Under the 2019 Climate Act, New York State has ambitious, mandatory greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, including greater carbon sequestration in the state’s forests. With most NYS forestland owned by private landowners, engaging landowners in forest carbon management will be necessary to meet the targets. However, the lack of information on landowner attitudes and engagement in forest carbon management programs, particularly among disadvantaged communities, remains a serious gap when developing such programs. We aim to understand why private, nonindustrial landowners in the Adirondack-North Country region do or do not engage in existing forest management programs (e.g., RegenerateNY, 480a tax program) and what would be required for them to engage in programs being developed (e.g., carbon certification, tax incentives). In a survey of landowners in the ANC region, with particular attention to disadvantaged communities, we will explore reasons for owning land, previous and planned forest management, awareness of forest management programs, engagement in forest management programs and reasons for (non)engagement, interest in potential future programs, and demographics. In subsequent focus groups, we will also explore strategies to increase willingness to participate, including the effectiveness of different communication strategies, such as the use of realistic, immersive landscape visualizations of future forest conditions. The primary product will be a set of guidelines for program administrators seeking to engage a much broader range of landowners in forest carbon management, including communication guidelines indicating where landowners are getting information and how programs can be framed to improve willingness to participate, particularly among disadvantaged groups

Publications:

Cross, A, E Palmieri, D Kloster. (2025). New York State family forest owners’ engagement in forest-based climate solutions. Proceedings of the 2025 Northern Hardwood Conference.

Kloster, D, A Cross, E Palmieri. (2025). New York State family forest owners’ engagement in forest-based climate solutions. 2025 Northern Hardwoods Conference, Syracuse, NY.

Palmieri, E, D Kloster. (2025). Drivers and Barriers of Adirondack Family Forest Owners’ Participation in Forest Management Programs. 2025 Society of American Foresters Annual Meeting, Hartford, CT.

Student Involvement:

Elysia Palmieri, PhD