Browsing by Author "Snyder, Stephanie"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Assessing trends in forest parcelization and development in Minnesota : an Itasca County case study.
    (University of Minnesota, 2007-07) Mundell, Joseph; Taff, Steven J.; Kilgore, Michael A.; Snyder, Stephanie
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    An Assessment of Lake States Landowner Interest in Selling Forest Carbon Credits
    (University of Minnesota, 2012-03) Miller, Kristell Anne; Kilgore, Michael A.; Snyder, Stephanie
    Forests serve as important terrestrial carbon sequestration sinks. In response to industry, individual, and state/regional commitments to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon is now a commodity that can be sold in the marketplace. Practices that enhance sequestration ability can generate carbon credits that can be sold to entities wishing to offset emissions. The nation’s family forest lands, representing 40 percent of the nation’s forest land, can be an important contributor to carbon sequestration efforts. Yet very little is known about how family forest landowners view programs that enable them to sell carbon credits generated from the growth of their forest and the compensation level required to encourage meaningful levels of participation among the nation’s family forest owners. To address this information gap, we conducted a contingent valuation study to identify and quantify family forest landowner interest in participating in a voluntary carbon market-trading program in the Lake States. A mail survey was administered to 2,200 randomly selected family forest owners in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The questionnaire assessed landowner interest in participating in a hypothetical carbon credit program at certain compensation levels and sought information on landowner objectives, perspectives and forest land characteristics. A total of 850 usable responses were used to develop a profile of Lake States family forest owners, estimate required compensation levels, and determine how various program characteristics influence a landowner’s interest in participating. A logistic regression model was developed to examine the factors affecting participation in a forest carbon offset project by family forest owners. Results showed that carbon program characteristics, alongside landowner and parcel characteristics, are associated with the decision to participate in a carbon credit program. Specifically, payment amount, contract length, gender, value placed on other nonmarket forest amenities, need for additional income, attitude toward climate change, absentee status, land tenure, and total acres owned were found to be significant determinants. Models were run using all respondents as well as only with those respondents indicating a high certainty in their answer. The study’s findings and implications for future forest carbon policy will be discussed in this report.
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    An assessment of Norwegian family forest owner interest in carbon offset programs and comparisons to the Lake States
    (University of Minnesota, 2015-06) Håbesland, Daniel; Kilgore, Michael A.; Snyder, Stephanie; Becker, Dennis R.; Solberg, Berger; Sjølie, Hanne Kathrine; Lindstad, Berit Hauger
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    Characterizing Family Forest Owners who are Eligible to Participate in Preferential Forest Property Tax Programs (PFPTPs) across the U.S.
    (University of Minnesota, 2018-02) Kilgore, Michael A.; Blinn, Charles R.; Meier, Justin T.; Frey, Greg; Snyder, Stephanie
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    Emerald Ash Borer as a Constraint to Recreation? Interviews with Visitors to Two Minnesota State Parks
    (University of Minnesota Tourism Center, 2014) Schneider, Ingrid; Schlueter, Alex; Matter, Katie; Arnberger, Arne; Venette, Robert; Snyder, Stephanie; Cottrell, Staurt
    The purpose of this study was to understand visitor perceptions of EAB’s visual impacts & if EAB acts as a constraint to recreation.
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    Family Forest Landowners’ Interest in Forest Carbon Credit Programs: Focus Group Findings from the Lake States
    (University of Minnesota, 2013-11) Miller, Kristell Anne; Kilgore, Michael A.; Snyder, Stephanie
    Focus groups were organized with individuals owning 20+ acres in the Lake States region (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) to discuss various issues related to forest carbon offsetting. Focus group participants consisted of landowners who had responded to a mail-back survey on forest carbon offsets in 2010. Two focus groups were held per state with an average of eight participants each (49 total). While landowner participant types varied, overall convergence was reached on several key issues. In general, discussion results found that the current payment amounts offered for carbon credits are not likely, on their own, to encourage participation in carbon markets. Landowners are most interested in other benefits they can attain through carbon management (e.g., improved stand species mix, wildlife, trails). Interestingly, landowner perceptions about the condition of their own forest land were most indicative of prospective interest in carbon management. Landowners who felt their forest was currently in poor condition, or did not meet their forest ownership objectives, were most interested in participating. While the initial survey sought landowner opinions about carbon markets, a majority of focus group participants expressed interest in carbon management as a means to achieve reduced property taxes.
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    Forest Land Parcelization in Northern Minnesota: A Multicounty Assessment
    (University of Minnesota, 2010-12) Block-Torgerson, Kayla; Kilgore, Michael A.; Taff, Steven J.; Snyder, Stephanie
    Parcelization, the subdivision of land into smaller ownership parcels, is a phenomenon affecting private forest land across the nation, including Minnesota. Forest land parcelization has been found to have a marked adverse effect on wildlife habitat, timber availability, water quality, and recreational access. In 2005, the Minnesota Forest Resources Council (MFRC) identified forest parcelization as the single most important policy issue affecting the economic and ecological health of the state’s forests. This report describes an assessment of forest land parcelization across a ten county region of northern Minnesota. Using ArcMap as the primary data management and analysis tool, digital files containing the boundaries of all real estate parcels in the ten county study area were analyzed to characterize parcelization activity across private forested landscapes in northern Minnesota. Regression analysis was subsequently used to identify parcel and landscape characteristics that are associated with a parcelized forest landscape. A new metric for characterizing a parcelized forest landscape is proposed to address the deficiencies associated with using average parcel size to describe forest land parcelization. This new metric uses average parcel size, but takes into account the spatial extent of the private forested landscape as well as the distribution of private forest parcel size across this landscape. The study’s large spatial scale makes it unique among forest land parcelization studies.
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    A look at past and present forest landowner preferences and intentions in northern Minnesota.
    (University of Minnesota, 2005-12) Donnay, Jacob S.; Kilgore, Michael A.; Snyder, Stephanie