ATTITUDES TOWARD THE MANAGEMENT OF NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOREST LAND

Management of the nation's forests has been widely criticized. Such cr iticisms stem, in part, from the widely held belief that owners and ma nagers of nonindustrial private forests (NIPFs) have a vested economic interest in the resource not shared by the general public. As a resul t, previous studies of NIPF management have assumed that landowners di ffer from the general public and hold utilitarian-oriented values towa rd the natural environment. Data collected in Pennsylvania, a state wi th one of the largest acreages of NIPFs, challenge this commonly held belief. This article presents evidence of common concerns held by NIPF landowners and the general public with respect to their attitudes tow ard forests and forest management policies. Moreover, these findings r eveal that sociodemographic characteristics, use of the forest, and ow nership status have little influence on attitudes toward management.