By David Kittredge

Many landscapes in the eastern US are dominated by thousands of private family and individual ownership. Most private owners are "unengaged" and not participants in customary programs that promote conservation. They make reactive, uninformed decisions about the future of their land. Many landowners are absentee, and average ownership size is small (roughly 20-50 acres). Ecosystem services (e.g.,water supply, wildlife habitat, nutrient cycling, recreation opportunities,scenic landscapes for tourism) depend on fully functioning patterns and processes that occur across hundreds or thousands of individual property boundary lines. Previous work suggests many of these so-called unengaged landowners are amenable to thinking at a scale broader than their individual  properties. 

Can we build an internet tool to inspire communication between owners at broader ecosystem scales, and provide a source of locally relevant information to improve decision-making?   Will that tool be adopted, especially by unengaged owners not previously "reached" or involved with professional advice?

History:

We started by identifying two adjacent watersheds dominated by private ownership -  the Westfield and Deerfield. More than 75% of the forest ecosystems in this region are owned by over 15,000 private families and individuals. We then acquired baseline data on ownerships, land use, and extent of "engaged" owners with management plans. We held focus groups to meet landowners and assess potential interest and elements of a website, and we surveyed landowners in target watersheds to establish initial conditions, attitudes, and extent of internet use.

Based on what we learned, we designed, built, and tested an initial web site, including two unique features:serving of spatial information via map server and a threaded discussion component to foster exchange of information between owners. The initial site launched in October 2006. Shortly thereafter, the site was redesigned using a Content Management System (CMS) that facilitates editing of content, consistency, and was relaunched in April 2008.

We know MassACORN will not be successful if people cannot find it. So we pursued an ongoing marketing campaign,including: direct mail post cards to owners; ads in local papers; posters in local places; direct mail to town clerks, assessors, other local officials; post-it notes and calendars for local officials and local conservation volunteers. We also held interim focus groups with landowners to demonstrate the site, and obtain live feedback.

We've learned that not only does the suite need marketing or promotion, it also needs monthly maintenance, to give it fresh, relevant content to appeal to people. We provide new highlight stories, photos, poetry, and email messages out to those who have enrolled.

Results:

We monitor the site, and determine the following visitation:

The single most popular page (by percentage of page views) after the home page itself is the threaded discussion section, where people post questions and feedback. 

136 people (1.8%  of landowners in MassACORN land)  have registered to participate in the threaded discussion, which is apparently low. On the other hand for the 15-month period of June 2008 through September 2009, the second most visited page on the site was the threaded discussion (i.e., 6.4% of all page views on the site during this period; 2,533 views of the threaded discussion page and content). So although 136 people have  registered to participate, and there have been only 199 individual posts, there have been far more views. The top five viewed topics within the threaded discussion include:

Old field habitat management, How do I find my neighbors?, Mountain lion, Emerald Ash borer information, Find a good forester

Participation in the site is also expressed through signing up to be notified by email of the monthly updates. 241 people have signed up for the monthly newsletter, representing a potential of  3.2% of the 7,500ownerships in acorn land > 10 acres.

We evaluate the site through monitoring its usage, as well as participation in an online web survey on the site itself. Total survey response between 4 April 2008 and 26 October 2009=  142; out of 9,847 total visits during this time, this equates to a survey of convenience response rate of 1.4%

Online survey says:

9.8% were not owners, leaving 90.2% of respondents who were owners of land.

77% are owners of land in the MassAcorn area; the rest from elsewhere in New England (18%), or outside of New England (5%).

These are not new landowners: 43% of respondents have owned their land for more than 20 years.Two thirds have owned their land for 10 years or more. 17% have owned their land for 5 years or less.

These are not just little landowners; 82% own 10 acres or more;  41% own 50 or more acres.

Respondent motivations are typical and representative of landowners: 30% rank aesthetics highly; 25% cite privacy as their highest priority for ownership; 23% cite protecting nature as their number one priority; only 11% cite income from timber as their highest priority.

Most respondents live on their land (69%); only 6% live more than 100 miles from it.

Roughly one third of respondents are female.

More than two thirds of respondents (69%) are older than 50 years of age;   19% are greater than 66 years of age.

Importantly, 46% of respondents have had no contact with a forester or participated in any management planning program, and are thus "unengaged".   

Given an opportunity to rate the overall site, 70% of respondents report finding it interesting, and 23% report they will return.

When asked: "Have you thought about cooperating with other landowners as a result of ACORN?", 44% report yes.

When asked: "Have you made an management decision for your woodland as a result of ACORN?", only 11% reported yes.

Marketing effectiveness:

Direct mail postcards to landowners, and word-of-mouth are the two most effective means of marketing.

Conclusions:

Marketing is essential. Direct mail postcards to landowners, and word-of-mouth are the two most effective means of marketing. We can't depend on people finding the site without marketing.

Acorn succeeded in attracting a significant segment of unengaged owners, not heretofore reached.

Unengaged landowners without a management plan need information when they face a decision. This makes the  internet a good medium, easily accessible, especially for absentee owners who perhaps cannot rely on local conservation groups, contacts, neighbors, or acquaintances.

We have developed a subset of repeat visitors who have enrolled in monthly email message from us, improving our ability to contact.

People like threaded discussion, but more to "see" or "observe" what people think, rather than to actively participate themselves.

Does ACORN inspire cooperation?   Probably too early to tell,  though 44% of respondents report they consider it.

ACORN is an investment in social capital, fostering weak tie connections between landowners that actually may not otherwise happen. Social network analysis suggests weak ties between acquaintances  can be more powerful or influential than closer ties when it comes to making decisions.