Harvard Forest Data Archive

HF326

Survey of Family Forest Owners Regarding Invasive Insects in the Connecticut River Watershed 2017

Related Publications

Data

• hf326-01: survey results (preview)
• hf326-02: New England woodland owner survey
• hf326-03: table 1

Overview

• Lead: Marla Markowski-Lindsay, Brett Butler, David Kittredge, Jonathan Thompson
• Investigators: Mark Borsuk, Matthew Duveneck, Meghan MacLean, Jonathan Holt, Danelle Laflower, Luca Morreale, David Orwig, Jody Simoes
• Contact: Information Manager
• Start date: 2017
• End date: 2017
• Status: complete
• Location: New England
• Latitude: +41.3 to +45.3 degrees
• Longitude: -73.2 to -71.1 degrees
• Elevation: 0 to 1917 meter
• Datum: WGS84
• Taxa: Adelges tsugae (hemlock woolly adelgid), Agrilus planipennis (emerald ash borer), Anoplophora glabripennis (Asian longhorned beetle)
• Release date: 2023
• Language: English
• EML file: knb-lter-hfr.326.4
• DOI: digital object identifier
• EDI: data package
• DataONE: data package
• Related links:
• Study type: short-term measurement, modeling
• Research topic: conservation and management; invasive plants, pests and pathogens; regional studies
• LTER core area: disturbance patterns, population studies, land use and land cover change, human-environment interactions
• Keywords: invasive species, land use, management, surveys, timber harvest, watersheds
• Abstract:

  Forest insects have significant direct impacts on forest ecosystems; they are also generating new risks, uncertainties, and opportunities for forest landowners. Our research objective is to understand: (1) whether and how insect infestations are shifting land-use regimes in New England by altering human decision-making, (2) how these changes to human decisions may affect regional forest ecosystems and the provisioning of select ecosystem services, and (3) how subsequent changes to forest ecosystems, in turn, affect landowners.

  The dataset is a result of gathering information from a random sample of family forest owners (FFOs) in the Connecticut River Watershed; FFOs own approximately half of the private forestland in the region. We collected information on characteristics and perceptions of these FFOs as well as their intentions for their land if faced with the presence or threat of invasive forest insects. To better understand FFO intentions, contingent behavior questions populate the conjoint analysis format of the questionnaire. These are the foundational data that form our further efforts to simulate the impacts of insect dynamics and landowner behavior on regional forest ecosystems, including forest carbon stores, forest structure and composition, and timber yields. One of our overarching hypotheses is that forest land-use change in response to insects will have greater near-term ecological consequences than climate change or insects by themselves.

• Methods:

  Survey Instrument

  We developed a survey instrument to understand how family forest owners perceive forest insect pests and how those perceptions influence their land use and land management decisions in response imminent or ongoing insect infestations. The survey instrument contains questions related to: property ownership, forest management objectives, forest management activities, hypothetical forest insect invasion scenarios, perceptions about forest insect pests and management responses, forest insect pest awareness, knowledge and experience, and demographic questions.

  To assess likely FFO response to forest insect pests, we constructed a series of contingent behavior questions based on four key forest insect pest attributes at varying levels: (i) arrival time, how virulent or damaging the forest insect pest is, including (ii) tree mortality percentage and (iii) time until 100% tree mortality, and (iv) value of timber loss. Table 1, Conjoint analysis scenarios of forest insect pest attributes by survey version, is attached as file hf326-03-table1.pdf. We selected these attributes to reflect characteristics of the main forest insect pests in the northeast. Also attached is one version of the survey, hf326-02-survey.pdf.

  Study Area

  Our study area consists of the forests of the Connecticut River Valley watershed in the northeastern United States, a region which has been the focus of intensive ecological and social studies that provide a solid foundation and leveraged resources, including models, proven methods, and data.

  Sample Selection

  Samples were drawn from available electronic tax records “Grand Lists” (NH and VT) and state geospatial resources (MA and CT). A stratified random sample of landowners were sampled within 6 regions comprising the study area (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Northern and Southern New Hampshire, Northern and Southern Vermont) owning fewer than or equal to 49 acres and more than or equal to 50 acres.

  Survey Administration

  We followed a modified, four-wave Dillman, Smyth and Christian (2014) total design method. The four-wave mailing was sent over a 5-week period. The survey was mailed to 2,000 randomly selected family forest owners in the Connecticut River Valley watershed owning 10 or more acres.

  The initial, pre-notice postcard was mailed on June 16, 2017. The initial survey package (cover letter, survey instrument, BRE) was mailed on June 23, 2017. The thank you / reminder postcards were sent on June 30, 2017. A final survey package was mailed on July 14, 2017. The survey cooperation rate was 37% (n = 696). Based on analysis of follow-up telephone calls, we detected no evidence of nonresponse biases. We imputed item nonresponse values using a random forests approach (sensu Stekhoven and Buhlmann, 2012).

• Organization: Harvard Forest. 324 North Main Street, Petersham, MA 01366, USA. Phone (978) 724-3302. Fax (978) 724-3595.

• Project: The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts. (ROR).

• Funding: National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210.

• Use: This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.

• License: Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal (CC0-1.0)

• Citation: Markowski-Lindsay M, Butler B, Kittredge D, Thompson J. 2023. Survey of Family Forest Owners Regarding Invasive Insects in the Connecticut River Watershed 2017. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF326 (v.4). Environmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/ce45079348f127ea36c9d13360ff93c5.

Detailed Metadata

hf326-01: survey results

1. own.tenure: In what year did you personally acquire this land?
2. own.residence: How far do you live from the woodland you own at that location?
   • <1 mile: less than 1 mile
   • 1-20 miles: 1-20 miles
   • 20-50 miles: 20-50 miles
   • 50+ miles: more than 50 miles
3. mgt.plan: A management or stewardship plan may be written in order to help a landowner meet their goals for their woodland. Do you have a written management or stewardship plan for any of your woodland?
   • Yes: yes
   • No: no
   • Don't know: don't know
4. cut.trees: Have trees ever been cut or removed from your woodland for commercial purposes (e.g. for sale)?
   • Yes: yes
   • No: no
   • Don't know: don't know
5. cut.trees.forester: If "Yes", was a professional forester used to plan, mark, contract or oversee any of these cuts?
   • Yes: yes
   • No: no
   • Don't know: don't know
6. advice.forester: Have you ever gotten advice about the care, management or protection of your woodland from a consulting forester or another professional?
   • Yes: yes
   • No: no
   • Don't know: don't know
7. obj.bea: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? To enjoy beauty or scenery
   • Not important: not important
   • Of little importance: of little importance
   • Moderately important: moderately important
   • Important: important
   • Very important: very important
8. obj.nat: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? To protect nature or biological diversity
   • Not important: not important
   • Of little importance: of little importance
   • Moderately important: moderately important
   • Important: important
   • Very important: very important
9. obj.wil: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? To protect or improve wildlife habitat
   • Not important: not important
   • Of little importance: of little importance
   • Moderately important: moderately important
   • Important: important
   • Very important: very important
10. obj.inv: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? For land investment
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
11. obj.pri: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? For privacy
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
12. obj.heirs: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? To pass land on to my children or other heirs
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
13. obj.fire: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? For firewood
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
14. obj.tim: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? For timber products such as logs or pulpwood
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
15. obj.ntfp: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? For nontimber forest products such as berries or maple syrup
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
16. obj.hunt: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? For hunting
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
17. obj.rec: How important are the following as reasons for why you currently own this woodland? For recreation, other than hunting
    • Not important: not important
    • Of little importance: of little importance
    • Moderately important: moderately important
    • Important: important
    • Very important: very important
18. tran.fut: How likely is it that you will sell or give away any of this woodland in the next 5 years?
    • Extremely unlikely: extremely unlikely
    • Unlikely: unlikely
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Likely: likely
    • Extremely likely: extremely likely
19. scenario.1.cut: If this scenario were true would this cause you or someone you hire to cut or remove trees targeted by this insect?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
20. scenario.1.cut.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 9?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
21. scenario.1.sell: If this scenario were true would this cause you to sell this woodland?
    • No: no
    • Yes: yes
22. scenario.1.sell.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 11?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
23. scenario.2.cut: If this scenario were true would this cause you or someone you hire to cut or remove trees targeted by this insect?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
24. scenario.2.cut.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 13?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
25. scenario.2.sell: If this scenario were true would this cause you to sell this woodland?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
26. scenario.2.sell.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 15?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
27. scenario.3.cut: If this scenario were true would this cause you or someone you hire to cut or remove trees targeted by this insect?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
28. scenario.3.cut.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 17?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
29. scenario.3.sell: If this scenario were true would this cause you to sell this woodland?
    • No: no
    • Yes: yes
30. scenario.3.sell.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 19?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
31. scenario.4.cut: If this scenario were true would this cause you or someone you hire to cut or remove trees targeted by this insect?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
32. scenario.4.cut.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 21?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
33. scenario.4.sell: If this scenario were true would this cause you to sell this woodland?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
34. scenario.4.sell.cert: How certain are you about your Yes or No answer to Question 23?
    • Very uncertain: very uncertain
    • Uncertain: uncertain
    • Neutral: neutral
    • Certain: certain
    • Very certain: very certain
35. tpb.intention.global: If this last scenario were true which of the following best reflects how you would respond?
    • Before arrival: cut or remove trees before the insects arrive
    • After Arrival: cut or remove trees after the insects have arrived
    • Before or after arrival: cut or remove trees, but not sure when
    • No: do not cut or remove trees
36. tpb.att.1: Cutting or removing trees infested by these insects is a good thing to do.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
37. tpb.att.2: Cutting or removing trees infested by these insects improves the health of the woods.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
38. tpb.norm.1: I think most people who are important to me would think trees infested by these insects should be cut or removed from my woodland.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
39. tpb.norm.2: I think other landowners who I most respect would cut or remove trees infested by these insects from their woodland.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
40. tpb.control.1: It would be easy to have trees infested by these insects cut or removed.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
41. tpb.control.2: It would be expensive to cut or remove trees infested by these insects.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
42. tpb.risk: These insects are a threat to the trees on my woodland.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
43. tpb.control.3: Finding help or advice about woodland insects is difficult.
    • Strongly disagree: strongly disagree
    • Disagree: disagree
    • Undecided: undecided
    • Agree: agree
    • Strongly agree: strongly agree
44. pai.hwa.aware: How much would you say you know about the following woodland insect species? Hemlock wooly adelgid
    • Never heard of: never heard of
    • Very little: very little
    • Some: some
    • Quite a lot: quite a lot
    • A great deal: a great deal
45. pai.alb.aware: How much would you say you know about the following woodland insect species? Asian longhorn beetle
    • Never heard of: never heard of
    • Very little: very little
    • Some: some
    • Quite a lot: quite a lot
    • A great deal: a great deal
46. pai.eab.aware: How much would you say you know about the following woodland insect species? Emerald Ash borer
    • Never heard of: never heard of
    • Very little: very little
    • Some: some
    • Quite a lot: quite a lot
    • A great deal: a great deal
47. pai.hwa.know: Please indicate whether the following statements are true or false by checking True or False. If you do not know, check Don't Know: Hemlock wooly adelgid can be identified by the presence of a white substance.
    • TRUE: true
    • FALSE: false
    • Don't know: don't know
48. pai.alb.know: Please indicate whether the following statements are true or false by checking True or False. If you do not know, check Don't Know: Asian longhorn beetles feed on many types of trees.
    • TRUE: true
    • FALSE: false
    • Don't know: don't know
49. pai.eab.know: Please indicate whether the following statements are true or false by checking True or False. If you do not know, check Don't Know: Adult Emerald Ash borers cannot fly.
    • TRUE: true
    • FALSE: false
    • Don't know: don't know
50. pai.hwa.exp.had: Do you currently have or have you ever had Hemlock woolly adelgid on your woodland?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
    • Don't know: don't know
51. pai.hwa.exp.cut: Have you or someone you've hired ever cut or removed trees on your woodland because of Hemlock woolly adelgid?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
    • Don't know: don't know
52. pai.alb.exp.had: Do you currently have or have you ever had Asian longhorn beetle on your woodland?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
    • Don't know: don't know
53. pai.alb.exp.cut: Have you or someone you have hired ever cut or removed trees on your woodland because of Asian longhorn beetle?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
    • Don't know: don't know
54. pai.eab.exp.had: Do you currently have or have you ever had Emerald Ash borer on your woodland?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
    • Don't know: don't know
55. pai.eab.exp.cut: Have you or someone you've hired ever cut or removed trees on your woodland because of Emerald Ash borer?
    • Yes: yes
    • No: no
    • Don't know: don't know
56. num.own: How many people are part of your ownership including you? (unit: number / missing value: NA)
57. age.oldest.own: What is the age of the oldest owner and youngest owner? Oldest owner (unit: number / missing value: NA)
58. age.young.own: What is the age of the oldest owner and youngest owner? Youngest owner (unit: number / missing value: NA)
59. own.age: What is your age? (unit: number / missing value: NA)
60. own.gender: What is your gender?
    • Female: female
    • Male: male
61. own.edu: What is the highest degree or level of schooling you have completed?
    • Less than 12th grade: less than 12th grade
    • High school or GED: High school or GED
    • Some college: some college
    • Associates degree: Associates degree
    • Bachelors degree: Bachelors degree
    • Advanced degree: advanced degree
62. own.inc.wood: On average what percentage of your households annual income comes from the woodland that you own? (unit: dimensionless / missing value: NA)
63. own.income: What is your households annual income?
    • <$25k: less than $25,000
    • $25k-$49k: $25,000-$49,999
    • $50k-$99k: $50,000-$99,999
    • $100k-$199k: $100,000-$199,999
    • $200k+: over $200,000
64. survey.version: survey version (1-6)
65. fifty.acres: fifty acres
    • >=50: fewer than or equal to 50 acres
    • <50: more than 50 acres
66. weight: Sampling weight. CIPHER survey analyses should incorporate weights to account for the stratified sample design. The weights, w(s), were calculated as a function of the population size, N(s), and number of respondents, n(r,s), is each stratum, i.e., w(s) = N(s)/n(r,s). (unit: dimensionless / missing value: NA)

hf326-02: New England woodland owner survey

• Compression: none
• Format: pdf
• Type: document

hf326-03: table 1

• Compression: none
• Format: pdf
• Type: document