twenty-first century. This dissertation concerns the potential supply of biomass energy crops as a renewable energy source in Massachusetts. Biomass represents a low-efficiency solar collector, and supplying society with an important portion of its energy from biomass would require a great deal of land. The cellulosic biomass crop evaluated in this research is switchgrass, among the most studied of possible biomass crops. The study looks at biomass energy crop potential from three perspectives. First, a biomass crop supply function is developed for switchgrass by 1) using a GIS model to estimate land availability by current land use and soil type; 2) using a crop-growth simulation model to estimate potential switchgrass yields; 3) estimating marginal production cost by land parcel; and 4) calculating a supply function from marginal production costs. Total technical potential is estimated to be about 1.3 million dry metric tons of switchgrass per year, though financial constraints would likely limit production to some portion of the estimated 125,000 metric tons per year that could be produced on existing grasslands. Next, the study examines circumstances under which landowners might opt to make land available for biomass crop production. The social challenge of minimizing biomass energy cost is described. Potential biomass crop landowner decisions are characterized in a theoretical utility maximization model, with results suggesting that non-price attributes of crop production are likely important to landowners. Finally, an empirical study using a landowner survey assesses interest in growing biomass crops, and uses contingent valuation (CV) to estimate landowner willingness to accept (WTA) land rent for biomass crops. The median estimate is $321/ha/yr, with a much-higher mean estimate of $658/ha/yr (based on a parametric estimator). While the realistic potential for biomass crops is some fraction of technically feasible potential, there are other potentially important roles for biomass crops in Massachusetts, for example in preserving unused farmland that would otherwise revert to forest.

Erigé en modèle du dirigeant d’entreprise familiale à la tête d’un outil de production de bois, sa forêt, le forestier est un dirigeant d’entreprise singulier dont l’activité se caractérise par une unique décision de gestion, couper ou ne pas couper; et par un horizon temporel extrêmement long sur plusieurs générations.Partant du constat que le comportement des forestiers n’est pas rationnel au regard de la fonction de production de la forêt, les sources de déviations comportementales sont explorées et notamment l’influence de la vision familiale, du fait de l’impact de chacune de leurs décisions sur leurs descendants. Dans cet objectif, en recourant à des travaux issus de la psychologie, un cadre théorique, offrant un modèle intégré de l’ensemble des biais pouvant affecter le dirigeant, est élaboré. Adoptant une méthode comparative entre différents cas de forestiers, la vision familiale est positionnée à la source d’un biais conatif les affectant et engendrant une inertie comportementale qui s’avère variable en fonction des spécificités de la famille dont ils sont issus. Les différents comportements des forestiers offrent une nouvelle perspective en termes de gouvernance comportementale en proposant à la fois un outil d’analyse des comportements et un mécanisme visant par différentiel à identifier les sources de biais comportementaux ; et permettent d’inférer des moyens de les corriger. / The forest landowner can be set up as a model of a business manager who leads a wood manufacture, his woodland. He can be considered as a particular business manager whose activity is characterized by an unique decision, to cut or not to cut the trees ; and by a long planning horizon on several generations.Through the observation that the forest landowners' behaviors are not totally rational in comparison with the function of the woodland production, the research explores the origins of biases that affect behaviors, and specifically the family vision on business, due to the impact of each decision on the future of the coming generations. In this objective, based on psychological researches, a theoretical background is implemented, which proposes a model of the various biases that can affect managers.By comparing the different cases of forest landowners, the family vision is found as the origin of a conative bias that triggers a behavioral inertia. This inertia appears to be variable according to the specificities of the managers' families. The various forest landowners' behaviors allow to grasp new elements concerning behavioral governance through the proposition of both a behavior analyzing tool and a mechanism which aims to identify the origins of biases through a differential method , and allow to infer the mean to correct them.

A criação voluntária de áreas protegidas privadas está em expansão ao redor do mundo, sendo reconhecida como uma importante estratégia para conservação da biodiversidade e complemento dos esforços públicos de conservação. No Brasil, estas áreas são chamadas Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural (RPPNs), áreas criadas em caráter perpétuo, por iniciativa de seus proprietários e reconhecidas pelo poder público. No entanto, apesar de já existirem mais de 930 RPPNs que protegem 680.000 ha no país, ainda existe uma lacuna de informações sobre o tema. Esse trabalho pretende contribuir para diminuição desse problema, utilizando como área de estudo o Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul. Seus objetivos foram identificar as motivações dos proprietários ao solicitarem a criação dessas unidades, os incentivos e dificuldades enfrentadas para criação e gestão, e caracterizar essas áreas e a eficácia da sua gestão. Para isso, seus proprietários ou gestores foram entrevistados e foram consultados os processos de solicitação de criação dessas áreas e outros documentos fornecidos pelos proprietários. Para a avaliação do manejo, foi necessária a adaptação da metodologia de Cifuentes, Izurieta e Faria (2000) para o contexto das áreas analisadas. Ao todo, foram identificados 65 processos de solicitação de RPPNs, mas apenas 36 áreas são efetivamente reconhecidas atualmente. O tempo de tramitação dos processos de reconhecimento tem sido alto e é influenciado pelos procedimentos institucionais, pelo rigor das exigências documentais e pelo número de pendências existentes. As entrevistas com os responsáveis pelas RPPNs demonstraram que estes consideram o processo de criação lento e burocrático. A conservação é a principal motivação para sua criação, mas fatores econômicos e pessoais também são citados. O único incentivo oferecido pelo poder público é a isenção do imposto territorial rural. Outros incentivos para a criação e gestão destas áreas têm sido dados por ONGs e a Associação de Proprietários de RPPN, principalmente na região da Bacia do Alto Paraguai. A conservação e a pesquisa são objetivos de manejo de todas as RPPNs, mas a educação ambiental e turismo também são bastante citados. Com relação à avaliação do manejo, o conjunto de RPPNs obteve 57,6% do total ótimo possível. Mais da metade das áreas foi classificada como gestão muito inferior ou inferior, 17,6% como mediana, e 29,4% como padrão elevado ou de excelência. Os âmbitos mais bem avaliados foram usos atuais e político e legal; os piores foram o planejamento e ordenamento e o conhecimento. Entre os pontos fortes do conjunto estão: compatibilidade das suas atividades com as normas, reconhecimento legal, porcentagem de área alterada, e demarcação física. Entre os pontos mais fracos estão: monitoramento e retroalimentação, tamanho, programas de manejo, informações e plano de manejo. A proteção parece ser uma das maiores preocupações dos proprietários, que de forma geral, parecem reconhecer as principais fragilidades destas unidades. / The voluntary creation of private protected areas has rapidly increased around the world and it has been recognized as an important strategy for biodiversity conservation, adding public efforts to conservation. In Brazil, these areas are called Private Reserves of Natural Heritage (PRNHs), and they are created for perpetuity, by their owners\' initiative, and recognized by the public administration. However, despite the fact that there are already over 930 PRNHs, which are protecting around 680.000 ha in the country, there is still lack of information concerning this topic. This work intends to address this problem, using the case of Mato Grosso do Sul State. The main objective is to identify the owner\'s motivations for the establishment of PNHRs, the driving forces and the difficulties faced by their recognition and management, as well as to characterize these areas and their management effectiveness. To that purpose, the owners or managers were interviewed. There has been also documental analysis and the documents for the application of these areas\' establishment and other related documents provided by the owners were consulted. For the management evaluation, an adaptation of the Cifuentes, Izurieta and Faria (2000) methodology was necessary for analyzing the areas context. In the overall, 65 applications for the establishment of PNHRs were identified, but only 36 areas are currently effectively recognized. The procedural time for the establishment process has been high, and it is affected by institutional procedures, several documentation requirements, and by the lack of required documentation. The interviews with owners and managers showed that they think the processes are slow and bureaucratic. The conservation is the main motivation for their creation, but economic and personal factors were also mentioned. The only incentive offered by the government was the rural property tax exemption. On the other hand, NGOs and the PNHR Owners\' Association have encouraged the creation and management of these areas, mainly for the High Paraguay Basin. Conservation and research are management objectives of all PNHRs, but environmental education and tourism are also fairly mentioned. Regarding management evaluation, the group of PNHRs reached 57,6% of the total possible optimum. More than half of the areas had management classified as very inferior or as quality inferior standards, 17,6% as medium, and 29,4% as high or excellency standards. The set of indicators best evaluated were current uses and political and legal. The worst set of indicators were planning and instructing and knowledge. The strength issues of the group are: the compatibility of their activities with legislation, legal recognition, percentage of disturbed area, and physical demarcation. The weakest points are: monitoring and feedback, size, management programs, information and management plan. The protection of these areas seems to be a major concern for their owners, who usually seem to recognize the main weaknesses of these protected areas.

In Texas, landowner associations for the management of common-pool resources such as wildlife and groundwater have become increasingly popular. Successful management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) depends upon the collective decision-making of landowners. Likewise, aquifer reserves are a trans-boundary resource subject to the "rule of capture." Numerous factors may affect the success of common-pool associations, including property ownership and habitat characteristics, landowner demographics, and social capital. I used a mail questionnaire to explore the relationship between these factors and their effect on association activities and management practices for eight Wildlife Management Associations (WMAs) occurring within the Lower Post Oak Savannah (LPOS) and the Central Post Oak Savannah (CPOS). In addition, I compared responses of members of WMAs in CPOS to members of the Brazos Valley Water Alliance (BVWA), a groundwater association situated in the region. Compared to CPOS, members of WMAs within the LPOS belonged to much larger groups, were generally more recent landowners that met more often, raised more money using more funding methods, and tended to have longer association membership than CPOS landowners, yet they had lower social capital. CPOS landowners owned significantly more land and considered relaxation/leisure and hunting more important land uses than LPOS landowners. The smaller group size in CPOS may be the most important factor in building social capital. Intra-association trust was positively influenced by the longevity of property ownership, the number of association meetings, the percentage of males in the association, and other factors. Negative influences on trust included absentee ownership and Habitat Cover Index, which was a measure of the amount of wooded habitat present. In CPOS, members of the BVWA were part of a much larger, more heterogeneous, and more recently formed group than members of WMAs. They also placed greater importance on utilitarian aspects of their properties, as opposed to land stewardship for conservation as practiced by members of WMAs. If associations are kept small ( < 50) with more frequent meetings, greater social capital and information sharing may be achieved, which may lead to increased land stewardship practices. However, landowners may be motivated more by their shared values independent of any benefit from their association.

A criação voluntária de áreas protegidas privadas está em expansão ao redor do mundo, sendo reconhecida como uma importante estratégia para conservação da biodiversidade e complemento dos esforços públicos de conservação. No Brasil, estas áreas são chamadas Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural (RPPNs), áreas criadas em caráter perpétuo, por iniciativa de seus proprietários e reconhecidas pelo poder público. No entanto, apesar de já existirem mais de 930 RPPNs que protegem 680.000 ha no país, ainda existe uma lacuna de informações sobre o tema. Esse trabalho pretende contribuir para diminuição desse problema, utilizando como área de estudo o Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul. Seus objetivos foram identificar as motivações dos proprietários ao solicitarem a criação dessas unidades, os incentivos e dificuldades enfrentadas para criação e gestão, e caracterizar essas áreas e a eficácia da sua gestão. Para isso, seus proprietários ou gestores foram entrevistados e foram consultados os processos de solicitação de criação dessas áreas e outros documentos fornecidos pelos proprietários. Para a avaliação do manejo, foi necessária a adaptação da metodologia de Cifuentes, Izurieta e Faria (2000) para o contexto das áreas analisadas. Ao todo, foram identificados 65 processos de solicitação de RPPNs, mas apenas 36 áreas são efetivamente reconhecidas atualmente. O tempo de tramitação dos processos de reconhecimento tem sido alto e é influenciado pelos procedimentos institucionais, pelo rigor das exigências documentais e pelo número de pendências existentes. As entrevistas com os responsáveis pelas RPPNs demonstraram que estes consideram o processo de criação lento e burocrático. A conservação é a principal motivação para sua criação, mas fatores econômicos e pessoais também são citados. O único incentivo oferecido pelo poder público é a isenção do imposto territorial rural. Outros incentivos para a criação e gestão destas áreas têm sido dados por ONGs e a Associação de Proprietários de RPPN, principalmente na região da Bacia do Alto Paraguai. A conservação e a pesquisa são objetivos de manejo de todas as RPPNs, mas a educação ambiental e turismo também são bastante citados. Com relação à avaliação do manejo, o conjunto de RPPNs obteve 57,6% do total ótimo possível. Mais da metade das áreas foi classificada como gestão muito inferior ou inferior, 17,6% como mediana, e 29,4% como padrão elevado ou de excelência. Os âmbitos mais bem avaliados foram usos atuais e político e legal; os piores foram o planejamento e ordenamento e o conhecimento. Entre os pontos fortes do conjunto estão: compatibilidade das suas atividades com as normas, reconhecimento legal, porcentagem de área alterada, e demarcação física. Entre os pontos mais fracos estão: monitoramento e retroalimentação, tamanho, programas de manejo, informações e plano de manejo. A proteção parece ser uma das maiores preocupações dos proprietários, que de forma geral, parecem reconhecer as principais fragilidades destas unidades. / The voluntary creation of private protected areas has rapidly increased around the world and it has been recognized as an important strategy for biodiversity conservation, adding public efforts to conservation. In Brazil, these areas are called Private Reserves of Natural Heritage (PRNHs), and they are created for perpetuity, by their owners\' initiative, and recognized by the public administration. However, despite the fact that there are already over 930 PRNHs, which are protecting around 680.000 ha in the country, there is still lack of information concerning this topic. This work intends to address this problem, using the case of Mato Grosso do Sul State. The main objective is to identify the owner\'s motivations for the establishment of PNHRs, the driving forces and the difficulties faced by their recognition and management, as well as to characterize these areas and their management effectiveness. To that purpose, the owners or managers were interviewed. There has been also documental analysis and the documents for the application of these areas\' establishment and other related documents provided by the owners were consulted. For the management evaluation, an adaptation of the Cifuentes, Izurieta and Faria (2000) methodology was necessary for analyzing the areas context. In the overall, 65 applications for the establishment of PNHRs were identified, but only 36 areas are currently effectively recognized. The procedural time for the establishment process has been high, and it is affected by institutional procedures, several documentation requirements, and by the lack of required documentation. The interviews with owners and managers showed that they think the processes are slow and bureaucratic. The conservation is the main motivation for their creation, but economic and personal factors were also mentioned. The only incentive offered by the government was the rural property tax exemption. On the other hand, NGOs and the PNHR Owners\' Association have encouraged the creation and management of these areas, mainly for the High Paraguay Basin. Conservation and research are management objectives of all PNHRs, but environmental education and tourism are also fairly mentioned. Regarding management evaluation, the group of PNHRs reached 57,6% of the total possible optimum. More than half of the areas had management classified as very inferior or as quality inferior standards, 17,6% as medium, and 29,4% as high or excellency standards. The set of indicators best evaluated were current uses and political and legal. The worst set of indicators were planning and instructing and knowledge. The strength issues of the group are: the compatibility of their activities with legislation, legal recognition, percentage of disturbed area, and physical demarcation. The weakest points are: monitoring and feedback, size, management programs, information and management plan. The protection of these areas seems to be a major concern for their owners, who usually seem to recognize the main weaknesses of these protected areas.

No description available.

Collaborative conservation partnership frequency is increasing in natural resources management; however, few successful examples exist in the United States. These groups seek to address land stewardship through cooperative, communicative, bottom-up approaches that engage local stakeholders. A better understanding of member characteristics and successful group characteristics may enhance collaborative conservation partnership outcomes. A survey was conducted to quantify partnership member characteristics and advertising mediums. Results were compared with the National Woodland Owner Survey. Collaborative conservation partnership members tend to be well-educated, middle-aged, upper-middle class individuals with large landholdings. They span previously identified family forest owner clusters but may be classified as earlier adopters by Diffusion of Innovations theory. Word-of-mouth is the most common way members learn about partnership opportunities. Qualitative data was analyzed to identify key features related to the ability to achieve group goals. Multi-disciplinary literature review points to the likely influences of leadership, task type, social capital, resource inputs, processes, and temporal change attributes on collaborative conservation partnership goal achievement. Key informant interviews demonstrate that resource and social capital inputs derive disproportionately from particular actors, partnerships need flexibility to adapt to changes in available resources, leaders establish partnership activity levels, social capital is the foundation of resource access, and groups are diverse in the ways they deal with context-specific tasks, resources, and processes. Overall, collaborative conservation partnerships demonstrate potential to positively influence land stewardship and technology transfer. Growth requires expanding membership, establishing partnerships as a legitimate conservation medium, and maintaining diverse groups tailored to local contexts. / Master of Science

xvii, 160 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Restoring oak habitats is an emerging conservation priority in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Both private and public landowners face multiple challenges to conservation and restoration of oak habitats, including a lack of knowledge about the potential tradeoffs and constraints for achieving multiple priorities on a given site. This study simulated 25 alternative oak habitat restoration scenarios to develop estimates of outcomes related to six different restoration priorities: costs, income potential, habitat value, scenic quality, fire hazard reduction potential, and time requirements. Model results indicated that initial land conditions strongly influence a landowner's ability to optimize among these different priorities. To assist landowners with decision-making, model estimates were organized into a digital decision matrix that communicates advantages and tradeoffs associated with each alternative scenario. In doing so, it aims to help landowners choose restoration goals that better meet their broader needs and objectives. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Bart Johnson, Chair; Dr. Robert Ribe

Naturbetesmarker är ett av de artrikaste markslagen vi har, för att hålla dem öppna med betande djur finns ett miljöstöd från landsbygdsprogrammet utformat för att gynna den biologiska mångfalden. Vildsvinen (Sus Scrofa) har under de senaste årtiondena ökat markant, vilket har lett till stora ekonomiska konsekvenser för lantbruket genom skador på jordbruksmark. Av tidigare forskning kan vi se att skadorna inte påverkar den biologiska mångfalden negativt. Biologisk mångfald är en central del i det miljöstöd som lantbrukarna får för att hålla sina naturbetesmarker öppna. Men vad säger markägarna om vildsvinsproblematiken på naturbetesmark och hur ser de på framtiden? Studien utgår från markägarnas perspektiv, där vi undersöker hur markägarna upplever vildsvinsskador på deras naturbetesmarker och hur skadorna påverkar deras skötsel. Vi undersöker även hur markägarna upplever den rådgivning och stöd som de får från berörd myndighet samt vilka förändringar de vill se i vildsvinsförvaltningen. Vi valde i studien att använda oss av kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer, där sex markägare intervjuades. Resultatet i studien visar att markägarna upplever att det största problemet är att skadorna är tidskrävande och kostsamma att rätta till. Det framkom även kritik mot dagens utformning av miljöstödet och att trycket från vildsvinsstammen måste minska för att man ska orka att hålla sina marker öppna i framtiden. Slutsatsen är att det måste till ett större helhetsgrepp kring vildsvinsförvaltningen för att minska skadorna och mer individuell rådgivning för den enskilda markägaren. / Pasturelands is a land with high biodiversity, in order to keep them open with herbivores, there is environmental support from Landsbygdsprogrammet designed to benefit the biological diversity. Wild boars (Sus Scrofa) have increased markedly in recent decades, which has led to major economic consequences for agriculture and it´s land. From previous research, we can see that the damage does not adversely affect biodiversity. Biodiversity is a central part of the environmental support that the farmers receive to keep their pasturelands open. But what does landowners say about the problems with wild boar on pasturelands and how do they look on the future? The study is based on the landowners ‘perspective, we examine how landowners experience wild boar damage to their pasturelands and how the damage affects their management. We also examine how landowners experience the advice and support they receive from the authority and what changes they want to see in wild boar management. In the study, we choose to use qualitative research interviews, in which six landowners were interviewed. The result of the study show that landowners feel that the biggest problem is that the damage is time-consuming and costly to repair. There was also criticism of today´s design of environmental support and the pressure from the wild boar population must be reduced in order to keep their land open in the future. The conclusion is that there must be a greater holistic approach to wild management to reduce the damage and more individual advice for the individual landowner.