Minority Forest Landowners in Southeastern Alabama

This study investigated the characteristics of minority forest landowners and their forest resources in Macon and Bullock counties in Alabama through a landowner survey. The size offorestland held by these landowners was relatively small, with a mean of I13 ac. Most of their forests were mixed pine and hardwood stands. The top ranked management objectives of these landowners werefor timberproduction and wildlife (hunting). About two-thirds of these landowners have thinned or harvested theirforests. However, the forestland has not significantly contributed to the landowners’ income. The lack of capital, labor, and knowledge offorest management and marketing impeded the landownersfrom generating more benefits from their forestland. South. J. Appl. For. 23(3):175-l 78. Most of the forestland in Alabama and the South is owned by nonindustrial private (NIP) forest landowners. Some of these NIP forest landowners are minorities, particularly African Americans. Though several studies have been done on the NIP forest landowners in the South in general (Birch 1996, Birch et al. 1982), little is known about minority forest landowners. This study investigated the characteristics of minority forest landowners and their forestland in Macon and Bullock counties, Alabama, and their management objectives and constraints. Macon and Bullock counties are located in southeastern Alabama. These two counties are in Alabama’s Black Belt, where more than a quarter of the population is AfricanAmerican. They are good representatives of the Black Belt counties in southeastern Alabama in light of their socioeconomic conditions and forest resources. The Black Belt counties in Alabama are among the poorest in the state and the nation according to average personal income, unemployment rate, and other socioeconomic indicators (Auburn University at Montgomery 199 1). The limited employment opportunities and income sources have been among the major constraints to economic development in these counties. NOTE: Jianbang Gan is the corresponding author-301 Milbank Hall, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36830; Phone: (334) 727-8321; Fax: (334) 727-8552; E-mail: jigan@acd.tusk.edu. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers, one associate editor, and the editor for their valuable and constructive comments and suggestions that improved the quality of this paper. This study was financially supported by Tuskegee University’s George W. Carver Agricultural Experiment Station and a research grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture. Manuscript received January 23, 1998. accepted November 24, 1998. . Southeastern Alabama, however, is endowed with rich forest resources. Some 73% and 74% of the total land in Bullock and Macon counties, respectively, is under forest coverage (Vissage and Miller 1991). A significant portion of the forestland in these two counties is owned or managed by African Americans. However, the economic contribution of the forest resources to minority forest landowners is very limited, even though forestry is a viable option for economic development in the region (Bliss et al. 1993, Kolison et al. 1993, Can et al. 1994, Kolison et al. 1994. Gan et al. 1995). Understanding of minority forest landowners will provide further insight into the forest ownership in the region and help develop effective economic development strategies for the southern rural communities. This article reports the results of a minority landowner survey conducted in southeastern Alabama.