Lead field trips on our own land help the public understand the broader context. They don t see any relation between their work and your work. It has to affect them personally. When asked what society expects from family forestlands, recreation and access were the top responses at all four roundtables. Recreation was provided not only to the public, but also the landowners.
Private lands provide seclusion, freedom and a sense of well-being.
For some landowners, however, recreational use meant the public sometimes turned their land into a dump. The land is a playground, a junkyard for the public. They expect us to provide recreation, but the more you allow the public to use the land, the more they expect. When it comes to the role of the land and landowners, providing and preserving water quality and domestic water sources was discussed at all four roundtables. Watersheds there are penalties to private landowners for poor water quality, but not the same penalties for public lands.