Evaluating landscape projects for lots of landowners

2012 EEN Forum

Summary comments from this 2012 EEN session will be posted soon. In the meantime, if you attended this session or you have thoughts on the subject, please feel free to share your experience, notes and comments about this topic below.

1 Comment

  1. Matt Keene
    31 July 12, 9:28am

    Led by Alanna Koshollek and Mark Rickenbach

    Engaging landowners to practice sustainable forestry practices through the project “Driftless Forest Network.” Project involves people at the state, academic levels. Can we engage private forest landowners in a systematic way? What messages and offers might be most effective in starting landowners along a path to forest management? How does the network support landowner engagement? Are there new service models and collaborations that can offer support to landowners? What do we want to engage forest landowners to do? Avoiding mismanagement/ complete lack of management—combating native species loss, loss of ecosystem services, loss of bird species. Get people to consider where their land will take them in the future to avoid faulty forestry decisions.

    Framework designed by the Driftless Forest Network that outlines various support tools for private landowners in their transformation of forest management practices. What sort of support structure to carry landowners beyond the initial transferring of information exists? Partners, peer foresters, organizations and non-profits to serve the landowners that are interested in transforming their practices. A central database that will be shared with resource professionals and behind the scenes that will allow for the dissemination of information and contacts between professionals and land owners—creating a long-term mentoring and resource center.

    Figure out a way to engage landowners in a way that will garner their response and a voluntary practice of land management. The problem is not that land changes hands quickly. See how the network is changing and where there are opportunities to increase capacity and strengthen the support network for landowners. Interest in increasing the frequency of interaction between landowners looking to change their practices. Increase the amount of foresters that are able to go out and interact with landowners.

    A variety of steps suggested to DFN regarding their processes of outreach. Audience members suggested that instead of approaching the issue from a marketing standpoint, the organization could possibly focus on general education, or reaching specific demographics. The conveners acknowledged that there is a point in the future that they want to reach, during which information and knowledge regarding proper forest management practices are openly shared among landowners, foresters, and environmental professionals. What are the “illogical goals” and how do they become “logical”? What are the “better” models to move towards, and what models should be avoided when working with various sectors and interests?

    The audience questioned DFN’s marketing goals, encouraging discussion of targets and objectives. Some attendees suggested utilizing a more eco-conscious approach, while others argued against using a profit-motivated approach.

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