2nd National Extension Nat Res Conference-Abstract 26

Stephen H. Broderick, University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System, 139 Wolf Den Road, Brooklyn, CT 06234; 860.774.9600; sbroderi@canr.uconn.edu; C.Benjamin Tyson, Communication Sciences Department, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT; Thomas E. Worthley and Leslie M. Kane, University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System, 1066 Saybrook Road, Box 70, Haddam, CT 06438

From 1995 to 1999, a coalition of public and private organizations cooperated on a multi-faceted outreach campaign in a small pilot watershed. The campaign was one part of a broader effort that included a watershed scale resource inventory, land use planning, and natural resource protection efforts in the 40,000-acre Eightmile River watershed. The campaign goals included increasing NIPF owners? knowledge of their importance in the watershed, attitudes towards stewardship planning, knowledge of the steps involved in stewardship planning, and adoption of stewardship planning behaviors. The opportunity to develop cost-shared forest stewardship plans through the Stewardship Incentive Program was a major campaign message. The campaign included the development and direct mailing of several watershed-specific outreach tools, including a video and stewardship planning manual. It also included semi-annual field tours in the watershed and the regular use of local news media.

Watershed NIPF owners were re-surveyed in the spring of 1999 to measure the campaign?s progress towards goals. A phone survey of non-respondents was also conducted, along with a focus group interview of respondents. Results showed that NIPF owners? use of stewardship informational sources doubled during the campaign. The campaign was successful in creating awareness of the watershed project, and of the importance of NIPF owners and their stewardship practices to the greater watershed community and environmental health.

Results relating to campaign behavior goals were mixed. Fifteen percent of the respondents completed a forest inventory with professional forestry assistance during the campaign period; an additional 28% reported completing a basic inventory on their own. Eight percent developed formal written stewardship plans during the campaign; an additional 26% reported having developed an informal plan on their own. These numbers exceed statewide averages but fell short of campaign goals. Apparently, despite the campaign?s efforts, the great majority of NIPF owners continue to believe that the time, effort, and costs of formal stewardship plans prepared by private foresters exceed their benefits, even when significant cost-sharing is available.

This pilot project involved a geographically focused, intensive outreach campaign for NIPF owners, including locally customized outreach materials. The results suggest that such campaigns can change attitudes, increase knowledge levels, and induce some stewardship planning behaviors. The campaign was relatively unsuccessful, however, in promoting the adoption of formal cost-shared stewardship plans. The pilot project is now being replicated in a second Connecticut watershed. Improvements to campaign materials, timing, and other parameters will be made based on knowledge gained from the pilot project. Results of this second campaign will provide additional insight into the percentages of NIPF owners who, given the level of available professional forestry education and assistance in most regions, we can expect can be persuaded to pay for formal stewardship plans.