Gary Nakamura

Management Without Borders? A Survey of Landowner Practices and Attitudes toward Cross-Boundary Cooperation

Ecosystem management requires cross-jurisdictional problem-solving and, when private lands are involved, cross-boundary cooperation from many individual landowners. Fragmented ownership patterns and variation in ownership values, as well as distrust and transaction costs, can limit cooperation. Results from a landowner survey in California were analyzed using an audience segmentation approach. Landowners were grouped into four clusters according to ownership motivations: rural lifestyle, working landscape, natural amenity, and financial investment. All clusters showed willingness to cooperate for all three topics addressed in the survey (pest and disease control, fire hazard reduction, and wildlife conservation), but their degree of willingness differed by cluster, who they were expected to cooperate with, and the natural resource problem addressed. All were more willing to cooperate with neighbors and local groups than with state and federal agencies. Landowners were most willing to cooperate to reduce fire hazard, which is the most direct threat to property and well-being.

Consider the source: The impact of media and authority in outreach to private forest and rangeland owners

Over half of the United States is privately owned. Improving environmental sustainability requires that the scientific and management communities provide effective outreach to the many landowners making decisions about land use and management practices on these lands. We surveyed California forest and rangeland owners in ten counties throughout the state to assess the impact of existing outreach and identify gaps in information distribution and content. Although a number of organizations provide land management advice highly-ranked by landowners, no individual organization currently reaches more than 30% of forest and rangeland owners, and these groups together reach less than 60% of landowners. The lowest ranked advice came from wildlife and land management agencies, whereas the highest ranked advice came from private consultants and advisory organizations. The ecosystem services provided by forests and rangelands are strongly influenced by conservation scale, and this appears to be recognized in current outreach efforts. Owners of large properties (>200 ha) were substantially more likely to have received land management advice than smaller-sized properties, and from a broader group of organizations. As ownerships become increasingly fragmented, outreach focus and methods will need to shift to more effectively target the owners of smaller properties. On the other hand, some major outreach goals, such as conservation of wildlife, ranchland, or agricultural communities, will continue to rely on effective outreach to owners of larger properties.

Documenting the full climate benefits of harvested wood products in Northern California: linking harvests to the US greenhouse gas inventory.

ABSTRACT Using a representative sample of partial cut and clear-cut harvests from Northern California, we estimated the financial and climate benefits of the harvested products. Ton for ton, sawlogs generate far more climate benefits than wood chips initially used for energy. The presence of wood-fired energy plants provided forest managers with the opportunity to economically utilize residues that otherwise would have decomposed in the forest. The energy captured at harvest sites, sawmills, and waste-to-energy plants in urban areas are additional climate benefits not included in the forestry chapter of national greenhouse gas inventories. When current utilization practices throughout the full wood products use cycle are considered, the total estimated climate benefits per unit of harvest volume are two times larger than estimates based on historical wood utilization coefficients. A full accounting of the climate benefits across all sectors is necessary to develop accurate estimates of the climate benefit...

Forest Stewardship Series 21: Economic Considerations in Forest Stewardship

Author(s): Nunamaker, Claralynn; Rodrigues, Kimberly; Nakamura, Gary | Abstract: Part 21 of the 24-part Forest Stewardship Series. The Forest Stewardship Series is a 24-part free online publication that provides owners of California forestland with a comprehensive source of information pertinent to the management and enjoyment of their lands. This information will help you formulate and implement strategies for achieving your personal goals as a landowner. The series provides an introduction to the lifelong study of forest stewardship that is part of owning forest property.