We want to understand how family forest owners in northeastern Michigan manage their forests and how this management affects biomass availability and long-term environmental sustainability.

Research Question & Approach

How do northern Michigan nonindustrial private forest landowners (NIPFs) manage their lands and how does this management mesh with bioenergy feedstock availability and long-term environmental sustainability?  We are interviewing 100 randomly selected NIPFs with 20 or more acres of land.  Questions cover their past management practices, their knowledge of and interest in harvesting for bioenergy production and in energy cropping, their wildlife, soils, and wetlands goals and knowledge, and their familiarity with the wide-range of environmental sustainability incentive programs aimed at NIPFs.  All interviews are recorded and fully transcribed.  This qualitative data is carefully and systematically sorted, coded, and analyzed for quantitative patterns regarding their responses.  The results can give an indication of NIPF knowledge of and interest in engaging with bioenergy marketing opportunities and give a sense of how those factors mesh with larger environmental sustainability impacts.

Progress and Results

The interviews have been completed and interview data has been compiled into a final report.

Final Project Report:

Nonindustrial Private Landowner Interviews