Landowners in Massachusetts come from diverse backgrounds and have diverse interests. But what many of you share is a similar goal; that is, to keep your land. With the rising cost of property taxes, health care, and education, and with the added challenge of the troubled economy, many landowners are struggling to find ways to hold onto their land.

Some programs, such as the USDA’s Forest Stewardship Program and Massachusetts’ current use tax programs (Chapters 61, 61A, and 61B), have been around for decades and provide landowners with different money saving options that can help ease the financial burden of owning and managing land. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are now studying some new or potential programs to see if they have the potential to generate income for landowners or if they might attract landowners who previously have not enrolled their land in other programs.

Two potential non-traditional sources of income for woodland owners have been gaining attention in recent years with growing concerns about climate change and America’s dependence on non-renewable sources of energy. Because trees store carbon, an important “greenhouse” gas, some see the potential of forests for carbon sequestration and are investigating possibilities for paying woodland owners for the carbon their forests store. Others look to trees as a renewable resource, which, if managed and harvested properly, could provide biomass to generate energy.

As part of the research UMass is conducting into carbon sequestration and biomass production in family forests in Massachusetts, focus groups and surveys have been conducted in order to gauge landowners’ interest in, concerns with, and understanding of the different possibilities. The data from the surveys are not yet available; however focus groups have revealed some interesting information.

In western Massachusetts, where there has already been debate over a potential biomass plant in Greenfield, focus groups revealed concern about the effects of harvesting for biomass on their forests. In order for landowners to produce biomass on their land, most seem to agree on the need for very detailed information regarding how it would be done, how much would be harvested, and who would benefit from the energy it produced (schools, local communities, distant communities, etc.) before they would be willing to harvest for biomass.  In general, the potential income generation from biomass harvesting piqued focus group participants’ interest, but many hesitated to give it full support out of concerns for their forest’s ecology.

Focus group participants were more comfortable with the idea of using their woods to generate income through its carbon sequestration potential and some liked the idea of being part of a potential climate change solution. However, when provided with options of different types of carbon programs in which they could enroll, some landowners felt that the potential income was too low, and the regulations too strict to make such a program worthwhile.

Overall, the focus groups have revealed biomass harvesting and carbon sequestration programs for what they are: complicated issues. There was little consensus among participants regarding what conditions would be safe and beneficial enough for them to get involved. Factors such as existing management plans, enrollment in other programs, current income and/or financial strains, future goals for their woods, and more all seem to play an important role in determining how a landowner may respond to these new options for their woods. Close analysis of the survey data may help better illuminate overall trends in landowners’ interests and concerns. The hope is that this information will help inform the development of carbon sequestration and biomass harvesting programs so that they can be designed to be the most effective and attractive to landowners.

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