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The Forest Stewardship Program is a federal program administered
by state forestry agencies and is designed to assist private forest landowners
meet personal land management goals while providing environmental, economic and
social public benefits. Forest stewardship enables the private landowner to
maximize individual enjoyment and pride in land ownership while maintaining its
value for future generations. Any non-industrial, private forest
landowner is eligible to participate in the program, unless the State has
established minimum acreage requirements. Forest stewards are provided an
opportunity to learn more about forest resource management and obtain technical,
multiple resource assistance, can be recognized for their stewardship efforts,
promoting sustainability and setting an example for other landowners and the
public, and receive a management plan which may, depending on the State, reduce
tax liability. US
Forest Service National Homepage for the FSP. Forest
Service Southern Region's FSP Website. Report
Evaluating the FSP: This is a large report that covers a survey showing a
high level of participant satisfaction with the FSP program. From late
July 1998 through May 1999, a random sample of 1,238 nonindustrial private
forest land (NIPF) owners with approved multiple resource Forest Stewardship
Plans were surveyed to determine if this program is meeting its Congressional
mandate of promoting long-term stewardship on NIPF ownerships. It was found that
the majority of program participants had never before received professional
assistance in managing their lands; 81 percent had begun to implement their
plans; more than one half were undertaking practices that were new to them; and
a majority of owners had adopted and were implementing multi-purpose practices.
Over 90 percent of the participants found their plans easy or very easy to
understand, and two-thirds said they would "strongly recommend" FSP to
other landowners. Forest plans alone fostered improvements in stewardship
behavior; but regression analysis showed that owners were significantly more
likely to start to implement their plans, to manage for multiple resource
outputs, and to adopt new practices when they also received either follow up
planning assistance or cost sharing for practice installation. The results were
generally very consistent across four study regions: the North, South, Great
Plains and Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Coast states.
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