Women on the Land: Perspectives on Women-Owned Forest Land in the Eastern United States

Abstract

Women represent a growing segment of the family forest owner population in the United States. This article seeks to identify how women in the eastern U.S. navigate forest land management. Inductive coding led to the development of five prominent themes: connections to the land, stewardship ethic, personal challenges, connections to others, and educational/programmatic challenges. Our research suggests that women have a strong connection to their land with diverse interests and objectives. Their stories challenge the current definition of engaged landowners and represent a need for programs and policies that support passive and more holistic active stewardship options.

Keywords:

• Family forest owners
• forest ownership
• private forestlands
• semi-structured interviews
• stewardship
• women

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the women who gave their time to share their stories and passion for the land. The authors would also like to recognize and thank the hard work of Skylar Roach from the University of Massachusetts and Erin Budzyn from Michigan State University for their assistance with the coding of the transcripts.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, and the Environmental Conservation Department at University of Massachusetts Amherst, under project number MAS #32. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA or NIFA.