Supporting Female and Non-Binary Forest Landowners in North Carolina: Is There a Role for Forest Cooperatives?

Abstract

Forest landownership and forestry practice in the United States have historically been male-dominated fields. Between 2006 and 2018, however, the percentage of female forest landowners in the US South nearly doubled as women both purchase and inherit land from family members. Gender and forest landownership remain understudied in the Appalachian region even though female forest landowners have reported that they often feel they lack skills or knowledge to manage their own forests confidently. A better understanding of female and non-binary forest owners' management objectives and factors affecting their success in achieving their objectives is needed, given the dominance of private ownership in the US South. Cooperative management across ownerships could offer a possible means of achieving landowner goals, combatting parcel fragmentation, and improving land retention. Working with ForestHer North Carolina, this project uses a mixed methods approach to investigate 1) female and non-binary forest landowner goals and priorities as reported in the USFS National Woodland Owner Survey and 2) potential efficacy of cooperative management through surveys, key informant interviews, and stakeholder interviews.