Masters Theses

Date of Award

3-1977

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Forestry

Major Professor

Garland R. Wells

Committee Members

Charles L. Cleland, David Ostermeier

Abstract

The study was concerned with the influence of absenteeism on timber availability. The purpose was to determine how willing to sell timber products were selected groups of private, forest landowners. The study tested the hypothesis that absentee owners are less likely to market their timber than are resident owners. A specific group of absentee owners, those living in an urban or metropolitan area, was studied.

A sample of 36 absentee private forest landowners (urban-residents) who lived in Nashville, Tennessee and owned forest land in an 11 county timbershed in Tennessee was compared with 36 rural-resident owners who lived on or near their forest land in the same timbershed. These two groups, that controlled equal forest acreage, were interviewed regarding their attitudes toward marketing timber products.

A procedure was developed for determining an owners' "willingness to sell"' forest products. This new method, called a "willingness score," proved to be more sensitive to an owner's objectives and motivations than the straight yes, no, or maybe responses used in previous studies.

It was found that the urban-resident forest owners were less willing to sell timber products than were rural-resident forest owners. It was further discovered that the major difference between these two groups was in the larger ownerships. That is to say those owners holding 150 or more acres of forest land were less "willing to sell" timber.

Using discriminant analysis, six variables were identified that together correctly classified owners as either urban-residents or rural-residents 85% of the time. Other significant differences were found between the two groups and collectively they made up a profile of the urban-resident owners.

Urban-resident owners in Nashville, Tennessee controlled almost 52,000 acres of the commercial forest land in the timbershed studied. These owners, who are increasing in number, are an important target group for forest policy action.

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