Use of the Internet to Promote Ecosystem-level Cooperation among Non-industrial Private Forest (NIPF) Owners
Large, adjoining tracts of forest land can be critical for wildlife migration, habitat protection, forest pest and pathogen management, and water quality conservation. Maintaining these broad tracts of non-industrial, private forest land on the northeastern landscape is challenging. Small ownership parcels, long-distance absentee ownership, and lack of communication among neighboring owners have inhibited landowners from considering the roles that their individual properties play in the broader landscape or ecosystem.
The ACORN (A CoOperative Resource Network) web site, with an NSRC pilot project encompassing two adjacent watersheds in southern Vermont, is designed to promote an ecosystem-based approach to land management for private owners. ACORN provides an information sharing opportunity among owners, resource managers, and others. Participating landowners can view their property as part of the larger landscape, “Ask a Forester” or chat with other landowners, and access forestry and local interest information.
ACORN’s creators found that about 80% of ACORN visitors are woodland owners, and half of them have never received any traditional information or advice about their land. Over a third of the site’s visitors have considered cooperation with neighbors as a result of ACORN, 4% claim they have made a land management decision after visiting ACORN, and almost half say they will return to ACORN. Future plans are to launch ACORN2 for adjacent watersheds in Massachusetts (http://www.massacorn.net/).
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