United States 

 Department of 

 Agriculture 



Forest Service 



Northeastern Forest 

 Experiment Station 



Research Note NE-341 



4 



Factors Influencing 

 Recreational Use of 

 Private Woodland, 



Donald F. Dennis 



CO 



Abstract 



Probit analysis was used to estimate relationships between 

 the probability that forest land was used for recreation and 

 characteristics of the forest, owner, and surrounding 

 community. Land held by owners with more formal 

 education or those reared in large cities was more likely to 

 be used for recreation while the opposite was true for land 

 held by older owners. Correlations are drawn with other 

 studies and policy implications are discussed briefly. 



The recent sale of nearly 1 million acres of forest land in 

 northern Vermont and New Hampshire by Diamond 

 International 1 focused attention on the public benefits 

 (externalities) associated with large, undeveloped parcels. 

 Suddenly, fears emerged that large blocks of forest land, 

 traditionally available for recreational use, might be 

 developed or closed to the public. Fears of a decreasing 

 land base available for recreation are exacerbated by 

 parceling and by the addition of residences in forested 

 areas. 



Recreational use is expected to become an increasingly 

 important reason for owning forest land as regional 

 demands for outdoor recreational opportunities grow and 

 intensity of use increases on public lands (USDA Forest 



1 The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for 

 reader information and does not imply endorsement by the 

 U.S Department of Agriculture of any product or service. 



Service 1989). This is particularly true in the highly 

 populated Northeast. 



This study identifies landowner characteristics associated 

 with recreational use of nonindustrial forest land. The study 

 also examines the influence of forest characteristics, such 

 as species composition and stand volume, and the 

 population density of the surrounding community, on 

 whether land is used for recreation. The results are useful in 

 assessing the effect of trends in landowner characteristics 

 on the recreational use of private woodland, and will aid in 

 developing strategies for dealing with greater demands for 

 outdoor recreation. Since landowners who use their land for 

 recreation may manage differently, these results may 

 provide insight into a variety of forestry concerns. 



Data and Methods 



Information on forest and owner characteristics was 

 collected by the U.S. Forest Service during its periodic 

 survey of Vermont in 1983. (See Frieswyk and Malley 1985 

 and Widmann. and Birch 1988 for a detailed discussion of 

 survey procedures.) Detailed forest characteristics were 

 obtained for a sample of privately owned forest plots, and a 

 questionnaire was sent to the owner of each plot. These 

 data included species composition, elevation, proximity to a 

 maintained road, parcel size, and many owner characteristics, 

 such as, age, education level, occupation, tenure of 

 ownership, and whether the land was used for any of a 

 variety of recreational pursuits (hunting, hiking, camping, 

 winter sports). Observations for 258 individually owned 



1 



