| Preferential property tax treatment of forested land is part of legislative policy in all 50 states. Research has been conducted on both structure and effectiveness of other states' preferential forest tax programs. However, West Virginia's Managed Timberland Program, in effect since 1991, has not been scrutinized at the level of other states' programs. West Virginia's Managed Timberland is designed to promote retention of private forest land in forested use. In West Virginia, private forest land owners hold 9.7 million acres of forest land, but Managed Timberland enrolled acres have remained at approximately 2 million acres since 1998. This lack of enrollment may be a cause for concern regarding the success and benefits of the program.;This study analyzes Managed Timberland participant and non-participant characteristics to identify factors that influence the nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowner choice to participate in the Managed Timberland Program and to propose strategies for improving the program. The data for this study were collected from a mail survey conducted in the fall of 2008 on West Virginia forest landowners. The survey resulted in 939 usable responses; a 36% response rate.;The first analysis examined differences between Managed Timberland Program participants and non-participants. The majority of participants were: professional with higher incomes, living outside the county where their managed timberland was located, and more likely to have been purchased rather than inherited or acquired as a gift. In addition lands enrolled tended to be of larger size. Results suggest that low enrollment may be attributable to lack of knowledge, poor administration, and failure to target landowner beliefs. However, landowners currently enrolled are satisfied with the program.;The second analysis employed a logistic regression to examine factors that affect a landowner's decision to enroll in Managed Timberland. The independent variables examined were landowner characteristics (age, income, education), property characteristics (years owned, method of acquisition, place of residence, tract size, county), and management characteristics (primary reason for ownership, future plans, potential benefits). Results showed that landowner, property, and management characteristics were influential factors in the decision to enroll in the Managed Timberland Program. Program outreach may have only reached these certain types of landowners. The program may benefit from expanding efforts toward landowner education. |
