Resource information
Privately owned forest lands contribute significant amounts of land for wood supply and recreational opportunities in various parts of Canada including areas within Ontario. The decisions that landowners make about permitting various activities on their lands can impact resource managers and current and potential users of forested environments. In this study, the willingness of Ontario's non-industrial private forest landowners to conduct forest harvesting and to permit hunting and wildlife recreational opportunities is examined. The study explores whether the willingness of landowners with large-sized landholdings (i.e., minimum 20 ha) is influenced by characteristics that describe the private lands and the owners of these private lands. The results show that trends towards land parcelization, afforestation and loss of agricultural lands may impact the availability of lands for forest harvesting and hunting. The models also suggest that northern Ontario landowners may make different decisions about conducting forest harvesting or permitting hunting on their lands than do southern Ontario landowners.