Harvesting experience of private ownerships and acres of forest land owned by harvesters and non-harvesters, New York, 1994. Acreage owned by those intending to cut in the next decade is 54 percent. One-third of the owners are indefinite about their harvest plans. These owners control 29 percent of the private forest land. Harvest intentions of private ownerships and acres of forest land owned, New York, 1994.
Timber harvesting can change the texture of the forest by creating openings and edge effects.
Most forest management activities alter successional patterns of the forest landscape. Each system will produce different forest structure, including opening and edge effects for wildlife. A northern hardwood forest under even aged management, for example, supports approximately twice as many breeding bird species as does an extensive uneven-aged forest. Conclusion How the private forests of New York are parceled and fragmented in the future will depend on the same complex set of interrelated factors that operated in the past. The preferences of the owners of forest land are influenced by changes in the production, marketing, and utilization of wood products and their substitutes.