Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Gordon, Jason S.

Committee Member

Munn, Ian A.

Committee Member

Henderson, James E.

Date of Degree

12-8-2017

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Forestry

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Forestry

Abstract

This study describes landowners’ willingness to hire consulting foresters and compares forest management expenses between the 1990s (1995-1997) and 2015. Two thousand and ten Mississippi non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners were selected randomly from a tax roll mail list maintained by Mississippi State University. Participants were surveyed to identify the characteristics of those landowners willing to hire consultants and compared the landowners’ participation in forestry-related activities during the 1990s and 2015. Results indicated three fourth of the survey participants were not willing to use a consultant to manage their forest land. However, consultant fees have increased from the 1990s to 2015. Landowners with larger forest tracts, higher incomes, and higher education levels were more likely to hire consultants. In contrast, age was negatively correlated with willingness to hire a consultant. These findings would be helpful in designing and implementing more effective policy instruments, and improving landowners’ participation in forest management.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18872

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