United States Department of Agriculture 

# USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey

A T echnical Document Supporting the Forest Service Update of the 2010 RP

A Assessment

Brett J. Butler, Jaketon H. Hewes, Brenton J. Dickinson, Kyle Andrejczyk,

Sarah M. Butler, and Mar

l a Markowski-Lindsay

Forest Service Resource Bulletin NRS–99

- March 2016

## Abstract

This report summarizes the results from the 2011-2013 National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program. The focus of the results reported here is family forest and woodland ownerships with holdings of at least 10 acres. Summaries are based on responses from 8,576 family ownerships with at least 10 acres of forest or woodland across 47 U.S. states. Survey summary tables are available at dx.doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RB-99 and include the 36 states in which the minimum target effective sample size of 100 respondents was obtained plus tables for the nation and four regions (North, South, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Coast). An additional 11 states (Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington) have sample sizes between 10 and 99 and are included in national and regional summary tables, but state-level survey summary tables are not being published due to small sample sizes. Data for three states (Alaska, Nevada, and Wyoming) are excluded due to the low numbers of respondents (n<10) in each of these states. The survey summary tables provide statistics on general forest ownership patterns, effective sample sizes, and responses to the questions asked on the survey. The 37 survey questions, many with multiple parts, focus on ownership characteristics, land characteristics, reasons for owning land, land ownership history, uses of the forest and woodland, sources of information, concerns, the future of their land, and demographics. For comparison purposes, summary tables from the 2002-2006 iteration of the NWOS are provided along with an additional set of 2011-2013 regional and national summary tables where only states in common with the 2002-2006 iteration are included. In addition, this report includes separate tables with estimated area and estimated number of private, nonindustrial private, and family forest and woodland ownerships by state.

BRETT J. BUTLER is a research forester, U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA 01003, bbutler01@fs.fed.us

. JAKETON H. HEWES is the research coordinator for the Family Forest Research Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003.
BRENTON J. DICKINSON and KYLE ANDREJCZYK are former research fellows with the Family Forest Research Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003.
SARAH M. BUTLER and MARLA MARKOWSKI-LINDSAY are research fellows with the Family Forest Research Center, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, 01003.

Manuscript received for publication 31 March 2015

Published by
U.S. FOREST SERVICE 11 CAMPUS BLVD SUITE 200 NEWTOWN SQUARE PA 19073

March 2016

# USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey: National, Regional, and State Statistics for Family Forest and Woodland Ownerships with 10+ acres, 2011-2013

A Technical Document Supporting the Forest Service Update of the 2010 RPA Assessment

Brett J. Butler, Jaketon H. Hewes, Brenton J. Dickinson, Kyle Andrejczyk, Sarah M. Butler, and Marla Markowski-Lindsay

Resource Bulletin NRS-99In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust. html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632- 9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

# Contents

Introduction

....................................................................................................................................... 1

Methods

............................................................................................................................................... 3
Sample Design

............................................................................................................................ 3

Survey Implementation

........................................................................................................... 3

Population-level Estimates

..................................................................................................... 4

Results

.................................................................................................................................................. 4
Number of Respondents and Cooperation Rates

........................................................... 4

Comparisons Between Survey Iterations

........................................................................... 6

Survey Summary Table Descriptions

................................................................................... 6

Other NWOS Resources

................................................................................................................ 10

Glossary

............................................................................................................................................. 11

References

......................................................................................................................................... 12

National Forest and Woodland Ownership Tables

............................................................. 14

Supplemental Data

................................................................ dx.doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RB-99Page intentionally left blank

### 1 

# INTRODUCTION

A summary of the results from the 2011-2013 iteration of the U.S. Forest Service’s National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) are presented here. The NWOS is coordinated by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and serves as a social complement to FIA’s biophysical, plot-based inventory (Bechtold and Patterson 2005). The NWOS is aimed at understanding: who owns America’s forests, why they own them, how they have used them in the past, and how they intend to use them in the future. The design, implementation, and analysis of the 2011-2013 NWOS were completed through the Family Forest Research Center, a joint venture between the U.S. Forest Service and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Information presented supports the U.S. Forest Service update of the 2010 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment. The RPA Assessment consists of a series of reports that are produced on a periodic basis under the congressional direction of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-378, 88 Stat. 476). Full assessments are completed every decade with updates done at intervening 5-year intervals. The main 2010 RPA Assessment report for forest resources is Smith et al. (2009) and the accompanying NWOS report is Butler (2008). The main forest resource report for the update to the 2010 RPA Assessment is Oswalt et al. (2014), and this report is the NWOS contribution to the update.

The primary intent of this report is to provide tabular summaries for the 2011-2013 iteration of the NWOS. Therefore, only an abbreviated description of the methods is included, and no analyses of the data are provided. Detailed documentation of the methods is available in Butler et al. (2016), and interpretation of the results and general findings will appear in forthcoming analytical publications, including Butler et al. (n.d.a.). Definitions of ownership categories used in this report, including family forest and woodland ownerships, are included in the glossary along with definitions of other key terms, such as forest land and woodland.

Although they use the same underlying FIA plot data, there are differences between the current RPA and FIA definitions of forest land (Oswalt et al. 2014). The update to the 2010 RPA Assessment forest resource uses the terms “forest” and “other wooded lands,” which is often simplified to “forest and woodland” and follows the international definition used by the Food and Agriculture Organization. FIA currently combines these categories and labels them “forest land.” The differences are largely manifest in the arid ecoregions of western Texas, western Oklahoma, and the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast regions. As this report is being published under the RPA banner, the term “forest and woodland” is used throughout and is synonymous with the FIA forest land definition.

The NWOS uses woodland in its title and the term “wooded land” throughout most of the questionnaire. The use of this term was based on extensive pretesting that showed it to be the most widely accepted phrase used by family ownerships when describing the part of their land that is dominated by trees. A lay definition of the Forest Service’s technical definition was also included in the questionnaire.

Tables containing estimates of area and number of ownerships by state are provided at the end of this report and include estimates of area of forest and woodland by private and public ownership categories and estimates of area and number for private, nonindustrial private, and family forest and woodland ownerships (see Tables 4-10; all tables begin on p. 1 4 ). Separate tables for ownerships with 1+ acres (0.4+ hectares) of forest and woodland and ownerships with 10+ acres (4.0+ hectares) of forest and woodland are provided.

### 2 In the supplemental data accompanying this report (available at dx.doi.org/10.2737/NRSRB-99 ), separate sets of survey summary tables are available for the nation, regions, and for individual states where the minimum sample size (n ≥ 100) was obtained. The reporting regions are based on those used by the RPA Assessment (Fig. 1). The survey summary tables include the area of forest and woodland by ownership category along with information on sample sizes, cooperation rates, and summaries of the 37 questions asked as part of the NWOS.

Survey summary tables focus on family ownerships with 10 or more acres of forest and woodland holdings. Family and woodland ownerships with 1-9 acres were sampled as part of the 2011-2013 NWOS but are not included for a number of reasons: they are primarily large backyards associated with house lots; traditional forestry practices are not applicable at this scale; most forestry professionals do not consider these forests; many of these smaller holdings do not qualify for assistance programs; and the large sampling errors associated with estimates that include small ownerships make trend analysis more difficult. This is not to say that ownerships with less than 10 acres are unimportant, rather they are different from ownerships with larger holdings and will be the focus of separate data reporting and analysis efforts. Likewise, data on corporate and other private ownerships, such as nongovernmental conservation organizations, unincorporated partnerships, associations, clubs, and tribal ownerships, were collected as part of the 2011-2013 NWOS, but results for these important ownership groups will be reported in separate publications.

To aid in comparisons with the previous iteration of the NWOS, corresponding sets of survey summary tables for family ownerships with 10+ acres of forest and woodland are included for the 2002-2006 NWOS. See the Comparisons Between Survey Iterations section for information on how the 2002-2006 tables were generated and a brief discussion of similarities and differences between the iterations.

For those who do not find the summaries they are looking for in the tables included with this report, the NWOS Table Maker program (Butler et al., n.d.c.) is an online tool that allows users to create custom tables, including two-way, cross-tabulation tables. Figure 1.—Regions used by the U.S. Forest Service Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment and adopted by the National Woodland Owner Survey. 

# No rt h

South Rocky Mountain Pacific Coast*

* Alaska and Hawaii are included in the P acific Coast Region

### 3 

# METHODS

Brief summaries of the sample design, implementation procedures, and estimation methods for the 2011-2013 NWOS are provided here and are explained in greater detail in Butler et al. (2016). Additional details and justification for the methods are provided in Dickinson and Butler (2013).


## Sample Design

The NWOS sample design is based on the quasi-systematic FIA sample design (Bechtold and Patterson 2005). Although an area-based sampling frame was used to select the FIA sample, ownerships were the primary sampling units for the NWOS. Therefore, the sample selection probabilities were proportional to size—the larger the size of the forest and woodland holdings, the higher the probability of an ownership being included in the sample.

To spatially distribute the sample, each state was divided into hexagons. Each hexagon was approximately 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares) in size, a size selected by the FIA program to provide reliable statistics on basic forest attributes. Within each hexagon, a sample point was randomly selected.

Using a combination of remote sensing and field observations, each sample point was classified as either being forest and woodland or nonforest/nonwoodland. For the forest and woodland points, publicly available property tax data were used to determine the ownership of record. If the ownership of the forest and woodland point was determined to be private, it was included in the NWOS sample.

As stated in the questionnaires, the unit of analysis was an ownership and all of the forest and woodland owned in a given state. If more than one sample point fell on the land of an ownership in a state, only one survey was sent.


## Survey Implementation

The methods recommended by Dillman et al. (2014) were used to solicit responses from the private ownerships identified as part of the NWOS sample. First, a prenotice postcard was sent to all potential respondents identifying the purpose of the survey and alerting them to the fact they would soon be receiving a questionnaire. Next, ownerships were mailed a copy of the questionnaire, a business reply return envelope, and a cover letter reiterating the purpose of the survey and stating how the data would be used. The third contact was a reminder/thank you postcard. Those who had not returned a questionnaire within 25 days of the first mailing were mailed a second copy of the questionnaire, a business reply envelope, and a modified cover letter. Telephone follow-up interviews, using a subset of the mail questionnaire questions, were attempted with a subset of those who had yet to respond in order to increase response rates and to measure potential nonresponse bias. The subset of nonrespondents contacted for the telephone follow-up interviews were randomly selected from the nonrespondents for whom telephone numbers were available. Financial constraints limited the total number of contacts.

A copy of the questionnaire is available in Butler et al. (2016), and state-specific questionnaires are available on the NWOS Web site. In general, the only difference among state questionnaires was the insertion of the state name, for example “How many acres of wooded land do you own in Alabama?”

### 4 

## Population-level Estimates

For the NWOS, the populations of interest are: family, corporate, and other private. The geographic area of interest is the United States, with sampling occurring at the state level (i.e., the strata are states). The focus of this report is on a subset of these populations: family ownerships with 10+ acres of forest and woodland. Population estimates were generated using estimators appropriate to the probability proportional to size sampling design. These estimates were calculated in terms of numbers of ownerships and area of forest and woodland, which can show different patterns. The equations used to calculate ownership-based and area-based estimates and their accompanying variances are provided in Butler et al. (2016). All estimates were calculated at the state level and then aggregated to generate estimates for larger geographic areas.

To ensure a reasonable level of certainty, full sets of survey summary tables are only being published for states where a minimum sample size of 100 was obtained. States with sample sizes between 10-99 are included in the national and regional tables, but summary tables are not being published for these states. Tables can be requested from the authors, but results from these unpublished tables should be interpreted cautiously. States with sample sizes of less than 10 are excluded from the national and regional tables, and survey summary tables are not available for these states.



# RESULTS
Number of Respondents and Cooperation Rates

Across the United States, a total of 10,092 family forest or woodland ownerships responded to the NWOS between 2011 and 2013. This number includes all family forest and woodland ownerships with 1 or more acres of forest and woodland and is the basis for calculating cooperation rates since the size of holdings is unknown for nonrespondents and cooperation rates just for the subset of ownerships with 10+ acres of forest and woodland cannot be calculated. The overall cooperation rate Responses
Sent Undeliverables

− ×       100 

### is 52 percent for the United States and ranges from 37 percent in Hawaii to 64 percent in Michigan (Table 1). As shown in Figure 2, some regional cooperation rate patterns exist with relatively higher rates in the Northeast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest, and lower rates in the Southeast, South Central, and Intermountain West.

Figure 2.—Cooperation rates for the 2011-2013 National Woodland Owner Survey for family forest and woodland ownerships, by state. Cooperation rate (percentage)

60+ 55−59 50−54 45−49 40−44 <40 No data (n < 10) 

### Alaska: n <10 Hawaii = 37%

### 5 A total of 8,567 family forest and woodland ownerships with at least 10 acres of forest and woodland responded to the 2011-2013 NWOS, and these responses formed the basis for the statistics reported in the survey summary tables. The effective sample size varies across tables because the NWOS uses different survey instruments (mail-back questionnaire, online questionnaire, and telephone interviews), and not all questions were asked on all survey instruments. Thirty-six states had at least 100 respondents allowing for full sets of survey summary tables to be published (Fig. 3; Table 2). Six states had between 10 and 99 respondents, so even though individual state results are not being published, these states are included in national and regional summaries. For the three states that had fewer than 10 respondents, no state summary tables are being published and data are not included in regional or national summaries.

Four states (Connecticut, Oklahoma, Texas, and Vermont) have a total number of respondents that far exceeds the target sample size. The number of respondents in Connecticut and Vermont are high relative to other states due to additional funding being provided to intensify the samples in those states. For Oklahoma and Texas, the FIA forest inventory on which the NWOS is based treats the eastern and western portions of these states as separate strata, and target sample sizes are calculated separately and sampling is done differently in each substate area. The NWOS has inherited these differences in sampling intensities and uses the same approach with target sample sizes calculated separately for the eastern and western portions of these two states.

As reported in Butler et al. (2016), the potential for nonresponse bias was tested by comparing results for mail respondents to telephone respondents for key variables such as area of forest and woodland owned, land tenure, and having harvested trees. No systematic biases were detected, and therefore no adjustments were made.

Item nonresponse occurs when a respondent is asked a question but chooses not to respond to that specific question. As reported in Butler et al. (2016), the median item nonresponse rate was 5 percent. The tables in this publication list the number of respondents used to calculate the statistics in each row of each table. A separate row labeled “no answer” is included in the tables for those who were asked to respond to a specific question but opted not to (i.e., item nonresponse). To make interpretation of the results easier, item nonresponse was excluded from the percentage calculations. Figure 3.—Number of family forest and woodland ownerships with 10 or more acres of forest/woodland who responded to the 2011-2013 National Woodland Owner Survey, by state. Number of Responses

<10 10−49 50−99 100−249 250+ 

### Alaska = 3 Hawaii = 42

### 6 

## Comparisons Between Survey Iterations

To make accurate comparisons across surveys, it is important to ensure the populations of interest are the same and the questions asked are the same, or at least compatible. To aid in comparisons between the 2002-2006 and 2011-2013 iterations of the NWOS, the 2002-2006 data were reprocessed to include only family ownerships with 10 or more acres of forest or woodland. The previously published data (Butler 2008) included family ownerships with 1 or more acres of forest or woodland. To further improve comparisons, the 2002-2006 data were reprocessed with the same estimation methods used for the 2011-2013 data. The estimation methods were similar between iterations, but the estimation units changed from multi-county survey units of typically four or more per state (Butler et al. 2005) to the state as a whole.

Due to sampling issues, different states were included in the summaries of the 2002-2006 and 2011-2013 iterations of the NWOS. To aid in the comparison of national and regional results, a second set of 2011-2013 national and regional tables is included that contains only those states that are also summarized in 2002-2006 national and regional tables. The states included in the national and regional tables are indicated in Table 2.

The questions in common between the 2002-2006 and 2011-2013 iterations are listed in Table 3. While many of the questions were identical in wording, some had slight changes that are noted in Table 3. These notes should be considered when making comparisons. For the specific wording of the questions, refer to Butler (2008) and Butler et al. (2016). To assess if differences are statistically significant, z-tests or similar statistical tests that incorporate variances and covariances should be considered (Dorofeev and Grant 2006). The covariance is important because the two samples are not completely independence since many of the sample points and respondents are the same between surveys. The sampling errors reported provide an estimate of the variances, but covariances are not provided and differences must therefore be interpreted cautiously.


## Survey Summary Table Descriptions

The main results in this report consist of sets of 44 survey summary tables that are produced separately for the nation (all states combined where the minimum state sample sizes of n ≥10 were obtained), the four RPA regions (North, South, Rocky Mountain, Pacific Coast), and each state where the number of survey responses met or exceeded the minimum sample size of 100 (Table 2).

To aid in comparisons, the table numbering and naming convention used for survey summary tables are consistent across sets. Tables are designated as Table XX-# (YYYY) where XX indicates the state, region, or nation abbreviation, # indicates the table number, and YYYY indicates the year for the iteration of the data used to generate the results. Parallel tables were produced for the 2011-2013 and 2002-2006 data, but tables were left blank for the latter if the requisite data were not available (Table 3).

• Table XX-# (2013) designates tables with results from the 2011-2013 data.

• Table XX-# (2006) designates tables with results from the 2002-2006 data.

• Table XX-# (2013 Compare) designates 2011-2013 regional and national tables generated for comparisons with the 2002-2006 data. The 2011-2013 values were recalculated only using those states in common with the 2002-2006 data.

### 7 The first table in each summary set shows area of forest and woodland by broad ownership categories. These area numbers are derived from the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis plot data. The specific inventory years used for each state are indicated in the table caption. The second table shows the sample size and cooperation rate. Subsequent tables summarize specific survey questions or subquestions as listed in Table 3. These tables include separate columns for area and ownerships in terms of totals and percentages along with the associated standard errors (SE) and effective sample sizes (n). Sampling errors help interpret the uncertainty associated with the estimates. Footnotes in tables provide key definitions, define abbreviations, and list any data that are excluded. A list of titles for the survey summary tables is provided below, and tables are available at dx.doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RB-99 . Titles for the 2006 summary tables may be slightly different due to variations in the wording and formatting of survey questions.

Table XX-1 (YYYY)—Estimated area of forest and woodland by ownership category

Table XX-2 (YYYY)—Sample size and cooperation rate for family forest and woodland ownerships for the U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey

Table XX-3 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by ownership subcategory

Table XX-4 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by number of owners

Table XX-5 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by percent of ownership’s land that is forested/wooded

Table XX-6 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by size of forest/woodland holdings

Table XX-7 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by number of parcels owned

Table XX-8 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) that are within 1 mile of ownerships’ primary residences

Table XX-9 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) that are within 1mile of ownerships’ vacation homes

Table XX-10 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) that are within 1 mile of ownerships’ farms

Table XX-11 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+acres) by reason for owning forest and woodland. Numbers include ownerships that rated an objective as very important or important on a five-point Likert scale.

Table XX-12 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by type and source of forest and woodland acquisition

Table XX-13 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by land tenure

### 8 Table XX-14 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by frequency of selling or giving away forest and woodland and recipients of this land

Table XX-15 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by decisionmaker

Table XX-16 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by written management plan status

Table XX-17 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by activities that cut or removed trees

Table XX-18 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by types of timber products and trees cut or removed

Table XX-19 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by use of professional foresters for timber harvesting

Table XX-20 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by activities related to nontimber forest products (NTFPs)

Table XX-21 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by activities related to nontimber forest products (NTFPs)

Table XX-22 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by past 5 years’ forestry activity

Table XX-23 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by next 5 years’ forestry activity. Numbers include ownerships that rated an activity as extremely likely or likely on a five-point Likert scale.

Table XX-24 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by lease status

Table XX-25 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by familiarity with and participation in cost-share programs

Table XX-26 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by familiarity with and participation in green certification programs

Table XX-27 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by familiarity with and participation in forestry related property tax
programs
Table XX-28 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by familiarity with and status of easements that restrict land use
conversions

Table XX-29 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by who recreated on the forest and woodland and type of recreation

### 9 Table XX-30 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by whether the ownership has its forest/woodland posted to restrict public access and type of restriction

Table XX-31 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by advice received in the preceding 5 years and advice source

Table XX-32 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by type of assistance desired by ownership. Numbers include ownerships that rated a topic as very helpful or helpful on a five-point Likert scale.

Table XX-33 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by preferred methods to receive forest/woodland management information. Numbers include ownerships that rated a method as very useful or useful on a five-point Likert scale.

Table XX-34 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by ownerships’ concerns. Numbers include ownerships that rated an issue a great concern or concern on a five-point Likert scale.

Table XX-35 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by ownerships’ likelihood of selling or giving away land in the next 5 years and who is likely to receive it

Table XX-36 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by ownerships’ agreement/disagreement about statements related to keeping land forested/wooded and selling forest/woodland

Table XX-37 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by primary and secondary owners’ retirement statuses

Table XX-38 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by primary and secondary owners’ occupations

Table XX-39 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by primary and secondary owners’ ages

Table XX-40 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by primary and secondary owners’ genders

Table XX-41 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by primary and secondary owners’ highest levels of formal education attained

Table XX-42 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by primary and secondary owners’ ethnicities and races

Table XX-43 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by ownerships’ annual household income

Table XX-44 (YYYY)—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by ownerships’ percent of household annual income derived from forest and woodland owned

### 10 

# OTHER NWOS RESOURCES

Additional information about the 2011-2013 NWOS methods, results, and general program attributes is available through a series of publications, tools, and Web sites. Details of the design, implementation, and analysis methods can be found in Butler et al. (2016) and Dickinson and Butler (2013). Butler et al. (2016) also contains a copy of the questionnaire and documentation for the NWOS database.

Butler et al. (n.d.a.) presents an analysis of the general findings of the 2011-2013 NWOS concentrating on family forest and woodland ownerships with 10 or more acres of forest or woodland and examines trends between the 2002-2006 and 2011-2013 iterations of the NWOS. Summaries highlighting ownership patterns and general results from the 2011-2013NWOS are published in U.S. Forest Service (2015) and will be available in a series of twopage graphical summaries, one for each state where the minimum sample size (n ≥ 100) was obtained, each region, and the nation (Butler et al., n.d.b.). The U.S. Forest Service (2015) brochure is intended primarily for those people who responded to the NWOS questionnaire and other private landowners. The Butler et al. (n.d.b.) summaries are intended primarily for a more technical audience including people who work for state forestry agencies, research institutions, and nonprofit organizations that are familiar with the NWOS program.

Additional program information, including links to some of the items listed above and copies of the state-specific questionnaires, is available at the following Web sites:

• National Woodland Owner Survey: www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos

• Forest Inventory and Analysis program: www.fia.fs.fed.us

• Family Forest Research Center, a joint venture between the U.S. Forest Service and the University of Massachusetts Amherst: www.familyforestresearchcenter.org

• Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment: www.fs.fed.us/research/rpa

### 11 

# GLOSSARY

Corporate forest and woodland ownerships —ownerships that are incorporated, including timber investment management organizations (TIMOs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), native corporations in Alaska, and private universities, that own forest or woodland. Where identifiable, family ownerships that have been incorporated primarily for tax, estate, or other purposes (e.g., family limited liability corporations) are included with the family forest and woodland ownerships category.

Family forest and woodland ownerships —families, individuals, trusts, estates, and family partnerships that own forest or woodland.

Federal forest and woodland ownerships —National Forest, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Defense, and other federal ownerships that own forest or woodland.

Forest land —land at least 120 feet (37 meters) wide and at least 1 acre (0.4 hectare) in size with at least 10 percent cover (or equivalent stocking) by live trees including land that formerly had such tree cover and that will be naturally or artificially regenerated. Trees are woody plants having a more or less erect perennial stem(s) capable of achieving at least 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter at breast height, or 5 inches (12.7 cm) diameter at root collar, and a height of 16.4 feet (5 meters) at maturity in situ. The definition here includes all areas recently having such conditions and currently regenerating or capable of attaining such condition in the near future. Forest land also includes transition zones, such as areas between forest and nonforest lands, that have at least 10 percent cover (or equivalent stocking) with live trees and forest areas adjacent to urban and built-up lands. Unimproved roads and trails, streams, and clearings in forest areas are classified as forest if they are less than 120 feet (37 meters) wide or an acre (0.4 hectare) in size. Forest land does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use (Oswalt et al. 2014 p. 31).

Local forest and woodland ownerships —county, municipal, and other nonfederal public ownerships that own forest or woodland.

Nonindustrial private forest and woodland ownerships —private forest and woodland ownerships that do not own and operate a primary wood processing plant. A primary wood processing plant is any commercial operation that originates the primary processing of wood on a regular and continuing basis. Examples include: pulp or paper mill, sawmill, panel board mill, post or pole mill (Woudenberg et al. 2010 p. 49).

Other private forest and woodland ownerships —nongovernmental conservation and natural resources organizations (e.g., the Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Lands, Pacific Forest Trust, Boy Scouts of America) and unincorporated partnerships, associations, and clubs (e.g., hunting clubs that own, not lease property; recreation associations; 4H clubs; churches) that own forest or woodland.

Ownerships —a legal entity that has proscribed legal rights over a specific resource. In the case of family ownerships, it is composed of one or more owners (i.e., individuals).

Private forest and woodland ownerships —corporate, family, other private, and tribal ownerships that own forest or woodland.

### 12 Public forest and woodland ownerships —federal, state, and local ownerships that own forest or woodland.

State forest and woodland ownerships —state owned parks, forests, wildlife, and other lands that own forest or woodland.

Tribal forest and woodland ownerships —Native American (Indian) ownerships that are within reservation boundaries that own forest or woodland. Due to data confidentiality rules and small numbers of these ownerships in many states, these ownerships are often included in the other private forest ownership category.

Woodland —land at least 120 feet (37 meters) wide and at least 1 acre (0.4 hectares) in size with sparse trees capable of achieving 16.4 feet (5 meters) in height with a tree canopy cover of 5 to10 percent combined with shrubs at least 6 feet (2 meters) in height to achieve an overall cover of greater than 10 percent of woody vegetation. Trees are woody plants having a more or less erect perennial stem(s) capable of achieving at least 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter at breast height, or 5 inches (12.7 cm) diameter at root collar, and a height of 16.4 feet (5 meters) at maturity in situ. The definition here includes all areas recently having such conditions and currently regenerating or capable of attaining such condition in the near future. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use (Oswalt et al. 2014 p. 35).



# REFERENCES

Bechtold, W.A.; Patterson, P.L., ed. 2005. The enhanced Forest Inventory and Analysis program—national sampling design and estimation procedures. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS80. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 85 p.

Butler, B.J. 2008. Family forest owners of the United States, 2006. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-27. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 73 p.

Butler, B.J.; Dickinson, B.J.; Hewes, J.H.; Butler, S.M.; Andrejczyk, K.; Markowski-Lindsay, M. 2016. USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey, 2011-2013: design, implementation, and estimation methods. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-157. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 43 p.

Butler, B.J.; Hewes, J.H.; Dickinson, B.J.; Andrejczyk, K.; Butler, S.M.; Markowski-Lindsay, M. [N.d.a.]. Family forest ownerships of the United States: results from the U.S. Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey, 2013. Manuscript in preparation.

Butler, B.J.; Hewes, J.H.; Dickinson, B.J.; Andrejcxyk, K.; Butler, S.M.; Markowski-Lindsay, M. [N.d.b.]. Family forest ownerships (with 10+ forest and woodland acres) in [STATE], 2011-2013. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 2 p. [Separate summaries for each state, region, and the nation are in preparation].

Butler, B.J.; Leatherberry, E.C.; Williams, M.S. 2005. Design, implementation, and analysis methods for the National Woodland Owner Survey. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-336. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 43 p.

### 13 Butler, B.J.; Miles, P.D.; Hansen, M.H.; Hewes, J.H. [N.d.c.]. National woodland owner survey table Web application. Version 2.0. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. In preparation.

Dickinson, B.J.; Butler, B.J. 2013. Methods for estimating private forest ownership statistics: revised methods for the USDA Forest Service’s national woodland owner
survey. Journal of Forestry. 111(5): 319-325.

Dillman, D.A.; Smyth, J.D.; Christian, L.M. 2014. Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: the tailored design method. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons. 509 p.

Dorofeev, S.; Grant, P. 2006. Statistics for real-life sample surveys: non-simple-random samples and weighted data. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 266 p.

Oswalt, S.N.; Smith, W. B.; Miles, P.D.; Pugh, S.A. 2014. Forest resources of the United States, 2012: a technical document supporting the Forest Service update of the 2010 RPA assessment. Gen. Tech. Rep. WO-91. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 218 p.

Smith, W.B.; Miles, P.D.; Perry, C.H.; Pugh, S.A. 2009. Forest resources of the United States, 2007. Gen. Tech. Rep. WO-78. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 336 p.

U.S. Forest Service. 2015. Who owns America’s trees, woods, and forests? Results from the U.S. Forest Service 2011-2013 national woodland owner survey. NRS-INF-31-15. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 12 p.

Woudenberg, S.W.; Conkling, B.L.; O’Connell, B.M.; LaPoint, E.B.; Turner, J.A.; Waddell, K.L. 2010. The Forest Inventory and Analysis database: database description and users manual version 4.0 for phase 2. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-245. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 339 p.

### 14 

# NATIONAL FOREST AND WOODLAND OWNERSHIP TABLES

Index of Tables

Table 1—Sample sizes and cooperation rates for family forest and woodland ownerships (1+ acres) for the U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey by state/region/nation, 2011-2013

Table 2—States included in regional and national summary tables and states for which full sets of state-level summary tables are being published in this report for the 2013 and 2006 iterations of the U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey

Table 3—Descriptions of survey summary tables for the U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey and crosswalk between survey questions by questionnaire version

Table 4—Estimated area of forest and woodland ownerships (1+ acres) by category and state/ region/nation, 2011-2013

Table 5—Estimated area and estimated number of private forest and woodland ownerships (1+ acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013

Table 6—Estimated area and estimated number of private forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013

Table 7—Estimated area and estimated number of nonindustrial private forest and woodland ownerships (1+ acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013

Table 8—Estimated area and estimated number of nonindustrial private forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013

Table 9—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (1+ acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013

Table 10—Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10+ acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013

### 15 Table 1.–Sample sizes and cooperation rates for family forest and woodland ownerships (1 + acres) for the U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey by state/region/nation, 2011-2013
Region/state Sent Undeliverable Responses Cooperation Rate a
- - - - - - - - - number - - - - - - - - - percent North

Connecticut 615 6 347 57.0 Delaware 545 18 255 48.4 Illinois 373 23 201 57.4 Indiana 516 35 269 55.9 Iowa 289 16 152 55.7 Maine 551 52 286 57.3 Maryland 883 37 401 47.4 Massachusetts 489 30 237 51.6 Michigan 506 37 301 64.2 Minnesota 691 68 392 62.9 Missouri 689 63 378 60.4 New Hampshire 295 22 168 61.5 New Jersey 457 29 205 47.9 New York 632 54 313 54.2 Ohio 466 20 248 55.6 Pennsylvania 492 36 259 56.8 Rhode Island 33 2 18 58.1 Vermont 953 51 501 55.5 West Virginia 563 70 277 56.2 Wisconsin 656 28 393 62.6

North total 10,694 697 5,601 56.0 South

Alabama 721 89 297 47.0 Arkansas 595 97 239 48.0 Florida 396 24 175 47.0 Georgia 556 57 256 51.3 Kentucky 605 66 242 44.9 Louisiana 411 36 164 43.7 Mississippi 553 55 236 47.4 North Carolina 518 35 228 47.2 Oklahoma b

East 549 52 179 36.0 West 252 13 108 45.2 South Carolina 500 58 236 53.4 Tennessee 621 41 280 48.3 Texas b

East 580 35 204 37.4 West 697 73 284 45.5 Virginia 625 60 280 49.6
South total 8,179 791 3,408 46.1

### 16 Table 1.–(continued)

Region/state Sent Undeliverable Responses Cooperation Rate

- - - - - - - - - number - - - - - - - - - percent Rocky Mountain

Arizona 60 11 26 53.1 Colorado 45 9 15 41.7 Idaho 89 7 42 51.2 Kansas 284 19 145 54.7 Montana 421 21 193 48.2 Nebraska 148 13 66 48.9 Nevada 7 0 2 28.6 New Mexico 121 12 46 42.2 North Dakota 54 5 23 46.9 South Dakota 61 7 25 46.3 Utah 104 16 40 45.5 Wyoming 11 0 2 18.2 Rocky Mountain total 1,405 120 625 48.6 Pacific Coast

Alaska b

Coastal 15 1 5 35.7 Interior 0 0 0

– California 329 49 135 48.2 Hawaii 224 12 78 36.8 Oregon 231 24 132 63.8 Washington 206 24 108 59.3
Pacific Coast total 1,005 110 458 51.2 United States

U.S. total 21,283 1,718 10,092 51.6

Note: These numbers are for all family forest and woodland ownerships. The size of holdings is unknown for nonrespondents and therefore these statistics cannot be subset just to ownerships with 10 + acres of forest or woodland.

a Cooperation rate =  Responses Sent

− Undeliverables × 100 

b Estimates are made at the substate level

### 17 Table 2.–States included in regional and national summary tables and states for which full

sets of state-level summary tables are being published in this report for the 2013 and 2006 iterations of the U.S. Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey

2013 2006 Included in regional State-level Included in regional State-level and national summary tables and national summary tables Region/state summary tables published summary tables published

North

Connecticut X X X Delaware X X X Illinois X X X X Indiana X X X X Iowa X X X X Maine X X X X Maryland X X X Massachusetts X X X Michigan X X X X Minnesota X X X X Missouri X X X X New Hampshire X X X X New Jersey X X X New York X X X X Ohio X X X X Pennsylvania X X X X Rhode Island X X Vermont X X X X West Virginia X X X X Wisconsin X X X X South

Alabama X X X X Arkansas X X X X Florida X X X Georgia X X X X Kentucky X X X X Louisiana X X X X Mississippi X X X X North Carolina X X X X Oklahoma a

East X X X West X South Carolina X X X X Tennessee X X X X Texas a

East X X X X West X X Virginia X X X X

### 18 Table 2.–(continued)

2013 2006 Included in regional State-level Included in regional State-level and national summary tables and national summary tables Region/state summary tables published summary tables published
Rocky Mountain

Arizona X X Colorado X X Idaho X X Kansas X X X X Montana X X X Nebraska X X Nevada New Mexico X X North Dakota X X South Dakota X X Utah X X Wyoming Pacific Coast

Alaska a

Coastal Interior California X X X X Hawaii X Oregon X X X X Washington X X X

a Estimates are made at the substate level

### 19 Table 3.–Descriptions of survey summary tables for the U.S. Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey and crosswalk between survey questions by questionnaire version

Question number

Table Version 5.1 Version 4.5 Notes on differences between number Brief description (2011-2013) (2002-2006) questionnaire versions
1 Acres by ownership

– – category for all ownerships 2 Sample size and

– – cooperation rate 3 Acres by ownership 1 5 Categories were simplified, especially category for corporations. Switched from “check all that apply” to “check only one”.
4 Number of owners 2

– 5 Percent of land that 3 1 is forested/wooded 6 Size of forest/ 3 1 Subquestion of wooded land wooded land holdings outside of State of interest was dropped. 7 Number of parcels 3 1 The number of parcels subquestion owned was separated into two subquestions. 8 Primary residence 4 7 9 Vacation home 5 7 10 Farm 6 6 Added “not applicable” option. Dropped subquestion on farm

acreage. 11 Reasons for owning 7 9 Converted from a 7-point to a 5-point Likert scale and all options were labeled with words. Added objectives related to water resources and raising a family. Split home and vacation home objectives. 12 Land acquisition 8 3 Added more detail on family relationships. Dropped the don’t know option for acquisition year. 13 Land tenure 8 3 14 Past selling/giving 9 4 Added more detail on family away land relationships. 15 Decision maker 10 14 Added more detail on family relationships and dropped logging

contractor. 16 Management plans 11 17 Added subquestions on whether plan was implemented, who prepared the plan, and reasons for no plan. Don’t know option was dropped.

### 20 Table 3.–(continued)

Question number

Table Version 5.1 Version 4.5 Notes on differences between number Brief description (2011-2013) (2002-2006) questionnaire versions
17 Timber harvesting 12 15 Converted to a matrix format. Added options for wood chips and unwanted trees. Dropped veneer logs and pulpwood. Added subquestion on certified logger. Dropped reason for cutting. 18 Timber harvesting 12 15 (simplified) 19 Use of foresters 12 15 20 Nontimber forest 13 16 Converted to matrix format. products 21 Nontimber forest 13 16 products (simplified)
22 Recent forestry 14 18 Added controlled burn, invasive activities species, and livestock grazing. Dropped planted trees and chemical use. Separated road and trails. Recreation and posting converted to separate questions. 23 Future forestry 15 23 Switched to a likelihood rating. activities Dropped convert land, buy more land, leave as is, minimum activities, no plans, and don’t know. Sell and give away converted to separate question. 24 Leases 16 10 Added land conservation, carbon sequestration, water supply, and wildlife. Dropped timber production and nontimber forest products. 25 Cost-share programs 17 13 Converted familiarity from yes/no to rating. Added subquestion on recency. Dropped specification of

programs. 26 Green certification 18 12 Converted familiarity from yes/no to

programs rating. Dropped subquestion on future intentions for certification. 27 Property tax 19

– programs 28 Easements 20 11 Used phrase sell development rights instead of conservation easement. Converted familiarity from yes/no to rating. Dropped subquestion on what was eased.

### 21 Table 3.–(continued)

Question number

Table Version 5.1 Version 4.5 Notes on differences between number Brief description (2011-2013) (2002-2006) questionnaire versions

29 Recreation 21 18 Added information on who recreated and the types of recreation activities.

30 Posting 22 18 Added information on what activities are restricted.

31 Advice received 23 19 Added subquestion on advice topic and method of receiving advice. 32 Advice desired 24

–
33 Preferred methods to receive information 25 20 Converted to a check all that apply.

34 Concerns 26 21 and 22 Converted from a 7-point to a 5-point Likert scale and all options were labeled with words. Added climate change. Separated air and water pollution. Dropped endangered species, lawsuits, regulations, and timber theft. Changed unwanted plants to invasive plant species. 35 Future selling/giving 27 23 Added subquestion on who will away land receive it and why they are planning to dispose it. 36 Conservation 28

– attitudes 37 Demographics - 29 a 24 retired 38 Demographics - 30 a 24 occupation 39 Demographics - age 31 a 25 Converted to continuous variable. 40 Demographics - 32 a 28 gender 41 Demographics - 33 a 26 Changed graduate degree to education advanced degree. 42 Demographics - 34 a and 35 a 29 ethnicity and race

43 Demographics - income 36 a 27

44 Income from 37

– forest/wooded land

a Asked for demographic information for up to two owners in version 5.1

### 22Table 4.–Estimated area of forest and woodland ownerships (1+acres) by category and state/region/nation, 2011-2013All OwnershipsPrivateTotalTotalFamilyCorporateTribalaOther PrivateRegion/stateAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEb-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -NorthConnecticut1,799821,308709205123136––15730Delaware362 25 279 22 204 16 65 13 – – 10 6Illinois4,9021184,0531043,6669230142––8625Indiana4,87578 4,081 71 3,574 59 404 35 – – 104 19Iowa2,967872,562772,3997011927––4315Maine17,636210 16,355 202 5,575 130 10,173 142 – – 608 59Maryland2,462991,812861,2966640849––10825Massachusetts3,036106 1,954 84 1,380 62 335 43 – – 239 37Michigan20,35722112,6021969,1141512,797106––69167Minnesota17,378160 7,798 112 5,985 90 1,117 52 – – 696 43Missouri15,45216312,75915011,79613076966––19535New Hampshire4,783 118 3,474 106 2,446 76 800 63 – – 228 37New Jersey2,00290971655844727437––11326NewYork18,950 220 14,088 202 10,669 151 2,738 118 – – 680 64Ohio8,1621417,0121295,79710193270––28441Pennsylvania16,999 214 11,961 199 8,892 146 2,300 115 – – 769 71Rhode Island3673026426164185012––5014Vermont4,514 107 3,583 99 2,775 74 684 59 – – 124 27West Virginia12,18619510,5961896,4591323,989130––14832Wisconsin17,101146 11,947 125 9,775 99 1,490 63 – – 682 44North total176,293640129,45857493,46943429,9753311,339684,676165

### 23Table 4.–(continued)PublicTotalFederalStateLocalRegion/stateAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEb-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -NorthConnecticut492441493042917431Delaware83 12 9 5 67 9 7 5Illinois84955382252203124737Indiana79433 380 20 366 23 49 11Iowa4054211823188279821Maine1,28158 186 26 884 38 211 34Maryland6505071184343614529Massachusetts1,08265 81 21 592 42 408 45Michigan7,7561023,023464,2707346353Minnesota9,581114 2,878 38 4,077 79 2,625 73Missouri2,693661,87145737428622New Hampshire1,309 52 856 27 209 26 244 36New Jersey1,03161119266264028638NewYork4,863 89 151 29 4,121 59 591 60Ohio1,15055326245053131938Pennsylvania5,038 80 623 29 3,879 46 536 58Rhode Island10415<1<161114310Vermont931 40 491 23 368 26 73 20West Virginia1,590511,22133309346020Wisconsin5,15476 1,620 26 1,168 47 2,366 53North total46,83528214,42012123,3841859,031175

### 24Table 4.–(continued)All OwnershipsPrivateTotalTotalFamilyCorporateTribalaOther PrivateRegion/stateAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEb-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -SouthAlabama22,91127421,39225813,6961887,480174––21635Arkansas18,966 258 15,308 227 8,866 164 5,609 141 – – 833 67Florida17,27227311,1392104,0201317,006162––11425Georgia24,745 293 22,158 272 13,354 197 8,466 182 – – 338 43Kentucky12,51018911,0701689,1481381,84493––7922Louisiana14,965236 13,017 213 5,563 143 7,283 155 – – 172 32Mississippi19,46826317,15123911,8031784,657146––69262North Carolina18,611 250 15,449 220 10,641 166 4,430 137 – – 378 46Oklahoma12,36326610,9822457,9741962,531131––47768South Carolina13,044 214 11,471 194 7,236 142 4,071 128 – – 164 30Tennessee13,92120611,6641809,3591462,225104––8021Texas61,792 588 58,072 566 42,440 457 12,309 286 – – 3,323 171Virginia15,88322713,0171989,6251543,156119––23636South total266,449 1,040 231,892 951 153,725 728 71,065 568 350 55 6,752 221

### 25Table 4.–(continued)PublicTotalFederalStateLocalRegion/stateAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEb-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -SouthAlabama1,519911,020743484415129Arkansas3,658 124 3,118 111 459 51 80 20Florida6,1331742,6841152,88611856358Georgia2,587 111 1,798 90 443 49 345 43Kentucky1,440871,19178179327019Louisiana1,948102 1,145 77 546 54 257 38Mississippi2,3171101,832972393724637North Carolina3,161 119 2,148 94 744 63 270 37Oklahoma1,380103857773915813336South Carolina1,573 91 1,029 73 381 45 163 29Tennessee2,256991,40273757649723Texas3,719 160 1,588 95 1,505 108 627 70Virginia2,8671112,270963494424736South total34,558 421 22,083 323 9,226 230 3,249 141

### 26Table 4–(continued)All OwnershipsPrivateTotalTotalFamilyCorporateTribalaOther PrivateRegion/stateAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEb-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Rocky MountainArizona18,5872647,2201721,1728337247––5,677143Colorado22,891 256 5,580 162 4,497 143 458 50 – – 625 58Idaho21,4812373,0431291,518911,37587––15029Kansas2,53380 2,351 75 2,247 71 78 22 – – 26 13Montana25,5972766,9571903,6111362,069105––1,27780Nebraska1,539 76 1,365 69 1,260 64 37 14 – – 68 20Nevada10,57715239546252369322––5017New Mexico24,839 310 10,799 234 6,626 192 601 66 – – 3,572 116North Dakota764545324241936––––11323South Dakota1,929 67 807 60 540 48 36 12 – – 232 35Utah18,2992442,8171231,7479545852––61259Wyoming10,401 351 1,549 199 1,214 173 56 41 – – 278 89Rocky Mountain total159,43976843,41548625,1033795,63318311,74522993477Pacific CoastAlaska127,5751,15036,0836394,03021031,939566––114210California32,254 287 12,541 236 6,948 174 4,751 141 – – 842 75Hawaii1,7481961,15517372311812444––309118Oregon29,704225 10,719 199 3,590 128 6,299 136 – – 831 70Washington22,2222199,5481952,5911064,810126––2,147105Pacific Coast total213,504 1,242 70,045 756 17,881 341 47,922 613 2,730 212 1,513 186U.S. total815,6851,903474,8101,429290,178989154,59591816,16332413,874342

### 27Table 4–(continued)PublicTotalFederalStateLocalRegion/stateAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEbAcresSEb-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Rocky MountainArizona11,3672019,7081741,611984919Colorado17,311 198 16,648 188 570 57 94 23Idaho18,43919817,2261801,21384<1<1Kansas18127 131 23 26 10 24 11Montana18,64020117,66118796274189Nebraska174 31 87 20 74 21 13 8Nevada10,18214410,1611442111<1<1New Mexico14,041 204 11,726 166 2,273 117 42 19North Dakota2323316327621877South Dakota1,122 29 1,044 23 68 17 10 7Utah15,48321113,9451891,494934417Wyoming8,852 289 8,509 271 343 100 <1 <1Rocky Mountain total116,024595107,0095418,71624330043Pacific CoastAlaska91,49395563,75279527,47552826647California19,713 164 18,630 150 699 48 384 46Hawaii59393121457391811Oregon18,985105 17,874 93 924 37 187 33Washington12,6741009,822702,4335141949Pacific Coast total143,458 985 110,090 817 32,104 542 1,264 89U.S. total340,8751,257253,6011,03973,43066413,844245aDue to data confidentiality, Tribal is included with Other Private at the state levelbSE = standard error

### 28 Table 5.–Estimated area and estimated number of private forest and woodland ownerships (1 + acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013
Area Ownerships Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - North

Connecticut 1,308 70 166 16 Delaware 279 22 22 3 Illinois 4,053 104 149 24 Indiana 4,081 71 193 22 Iowa 2,562 77 80 12 Maine 16,355 202 170 24 Maryland 1,812 86 149 16 Massachusetts 1,954 84 236 32 Michigan 12,602 196 375 51 Minnesota 7,798 112 213 21 Missouri 12,759 150 440 58 New Hampshire 3,474 106 196 41 New Jersey 971 65 124 15 New York 14,088 202 782 131 Ohio 7,012 129 486 62 Pennsylvania 11,961 199 574 75 Rhode Island 264 26 46 15 Vermont 3,583 99 148 20 West Virginia 10,596 189 184 30 Wisconsin 11,947 125 414 48

North total 129,458 574 5,147 206 South

Alabama 21,392 258 248 32 Arkansas 15,308 227 217 56 Florida 11,139 210 227 43 Georgia 22,158 272 462 106 Kentucky 11,070 168 422 81 Louisiana 13,017 213 135 25 Mississippi 17,151 239 284 68 North Carolina 15,449 220 566 101 Oklahoma 10,982 245 273 63 South Carolina 11,471 194 212 44 Tennessee 11,664 180 421 55 Texas 58,072 566 612 133 Virginia 13,017 198 534 94
South total 231,892 951 4,612 274

### 29 Table 5.–(continued)

Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - Rocky Mountain

Arizona 7,220 172 95 50 Colorado 5,580 162 34 13 Idaho 3,043 129 28 8 Kansas 2,351 75 95 13 Montana 6,957 190 72 16 Nebraska 1,365 69 41 14 Nevada 395 46 5 1 New Mexico 10,799 234 449 192 North Dakota 532 42 26 21 South Dakota 807 60 17 7 Utah 2,817 123 39 13 Wyoming 1,549 199 88 87 Rocky Mountain total 43,415 486 988 220 Pacific Coast

Alaska 36,083 639 36 29 California 12,541 236 248 65 Hawaii 1,155 173 88 21 Oregon 10,719 199 172 47 Washington 9,548 195 172 40
Pacific Coast total 70,045 756 716 96

U.S. total 474,810 1,429 11,462 418

a SE = standard error Note: Data may not sum to totals due to rounding

### 30 Table 6.–Estimated area and estimated number of private forest and woodland ownerships (10 + acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013
Area Ownerships Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - North

Connecticut 975 62 20 2 Delaware 239 20 4 <1 Illinois 3,794 120 83 7 Indiana 3,722 94 91 6 Iowa 2,430 86 51 5 Maine 16,070 211 89 7 Maryland 1,510 79 29 2 Massachusetts 1,514 83 30 3 Michigan 11,917 235 196 13 Minnesota 7,385 133 116 7 Missouri 11,979 210 214 15 New Hampshire 3,192 117 43 5 New Jersey 715 56 15 2 New York 12,504 305 203 14 Ohio 6,056 190 161 13 Pennsylvania 10,681 270 181 14 Rhode Island 192 29 7 2 Vermont 3,316 101 42 3 West Virginia 10,252 204 102 8 Wisconsin 11,083 187 193 11

North total 119,528 718 1,869 37 South

Alabama 20,921 293 160 15 Arkansas 15,116 240 115 11 Florida 10,687 224 77 10 Georgia 21,260 344 121 12 Kentucky 10,489 217 173 14 Louisiana 12,807 226 83 10 Mississippi 16,779 272 135 14 North Carolina 14,245 313 167 15 Oklahoma 10,638 263 120 12 South Carolina 11,120 215 90 9 Tennessee 10,601 246 152 13 Texas 57,240 630 345 35 Virginia 12,161 251 161 13
South total 224,066 1,103 1,898 56

### 31 Table 6.–(continued)

Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - Rocky Mountain

Arizona 7,123 182 40 11 Colorado 5,580 162 34 13 Idaho 3,006 133 20 4 Kansas 2,219 84 60 6 Montana 6,808 193 31 4 Nebraska 1,298 76 20 3 Nevada 395 46 5 1 New Mexico 10,232 364 61 22 North Dakota 511 46 5 1 South Dakota 785 63 10 3 Utah 2,717 138 23 8 Wyoming 941 621 1 <1 Rocky Mountain total 41,615 820 310 30 Pacific Coast

Alaska 34,870 629 2 2 California 11,958 282 89 14 Hawaii 993 157 6 2 Oregon 10,438 211 45 7 Washington 9,141 209 52 7
Pacific Coast total 67,400 767 194 17

U.S. total 452,610 1,730 4,271 76

a SE = standard error Note: Data may not sum to totals due to rounding

### 32 Table 7.–Estimated area and estimated number of non-industrial private forest and woodland ownerships (1 + acres) by state/region/nation,
2011-2013
Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - North

Connecticut 1,308 76 166 17 Delaware 269 24 22 3 Illinois 4,053 125 149 24 Indiana 4,058 81 192 22 Iowa 2,562 91 80 12 Maine 14,607 239 170 24 Maryland 1,797 95 149 16 Massachusetts 1,954 93 236 33 Michigan 12,066 223 374 51 Minnesota 7,263 120 213 21 Missouri 12,677 196 440 59 New Hampshire 3,442 120 196 41 New Jersey 971 68 124 16 New York 13,656 234 759 119 Ohio 6,978 155 484 62 Pennsylvania 11,606 225 572 75 Rhode Island 264 28 46 15 Vermont 3,566 117 147 20 West Virginia 10,065 216 183 31 Wisconsin 11,321 142 407 48

North total 124,482 666 5,112 198 South

Alabama 19,652 249 248 32 Arkansas 12,512 211 215 56 Florida 10,366 207 225 43 Georgia 20,458 264 458 106 Kentucky 10,961 166 421 81 Louisiana 10,390 203 132 25 Mississippi 15,844 228 283 68 North Carolina 14,423 213 562 101 Oklahoma 10,464 260 272 63 South Carolina 11,327 193 211 44 Tennessee 11,520 179 419 55 Texas 57,777 572 611 133 Virginia 12,830 196 534 94
South total 218,523 943 4,591 273

### 33 Table 7.–(continued)

Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - Rocky Mountain

Arizona 5,443 164 88 49 Colorado 5,580 165 34 13 Idaho 1,787 100 26 8 Kansas 2,351 89 95 14 Montana 5,525 169 72 16 Nebraska 1,365 74 41 14 Nevada 395 46 5 1 New Mexico 10,343 232 425 180 North Dakota 532 45 26 21 South Dakota 807 63 17 8 Utah 5,681 175 75 25 Wyoming 1,515 196 88 87 Rocky Mountain total 41,325 487 992 211 Pacific Coast

Alaska 36,043 640 36 29 California 9,180 219 242 63 Hawaii 1,155 173 88 21 Oregon 6,557 184 165 45 Washington 5,462 169 165 38
Pacific Coast total 58,396 741 695 94

U.S. total 442,726 1,456 11,390 409

a SE = standard error Note: Data may not sum to totals due to rounding

### 34 Table 8.–Estimated area and estimated number of non-industrial private forest and woodland ownerships (10 + acres) by state/region/nation,
2011-2013
Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - North

Connecticut 975 65 20 2 Delaware 229 21 4 <1 Illinois 3,794 136 83 7 Indiana 3,699 100 91 6 Iowa 2,430 98 51 5 Maine 14,322 246 88 7 Maryland 1,496 86 29 2 Massachusetts 1,514 88 30 3 Michigan 11,381 254 196 14 Minnesota 6,850 138 115 7 Missouri 11,897 241 214 15 New Hampshire 3,161 128 43 5 New Jersey 715 58 15 2 New York 12,102 314 203 14 Ohio 6,025 203 161 13 Pennsylvania 10,325 284 180 14 Rhode Island 192 30 7 2 Vermont 3,299 116 42 3 West Virginia 9,721 228 102 8 Wisconsin 10,486 192 190 11

North total 114,614 777 1,862 37 South

Alabama 19,182 285 160 15 Arkansas 12,321 225 114 11 Florida 9,914 221 76 10 Georgia 19,579 333 120 12 Kentucky 10,379 216 172 14 Louisiana 10,181 216 81 10 Mississippi 15,472 263 133 14 North Carolina 13,236 304 165 15 Oklahoma 10,120 275 119 12 South Carolina 10,976 215 90 9 Tennessee 10,460 244 151 13 Texas 56,945 636 344 35 Virginia 11,974 250 160 13
South total 210,739 1,093 1,885 56

### 35 Table 8.–(continued)

Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - Rocky Mountain

Arizona 5,345 174 34 8 Colorado 5,580 165 34 13 Idaho 1,750 104 19 4 Kansas 2,219 95 60 6 Montana 5,376 172 30 4 Nebraska 1,298 81 20 3 Nevada 395 46 5 1 New Mexico 9,799 357 60 22 North Dakota 511 48 5 1 South Dakota 785 65 10 3 Utah 5,488 216 45 15 Wyoming 908 620 1 <1 Rocky Mountain total 39,455 826 322 32 Pacific Coast

Alaska 34,830 630 2 2 California 8,608 265 86 13 Hawaii 993 157 6 2 Oregon 6,287 195 43 6 Washington 5,068 183 48 7
Pacific Coast total 55,786 750 185 16

U.S. total 420,594 1,744 4,254 76

a SE = standard error Note: Data may not sum to totals due to rounding

### 36 Table 9.–Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (1 + acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013
Area Ownerships Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - North

Connecticut 920 51 155 16 Delaware 204 16 21 3 Illinois 3,666 92 132 22 Indiana 3,574 59 187 22 Iowa 2,399 70 77 12 Maine 5,575 130 165 24 Maryland 1,296 66 140 15 Massachusetts 1,380 62 189 24 Michigan 9,114 151 371 51 Minnesota 5,985 90 212 20 Missouri 11,796 130 438 58 New Hampshire 2,446 76 192 41 New Jersey 584 47 107 14 New York 10,669 151 635 80 Ohio 5,797 101 430 55 Pennsylvania 8,892 146 559 75 Rhode Island 164 18 43 15 Vermont 2,775 74 139 18 West Virginia 6,459 132 183 30 Wisconsin 9,775 99 391 48

North total 93,469 434 4,767 173 South

Alabama 13,696 188 247 32 Arkansas 8,866 164 214 56 Florida 4,020 131 215 43 Georgia 13,354 197 445 106 Kentucky 9,148 138 404 81 Louisiana 5,563 143 130 25 Mississippi 11,803 178 279 68 North Carolina 10,641 166 546 100 Oklahoma 7,974 196 264 63 South Carolina 7,236 142 207 44 Tennessee 9,359 146 413 54 Texas 42,440 457 595 133 Virginia 9,625 154 526 94
South total 153,725 728 4,487 272

### 37 Table 9.–(continued)

Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - Rocky Mountain

Arizona 1,172 83 74 48 Colorado 4,497 143 32 13 Idaho 1,518 91 26 8 Kansas 2,247 71 94 13 Montana 3,611 136 71 16 Nebraska 1,260 64 41 14 Nevada 252 36 4 1 New Mexico 6,626 192 227 125 North Dakota 419 36 26 21 South Dakota 540 48 17 7 Utah 1,747 95 37 13 Wyoming 1,214 173 87 87 Rocky Mountain total 25,103 379 735 164 Pacific Coast

Alaska 4,030 210 36 29 California 6,948 174 246 65 Hawaii 723 118 83 21 Oregon 3,590 128 171 47 Washington 2,591 106 169 40
Pacific Coast total 17,881 341 704 96

U.S. total 290,178 989 10,693 375

a SE = standard error Note: Data may not sum to totals due to rounding

### 38 Table 10.–Estimated area and estimated number of family forest and woodland ownerships (10 + acres) by state/region/nation, 2011-2013
Area Ownerships Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - North

Connecticut 609 42 18 2 Delaware 164 14 4 <1 Illinois 3,435 108 76 6 Indiana 3,215 85 85 6 Iowa 2,268 80 48 5 Maine 5,307 144 86 7 Maryland 1,009 58 25 2 Massachusetts 1,007 60 26 2 Michigan 8,430 198 192 13 Minnesota 5,573 114 114 7 Missouri 11,016 196 212 15 New Hampshire 2,164 91 39 4 New Jersey 348 35 11 1 New York 9,274 244 197 14 Ohio 4,951 158 145 11 Pennsylvania 7,612 234 166 13 Rhode Island 100 22 6 2 Vermont 2,521 77 40 3 West Virginia 6,115 154 101 8 Wisconsin 9,011 162 183 11

North total 84,129 592 1,776 36 South

Alabama 13,225 233 159 15 Arkansas 8,674 181 112 11 Florida 3,568 152 65 9 Georgia 12,553 273 118 12 Kentucky 8,567 195 155 12 Louisiana 5,353 161 78 10 Mississippi 11,431 222 130 14 North Carolina 9,513 268 162 15 Oklahoma 7,630 218 112 12 South Carolina 6,885 170 86 9 Tennessee 8,296 222 145 12 Texas 41,607 535 329 35 Virginia 8,769 218 153 12
South total 146,072 910 1,802 55

### 39 Table 10.–(continued)

Area Ownerships

Region/state Acres SE a Number SE a

- - - - - - - thousands - - - - - - - Rocky Mountain

Arizona 1,074 101 19 4 Colorado 4,497 143 32 13 Idaho 1,481 96 18 4 Kansas 2,115 81 59 6 Montana 3,462 140 29 4 Nebraska 1,193 72 20 3 Nevada 252 36 4 1 New Mexico 6,267 309 48 19 North Dakota 398 40 5 1 South Dakota 518 51 10 3 Utah 1,647 113 22 8 Wyoming 607 613 <1 <1 Rocky Mountain total 23,512 749 265 26 Pacific Coast

Alaska 2,418 166 2 2 California 6,365 232 87 14 Hawaii 566 96 6 1 Oregon 3,309 146 44 7 Washington 2,184 129 48 7
Pacific Coast total 14,842 359 187 17

U.S. total 268,555 1,367 4,030 72

a SE = standard error Note: Data may not sum to totals due to roundingPage intentionally left blankButler, Brett J.; Hewes, Jaketon H.; Dickinson, Brenton J.; Andrejczyk, Kyle; Butler, Sarah M.; Markowski-Lindsay, Marla. 2016. USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey: national, regional, and state statistics for family forest and woodland ownerships with 10+ acres, 2011-2013. Res. Bull. NRS-99. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 39 p.
This report summarizes the results from the 2011-2013 National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis program. The focus of the results reported here is family forest and woodland ownerships with holdings of at least 10 acres. Summaries are based on responses from 8,576 family ownerships with at least 10 acres of forest or woodland across 47 U.S. states. Survey summary tables are available at dx.doi.org/10.2737/NRS-RB-99 and include the 36 states in which the minimum target effective sample size of 100 respondents was obtained plus tables for the nation and four regions (North, South, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Coast). An additional 11 states (Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington) have sample sizesbetween 10 and 99 and are included in national and regional summary tables, but statelevel survey summary tables are not being published due to small sample sizes. Data for three states (Alaska, Nevada, and Wyoming) are excluded due to the low numbers of respondents (n<10) in each of these states. The survey summary tables provide statistics on general forest ownership patterns, effective sample sizes, and responses to the questions asked on the survey. The 37 survey questions, many with multiple parts, focus on ownership characteristics, land characteristics, reasons for owning land, land ownership history, uses of the forest and woodland, sources of information, concerns, the future of their land, and demographics. For comparison purposes, summary tables from the 2002-2006 iteration of the NWOS are provided along with an additional set of 2011-2013 regional and national summary tables where only states in common with the 2002-2006 iteration are included. In addition, this report includes separate tables with estimated area and estimated number of private, nonindustrial private, and family forest and woodland ownerships by state.
KEY WORDS: landowner survey, private forest, family forest, nonindustrial private forest, United States.