VI NWOS Short Form

VI. NWOS SHORT FORM
Comments or questions?
Please contact us:
USDA Forest Service
National Woodland Owner Survey
160 Holdsworth Way
Amherst, MA 01003
Toll-Free Telephone: (855) 233-3372
Email: nlos@fs.fed.us
Fax: (413) 545-1860
Internet: www.fia.fs.fed.us/nlos

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its
programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender,
religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or
family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with
disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program
information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's
TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil
Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call
(800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal
opportunity provider and employer.

Version:

Maine 6.0

Draft

USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey
160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst MA 01003
Phone (toll-free): (855) 233-3372
Email: nlos@fs.fed.us
Internet: www.fia.fs.fed.us/nlos
OMB No. 0596-0078

Approval Expires xxxxxxx

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number
for this information collection is 0596-0078. The time required to complete this
information collection is estimated to average 25 minutes per response, including
the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information.

Thank you for participating in this survey!
Please return the survey in the
postage-paid envelope provided.

Draft

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

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

Instructions
Instructions

 Please provide answers for all of the wooded land that you own in

Maine. If you are part of more than one group that owns wooded
land, please respond for the group that is listed on the outside of the
envelope.

 The owner who makes most of the decisions about your wooded
land in Maine should answer this survey.

 If this survey is received by a company or other organization, please
have a person knowledgeable about the organization’s wooded land
in Maine answer this survey. If the company listed on the envelope
is a subsidiary of a larger company, please respond for the larger,
parent company.

General Questions About Your Land
Instructions
1. How many total acres of land do you currently own in Maine?
Acres of land in Maine
2. Wooded land covers 89% of Maine.
Wooded land includes:
 Woods, woodlots, timberland, and forests
 Land at least 1 acre in size, 120 feet wide, and has at
least 10% forest cover
 Land at least 1 acre in size, where trees were removed
and trees will grow again
Wooded land does not include:
 Christmas tree farms, orchards, or nurseries
 Land that is mowed for lawn
How many acres of wooded land do you currently own in
Maine?
Acres of wooded land in Maine

Draft

If you own any wooded land in Maine, please complete
this survey.
If you do not own wooded land in Maine, please return
this survey in the postage-paid envelope provided and
write on the cover "No Wooded Land".

General Questions about Your Ownership
Instructions
3. Which category below best describes your ownership?
Check only one.
Individual
Joint, with husband or wife
Joint, such as with other family members or friends
Family partnership or family LLC or LLP
Family trust or estate

General
Questions About You
Instructions
If you are responding on behalf of a company or other organization, skip
this section.
28. What is your age?

Years

29. What is your gender?
Male

Female

Corporation or business
Other (please specify):
4. How many people are a part of this ownership, including you?
Owners
5. Do you currently own more than one separate, unconnected property
with wooded land in Maine?
Yes
No
6. Is your home (primary residence) on or within a mile of any of your
wooded land in Maine?
Yes

No

Not Applicable

7. Do you have a vacation home or cabin on or within a mile of any of
your wooded land in Maine?
Yes

No

Not Applicable

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8. Do you own any land within a mile of any of your wooded land
in Maine that is farmed or ranched?
For the purpose of this survey, a farm or ranch is a place where,
in most years, $1,000 or more is earned from the sale of crops
(other than forest products) or animals.
Yes

No

Not applicable

30. What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed?
Less than 12th grade
High school/GED
Some college
Associate degree
Bachelor's degree
Advanced degree
31. Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin?
Yes
No
32. What is your race?
Select one or more.
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African-American
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
White
33. On average, what percentage of your household’s annual income
comes from the wooded land that you own?
Percent

Instructions
Your Reasons for Owning Wooded Land
9. How important are the following as reasons for why you currently
own your wooded land in Maine?
If you own one property, check one box for each item.
If you own more than one property in Maine, consider them all
and check one or more boxes for each item.

To enjoy beauty or scenery
To protect nature or biological
diversity
To protect water resources
To protect or improve wildlife
habitat
For land investment
For privacy
To raise my family
To pass land on to my children or
other heirs
For firewood
For timber products, such as logs or
pulpwood
For nontimber forest products,
such as berries or maple syrup
For hunting
For recreation, other than hunting

Draft

Other
(Please
specify):

The History of Your Wooded Land
Instructions
10. a. How did you get your wooded land in Maine?
Check all that apply.
Purchased
Inherited
Received as gift
Other (please specify):
b. In what year did you, personally, first take ownership of your
wooded land in Maine?
Year
11. Have you ever sold or given away any of your wooded land in
Maine?
Yes

No

Uses
of Your Wooded Land
Instructions
12. Who makes the management decisions, such as whether or not to
harvest trees, for your wooded land in Maine?
Check all that apply.

Draft

Me
My husband or wife
My children
My parents
Another family member
My business partner
My land manager or forester
Other (please specify):

13. A management or stewardship plan may be written in order to help
the landowner meet their goals for their wooded land.
a. How familiar are you with these types of plans?
Extremely
familiar

Moderately
familiar

Somewhat
familiar

Slightly
familiar

Not at all
familiar

b. Do you have a written management or stewardship plan
for any of your wooded land in Maine?
Yes
No
Don't know
If no or don't know, skip to question 14
If yes, please answer c
c. Have you taken actions to implement it?
Yes
No
14. Have trees ever been cut or removed from any of the wooded land
that you own in Maine since you have owned it?
.
If no, skip to question 15.
Yes
No
If yes, please answer a, b, and c.
a. What types of products were harvested?
Check all that apply.
Firewood
Logs
Wood chips or pulpwood
Other (please specify):
b. Why were the trees cut or removed?
Check all that apply.

Draft

For Sale

For personal use

Other

d. Was a professional forester used to plan, mark, contract, or
oversee any of the cuts?
Yes

No

Don't know

Not applicable

15. Which of the following have occurred on your wooded land in
Maine in the past 5 years?
Check all that apply.
Cut and/or removed trees for sale
Cut and/or removed trees for own use
Collected nontimber forest products, such as berries or ginseng
Reduced fire hazard
Controlled burn/prescribed fire
Eliminated or reduced invasive plants
Eliminated or reduced unwanted insects or diseases
Road construction or maintenance
Trail construction or maintenance
Improved wildlife habitat
Livestock grazing
Other (please specify):
None of the above

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16.Which of the following will likely occur on your wooded land in
Maine in the next 5 years?
Check all that apply
Cut and/or remove trees for sale
Cut and/or remove trees for own use
Collect nontimber forest products, such as berries and ginseng
Reduce fire hazard
Controlled burn/prescribed fire
Eliminate or reduce invasive plants
Eliminate or reduce unwanted insects or diseases
Road construction or maintenance
Trail construction or maintenance
Improve wildlife habitat
Livestock grazing
Other (please specify):
None of the above
Don't know

The Future of Your Wooded Land
Instructions
26. How likely is it that you will sell or give away any of your wooded
land in Maine in the next 5 years?
Extremely
likely

Likely

Undecided

Unlikely

Extremely
unlikely

27. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following
statements.
Check one box for each item.

I want my wooded land to
stay wooded
I would sell my land if I was
offered a reasonable price
I know my wooded land
very well
I want to know more about
my wooded land
I have a strong emotional
attachment to my wooded land
I believe my wooded land
provides benefits to my
community

Concerns
Instructions
25. Please indicate your level of concern about each of the following
topics for your wooded land in Maine.
If you own one property, check one box for each item.
If you own more than one property in Maine, consider them all
and check one or more boxes for each item.

Air pollution
Climate change
Damage from animals
Development of nearby lands
Drought or lack of water
Damage or noise from
off-road vehicles
Government regulations
High property taxes
Invasive plants
Keeping land intact for future
generations
Misuse of wooded land, such as
vandalism or dumping
Trespassing or poaching
Unwanted insects or diseases
Water pollution
Wildfire

Draft

Wind or ice storms
Other
(Please
specify):

17. To encourage good woodland management, groups have created
green certification programs to recognize landowners who comply
with the groups’ standards. Examples include Tree Farm, Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC), and Sustainable Forestry Initiative
(SFI).
a. How familiar are you with green certification?
Extremely
familiar

Moderately
familiar

Somewhat
familiar

Slightly
familiar

Not at all
familiar

b. Is any of your wooded land in Maine currently green certified?
Yes
No
Don't know
18. Some state and local governments have programs that defer, reduce,
or eliminate property taxes for wooded land. In Maine, there are the
Tree Growth Tax Law and Open Space Tax Law programs.
a. How familiar are you with these programs?
Extremely
familiar

Moderately
familiar

Somewhat
familiar

Slightly
familiar

Not at all
familiar

b. Is any of your wooded land in Maine currently enrolled in
one of these programs or a similar one?
Yes

No

Don't know

19. Development rights for land can be sold or voluntarily given
away. This is usually in the form of a conservation easement.
a. How familiar are you with this concept?
Extremely
familiar

Moderately
familiar

Somewhat
familiar

Slightly
familiar

Not at all
familiar

b. Have development rights been sold or voluntarily given away on
any of your wooded land in Maine by either you or a previous
owner?
Yes
No
Don't know
c. If No or Don't know, how likely are you to do so in the next 5
years?
Extremely
likely

Extremely
Likely Undecided Unlikely unlikely

Not
applicable

20. Cost-share programs provide landowners with money to help them
establish or otherwise manage their wooded land. Examples include
the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, and
various state funded programs.
a. How familiar are you with cost-share programs?
Extremely
familiar

Moderately
familiar

Somewhat
familiar

Slightly
familiar

Not at all
familiar

b. In the past 5 years, have you used a cost-share program to
help you establish or manage your wooded land in Maine?
Yes

No

Don't know

21. Have you leased your wooded land in Maine (other than for
logging)?
Yes

No

If no, skip to question 22.
If yes, please answer a and b.

a. What leasing activities did they use it for?
Check all that apply.
Hunting
Recreation (other than hunting)
To graze/pasture livestock
Other (please specify):
b. Have any of these leasing activities occurred on your land in the
past 5 years?
Yes
No
22. In efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change, public programs
and private markets have been created that pay owners of wooded
land for capturing or sequestering carbon.
a. How familiar are you with carbon capture programs or markets?

Draft

Extremely
familiar

Moderately
familiar

Somewhat
familiar

Slightly
familiar

Not at all
familiar

b. Is any of your wooded land in Maine currently enrolled in
one of these carbon capture programs or markets?
Yes

No

Don't know

Recreation
on Your Wooded Land
Instructions
23. a. Who, with your permission, has hunted, hiked, or otherwise
recreated on your wooded land in Maine in the past 5 years?
Check all that apply.
Me and/or my husband or wife
My children
Other family members
Friends
Neighbors
The general public for free
The general public for a fee
Other (please specify):
If nobody, skip to question 24.
Nobody
b. How did you/they recreate?
Check all that apply.
Hunting
Fishing
Hiking/walking
Bicycling
Camping
Horseback riding
Skiing or snowshoeing
Off-road vehicles, such as ATVs or snowmobiles
Other (please specify):

24. Is any of your wooded land in Maine posted to restrict access
and/or use by the general public?
Yes

No