Summary of Nonindustrial Private Landowner Survey in Virginia

Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners own the majority of forestland in Virginia and play an important role in supplying timber to markets. Landowners are diverse in their management goals and do not always choose to harvest timber. The objectives of the survey include gathering characteristic information about NIPF landowners in the state and identifying factors related to their attitudes toward timber harvesting. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to 3,000 Virginia owners of at least ten acres of forestland. Attitudes towards harvesting timber captured in the questionnaire were used to predict landowners’ willingness to harvest based on descriptive variables such as the region within Virginia, size of forested tract owned, and size of total land holdings. Results from this study are being incorporated into wood supply models.