Values, Attitudes and Perceptions of Forestry Constituency Groups Relative to Sustainable Forestry in the South

View the project final report

• 2002 annual report

Commodities

• Additional Plants: ornamentals

Practices

• Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension, focus group, networking, participatory research, technical assistance
• Sustainable Communities: public participation

The 13 southern states were provided with the knowledge, our experiences, and the methodology necessary to implement a research project to determine values, attitudes, and perceptions of key constituency groups relative to sustainable forestry, forest industry, and forest certification. Individuals were contacted and six workshops conducted during 2003. Twenty-eight people from 12 states attended these workshops and information was mailed to Virginia. Each state now has the building blocks necessary to design and implement state-specific research projects. Twenty-seven of those attending the workshops completed an evaluation form (Appendix A) and indicated the workshops were useful while 20 said they were “likely” or “very likely” to initiate a similar research project.

The goal of this Research and Education Planning Project was to provide the 13 southern states with the knowledge, our experiences, and the methodology necessary to plan and design state or regional research projects to determine the values, attitudes, and perceptions of key constituency groups relative to sustainable forestry, forest industry, and forest certification. Several southern states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas initially indicated an interest in developing state-based or research and outreach efforts. Our project had the following objectives: 1) Determine the various constituency groups, stakeholders, and partners in each southern state interested in participating in this type of research project, 2) Conduct a south-wide meeting and then implement state-based workshop presentations for stakeholders and partners to provide the knowledge, our experiences, and the methodology necessary to promote these types of research projects, 3) Assess the commitment, resources, capabilities, and characteristics of various forestry community partners and others in this planning effort, 4) Plan and design state, multi-state, or multi-institutional studies for the South, and 5) Coordinate state-specific research and outreach efforts to develop a model program for the 13 states in the southern region.