The changing social landscape in the Midwest: A boon for forestry and bust for Oak?

Abstract

Recent forest surveys report poor oak regeneration on the privately held forestlands of the Midwest. Data from in-depth interviews with natural resource professionals from the region suggested that changing ownership patterns, increasing property values, widespread forest parcelization, and exurban residential development, both directly and indirectly, limit the likelihood of oak regeneration. Foremost, interviewees noted that typical practices used to regenerate oak, such as clearcutting, were often viewed by landowners as incompatible with expectations of how forestland should be experienced under their care. Such constraints may be countered by the observation that new family forest owners are more economically able to engage in sustainable forestry practices and are highly motivated to manage their forests when compared with owners of the past. Interviewees provided a multifaceted portrait of new opportunities for engaging private landowners in sustainable forest management but posed a questionable future for oak. Copyright © 2009 by the Society of American Foresters.