Owner Intentions, Previous Harvests, and Future Timber Yield on Fifty Working Nonindustrial Private Forestlands in New York State

Harvesting on nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) has increased dramatically in recent years, and projections suggest the trend will continue. Working NIPFs in New York State are not immune to this pressure. Managing these stands to supply a sustained yield of high-quality sawtimber into the future is necessary if working NIPFs are to avoid significant timber stock depletion. In large part, this outcome depends on the intentions of owners and productive potential of their stands. Combining these aspects helps assess whether and how sustained-yield management can be achieved. To demonstrate, we present a case study that used Ajzen's (2005) theory of planned behavior to explain sustained-yield management intentions and Fajvan et al.'s (1998) silviculture classification chart to describe potential yield on 50 recently harvested NIPFs in New York. Predictors of an owner's intention were modeled, and intentions and silviculture classifications were cross-tabulated. Nearly all owners plan to manage for a sustained yield of sawtimber, but previous cutting will force most to regenerate or convert to uneven-age management to achieve this goal.