Land Use Change in the Lower Penobscot Watershed: Implications for Public Recreation Access
Principal Investigator: Jessica E. Leahy, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine
Graduate Student: Gretchen Heldmann, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine
Stakeholders & Other Partners
- Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine (SWOAM)
- Town of Hampden
Final project summary (12/2008):
Public use of private land for hunting, fishing, non-motorized and motorized recreation is part of Maine’s heritage and an essential part of the state economy. Only six percent of the land in Maine is publicly owned. Consequently, much of the over $1.2 billion contributed annually by recreation and tourism to the state economy occurs on private land (Field, 2003). The USDA Forest Service’s Forests on the Edge report listed the top fifteen watersheds at risk of losing forest cover to residential development, and three are in Maine (Stein et al, 2005). A report prepared for the state of Maine by the Brookings Institute identified key issues for Maine, one of which was the battle between development and keeping Maine’s beautiful natural areas (Brookings, 2006). The issue of sustainable development is upon us, and further research is needed to identify how development pressure and other issues will impact public recreation access to private lands in Maine. This study took the top-rated watershed in the Forests on the Edge report (the Lower Penobscot Watershed), chose organized and unorganized territories as sample areas, and conducted a mail survey of over 1,300 unique landowners with a total of 2,500 unique parcels that represented nearly 750,000 acres. The questionnaire consisted of questions that attempted to ascertain landowner opinions about four main types of recreation: hunting, ATV riding, snowmobiling, and hiking/walking. There were also questions included in the survey that ascertained landowners’ overall recreation access policies and knowledge of landowner liability laws. The purpose of the survey was to assess current public recreation access on private land and to increase understanding of their decision-making processes regarding recreation access. The results indicate that landowners restrict access for each activity based on the specific activity and not simply whether it is motorized or non-motorized. ATV riding was more restricted than any of the other activities, and there was no significant difference between resident and non-resident posting policies.
Resources
Recreation on private forest lands: A resource for landowners
