National Woodland Owner Survey

Comments or questions?
Please contact us:
USDA Forest Service
National Woodland Owner Survey
160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA 01003
Toll-Free Telephone: 1-866-396-6967
Fax: 1-413-545-1860
Internet: www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos

National
Woodland
Owner
Survey

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 15 minutes per respondent, including time
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this
burden, to Department of Agriculture, Clearance Officer, OIRM,
Room 404-W, Washington, DC 20250; and to the Office of
Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project
(OMB#0596-0078), Washington, DC 20503.
USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey
Version: NWOS 5.0 S-
Questionnaire number: ______________

160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA 01003
Phone (toll-free): 866-396-6967
Internet: www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos
OMB No. 0596-0078

Approval expires

You can complete this questionnaire
via the Internet at:
www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos/quest

If you would like Thank you for participating in this survey!
Please return the questionnaire in the postage-paid
envelope.

If you would like a copy of the results of this survey, please
print your name and address on the back of the return
envelope.

Instructions
If there are additional comments or concerns that you would like to
share, please write them below.If there are additional comments or

Please provide answers for all of the woodland that you own in
. If you are part of more than one group that owns
woodland, please respond for the group that is listed on the outside
of the envelope.
The owner who makes most of the decisions about your woodland
in should answer this questionnaire.
If this questionnaire is received by a company or other
organization, please have a person knowledgeable about the
organization’s woodland in answer this questionnaire. If
the company listed on the envelope is a subsidiary of a larger
company, please respond for the larger, parent company.
If you do not own any woodland in , please return this
questionnaire in the postage-paid envelope provided and indicate
why you are returning it. Thank you!

General Questions About Your Woodland
1. Woodland covers % of .
Woodland includes:
Woods, woodlots, timberland, and forest land
Productive and unproductive lands
Land at least 1 acre in size and 120 feet wide that has at least
10 well-spaced trees per acres
Land at least 1 acres in size, where trees were removed and
trees will grow again (not converted to another use, such as
cropland, pasture land, or residential)
Woodland does not include:
Christmas tree farms, orchards, or nurseries
Land that is mowed for lawn
a. How many total acres of land do you own in ?
_____ Acres of land in
b. How many of these acres in are woodland?
_____ Acres of woodland in

Your Reasons for Owning Woodland
The Future of Your Woodland

V

er
y

im
po
Im
rta
po
nt
rta
nt
M
od
er
at
el
O
y
fl
im
itt
po
le
rta
i
m
nt
N
po
ot
rta
im
nc
po
e
rta
nt

2. How important are the following as reasons for why you own
woodland in ?
Check one box for each item.

To enjoy beauty or scenery
To protect nature and biological
diversity
To protect water resources
To protect or improve wildlife
habitat
For land investment
Part of my home (primary residence)
Part of my vacation home or cabin
Part of my farm or ranch
For privacy
To pass land on to my children
or other heirs
For production of firewood
For production of biofuel/biomass
For production of timber products,
such as logs, pulpwood, or other
timber products
For collection of nontimber forest
products, such as
For hunting or fishing
For recreation other than hunting
or fishing
Other (please specify):

23. What are your plans for your woodland in for the next 5
years?
Check all that apply
Sell some it
Sell all of it
Give some of it to my children or other heirs
Give all of it to my children or other heirs
No plans at this time

24. Which of the following best describes you?
I am absolutely committed to keeping my woods as woods
and not developing it
I would like to keep my woods as woods, but if I don’t think
I can take care of it I might sell it
I would like to keep my woods as woods, but if the price
were right, I might sell it
I would like to eventually sell my woodland, but I could be
persuaded to keep and conserve it
I am absolutely committed to selling or developing my
woods

20. Which of the following have occurred on your woodland in
in the past five years?
Check all that apply.
Harvested trees for sale
Harvested trees for own use
Collected nontimber forest products
Reduced fire hazard
Prescribed fire
Eliminated or reduce invasive plants
Eliminated or reduce unwanted insects/diseases
Road construction or maintenance
Trail construction or maintenance
Improved wildlife habitat
Livestock grazing
Rented land for carbon capture/sequestration
Rented land for water protection
Rented land for biodiversity protection

21. Who, with your permission, has hunted, hiked, or otherwise
recreated on your woodland in in the past 5 years?
Check all that apply.
Me and/or my spouse
My children
Other family members
Friends
The general public for free
The general public for a fee
Other (please specify): ____________________
No one

22. Is any of your woodland in posted to restrict access and/or
use by the general public?
Yes
No

3. Which category below best describes your ownership?
Check only one.
Individual
Joint
Family partnership
Trust or estate
Corporation or business partnership
If you are answering on behalf of a company or other
organization, skip to question 7.
Other (please specify): ______________________
4. How many people (owners) are a part of this ownership?
Owner(s)
5. Is your home (primary residence) on or within a mile of any of
your woodland in ?
Yes
No
6. Do you have a vacation home or cabin on or within a mile of any
of your woodland in ?
Yes
No
7. Do you own any land that is farmed or ranched in ?
Yes
No
The History of Your Woodland
8. How did you acquire your woodland in ?
Check all that apply.
Purchased
Inherited
Received as gift
Other (please specify): ______________________
9. In what year did you, personally, first acquire woodland in ?
Year

Uses of Your Woodland
10. Have you ever leased or collected money (other than from logging)
for allowing people to use your woodland in ?
Yes
No
11. Conservation easements are voluntary agreements that restrict land
from being used for designated purposes, such as development, in
order to protect the land’s conservation values. These restrictions
are legally binding, permanent, and passed on from one owner to
the next.
Is there a conservation easement on any of your woodland in
?
Yes
No
12. To encourage good woodland management, groups have created
green certification programs to recognize woodland owners that
comply with the groups’ standards. Examples include Tree Farm,
Green Tag, Forest Stewardship Council, and Sustainable Forestry
Initiative.
Is any of your woodland in currently green certified?
Yes
No
13. Cost-share programs provide landowners with money to help them
establish or otherwise manage their woodland. Examples include
the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program, the Forest Land Enhancement Program, and
various state funded programs.
Have you ever used a cost-share program to help you establish or
manage your woodland in ?
Yes
No
14. Some state and local governments have current use programs that
reduce or eliminate property taxes for woodland.
Do you have any of your woodland in in a current use
property tax program?
Yes
No

15. Who makes most of the management decisions, such as whether
or not to harvest trees, for your woodland in ?
Check only one.
Me
My spouse
My children
My parents
Another family member
My business partner
My land manager or forester
Other (please specify): ______________________
16. Have trees been harvested from any of your woodland in
since you have owned it?
Check all that apply.
Yes, for sale
Yes, for personal use
Yes, to improve woods
No
17. Have nontimber forest products, such as , been collected from any of your woodland in
since you have owned it?
Check all that apply.
Yes, for sale
Yes, for personal use
Yes, to improve woods
No
18. Do you have a written management or stewardship plan for any of
your woodland in ?
Yes
No
19. Have you received advice or information about taking care of your
woodland in in the past 5 years?
Yes
No