The Sustaining Family Forests Initiative

The Sustaining Family Forests Initiative is a collaboration organized to gain comprehensive knowledge about family forest owners in the United States. Members of the initiative include government agencies, forest industry companies, conservation organizations, certification systems, landowner groups, and universities. At a minimum, all of these groups agree on the importance of keeping forests as forests and good forest stewardship.

The basis of our work is to apply a social marketing approach—the use of commercial marketing techniques to affect positive social change—as a promising means by which to influence family forest owners to take steps to conserve and sustainably manage their land.

NEW report now available on landowner focus groups

Family Forest Owners: Insights into Stewardship, Values, and Intentions