Motivations for Family Forestland Parcelization in the Catskill/Delaware Watersheds of New York

Fragmentation and loss of forestland in the rural Northeast is increasing, often preceded by parcelization. To understand why landowners parcelize and sell their land, we surveyed forestland owners in the Catskill-Delaware watersheds who did parcelize as well as those whose property remains intact....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forestry 2012-07, Vol.110 (5), p.267-274
Main Authors: Stone, Rebecca Sanborn, Tyrrell, Mary L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
decline
Drivers
Farms
forest ownership
forest policy
Forestry
Forests
Fragmentation
habitat fragmentation
income
landowners
Markets
motivation
Policies
Polls & surveys
property tax
Studies
Water quality
Watersheds
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Summary:Fragmentation and loss of forestland in the rural Northeast is increasing, often preceded by parcelization. To understand why landowners parcelize and sell their land, we surveyed forestland owners in the Catskill-Delaware watersheds who did parcelize as well as those whose property remains intact. Owners of parcelized properties were, on average, older; more likely to be retired; and reported lower incomes than owners of intact properties, but both groups identified property taxes, aging, lack of interest in forest ownership among family members, and personal circumstances as concerns in owning forestland and reasons for parcelization. Forestry activities, such as management assistance, and timber markets were not important. Many farms contain significant forest acreage so forest parcelization may often be a secondary effect of agricultural decline. Forest policies should account for these drivers as they attempt to decrease parcelization and the resulting forest fragmentation.
ISSN:0022-1201
1938-3746
DOI:10.5849/jof.11-015