Parcels held by older or professionally employed 

 landowners were less likely to be used for recreation 

 (statistically significant at 2.7-percent and 12.9-percent 

 levels, respectively). Physical restrictions may limit 

 recreational use by older owners, while professionals may 

 have less leisure time or may be more interested in 

 developed recreational pursuits. 



Many other variables were examined but the estimated 

 correlations were not statistically discernible. Recreational 

 use was not correlated with the population density of the 

 surrounding community nor was it correlated with tenure of 

 ownership, retirement status, or an owner's income. 



Discussion 



Several owner characteristics were correlated with 

 recreational use of private woodland. Land held by more 

 highly educated landowners 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. Although trends 

 show increases in the education level of landowners, the 

 owners also are growing older as the baby-boom generation 

 ages. The low estimated elasticities indicate that changes in 

 the portion of forest land used for recreation, resulting from 

 shifts in the characteristics of the landowning population, 

 will come about slowly. 



Increased demand for outdoor recreation may motivate 

 certain types of individuals to purchase land. Understanding 

 the characteristics of these individuals provides insight into 

 a variety of forestry concerns. Studies have linked timber 

 harvesting, forest management, posting, and participation in 

 voluntary forestry programs with landowner characteristics 

 (Binkley 1981; Widmann and Birch 1988; Dennis 1989; 

 Dennis and Sendak, in press). For example, more highly 

 educated landowners were less likely to harvest timber and 

 more likely to post their land and participate in property tax 

 relief programs for forest land. This suggests that alternate 

 tax programs that encourage forest management and 

 discourage posting might be effective in mitigating potential 

 negative effects of changes in land ownership motivated by 

 increased demand for recreation. 



Literature Cited 



Aldrich, J. H.; Nelson, F. D. 1984. Linear probability, logit, 

 and probit models. [Quantitative applications in the social 

 sciences series]. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. 95 p. 



Binkley, C. S. 1981. Timber supply from nonindustrial 

 forests. Bull. No. 92. New Haven, CT: Yale University of 

 Forestry and Environmental Studies. 



Dennis, D. F. 1989. An economic analysis of harvest 

 behavior: integrating forest and ownership 

 characteristics. Forest Science. 35(4): 1088-1 104. 



Dennis, D. F.; Sendak, P. E. [In press] Analyzing the 

 effectiveness of Vermont's modified assessment 

 program for forest land. In: Schmithusen, Franz, ed. 

 Forestry legislation; Proceedings, 1990 International 

 Union of Forestry Research Organizations XIX World 

 Congress; 1990 August 5-11; Montreal, Quebec. Zurich: 

 Forstwissenschaftliche Beitrage. 



Frieswyk, T. S.; Malley, A. M. 1985. Forest statistics for 

 Vermont, 1974 and 1983. Resour. Bull. NE-87. 

 Broomall, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

 Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 102 p. 



Judge, G. G.; Hill, R. C.; Griffiths, W. E.; Lutkepohl, H.; Lee, 

 T. 1982. Introduction to the theory and practice of 

 econometrics. New York: Wiley. 839 p. 



U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 1989. An 

 analysis of the outdoor recreation and wilderness 

 situation in the United States: 1989-2040. Washington, 

 DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 



Widmann, R. H.; Birch, T. W. 1988. Forest-land owners of 

 Vermont— 1983. Resour. Bull. NE-102. Broomall, PA: 

 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

 Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 89 p. 



DONALD F. DENNIS is an economist, Northeastern Forest 

 Experiment Station, Burlington, Vermont 05402. 



MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED FOR PUBLICATION 26 SEPTEMBER 1990 



Northeastern Forest Experiment Station 

 5 Radnor Corporate Center 

 100 Matsonford Road, Suite 200 

 P.O. Box 6775 

 Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087 



November 1990 



AU. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1990/548-088/20006 



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