SI landowners are defined by the fact that they primarily own their land for investment and income purposes. They are much more likely to cite timber and investment as important reasons for owning land than aesthetic, lifestyle, conservation, or recreational reasons. They also assign low ratings to personal uses of woodland, such as collecting firewood or non-timber products.

SI landowners constitute 8% of all woodland owners and own 12% of the total land owned by family forest owners who have between 10 and 999 acres of land.

Demographic Information

• Compared with other landowner segments, SI landowners are better educated and more likely to report higher incomes--about half have a bachelor's degree or higher and about a quarter report household incomes of $100,000 or more. They also tend to be somewhat older than the general landowner population (45% are 65 or older).
• Similar to other landowner segments, the vast majority of SI landowners are Caucasian men, and more than half (55%) are retired. In keeping with their higher educational status, about a fifth of SI landowners (17%) are "professionals," almost double the proportion of any other segment.

Plot Size and Ownership Characteristics

• Consistent with their higher incomes, SI owners tend to have larger parcels of land; the average plot size is 74 acres. More than half (54%) own 2 or more parcels of woodland. Yet they are least likely to have a home or a cabin on their woodland(s). About a third (36%) say their landholding includes a farm.
• SI landowners have a long-standing connection with their land. More than half (57%) have owned their land for 25 years or more. Compared to other groups, they are more likely to have inherited their woodland, although almost 75% have also purchased some land.

Top Concerns

• SI owners see their woods as financial and productive assets and want to get the best from their land. Their main concerns for their land reflect this orientation. Fire and insects are the most frequently cited concerns, mentioned  by over half of all SIs. Keeping the land intact for heirs, the fear of trespassing or poaching and concern for high property taxes round out their top concerns (each mentioned by at least 40% of all SI owners).

Harvesting Behavior

• SI owners are the most likely of all segments to report harvesting trees on their land, particularly for commercial purposes. Two-thirds of SI owners have harvested trees, and 58% did so for commercial purposes.  Almost half (46%) say they used the services of a professional to help plan and/or execute their harvest.
• Consistent with their overall orientation, financial motivations continue to be a prominent incentive for harvesting trees. The most frequently mentioned reason for harvesting was that the trees were mature (40%), followed distantly by: the desire to improve the quality of remaining trees (30%); following their management plan (21%): or because the price was right (17%). SI owners are more likely than other groups to cite all these reasons.

Proactive Land Management Activities

• While the majority of SI owners say they have no specific 5-year plans for their woods, about a quarter (27%) say they plan to harvest sawlogs; a fifth (19%) plan to harvest firewood; and 14% plan to sell some or all of their land.
• While SIs may have the longest tenure of ownership, they are somewhat more likely than other segments to have sold some of their land. Almost a third (31%) report having sold some land at least once. SI owners are also most likely to sell land to buyers other than individuals (often to forestry companies or developers).
• SI owners are twice as likely as other segments to have a management plan for their land, but, at 15%, this proportion is still low. Similarly, about 20% of SI owners participate in cost-share programs and are aware of certification programs, a proportion that is much higher than the other segments. Nevertheless, only very small numbers are enrolled in certification programs (3%) or have easements (2%).

Information Seeking: Behaviors and Channels

• Over one-third say they have received woodland management advice (36%), a proportion that is higher than all other segments. Close to a fifth have received advice from their state foresters and forestry departments and smaller numbers cite other sources of information such as loggers (8%), other landowners (7%), extension services (6%), and the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) (6%). All these sources are mentioned more frequently by SI owners than by other landowners segments.
• SI owners seek information from a variety of channels, and no one channel is best for them or likely to reach them all. Almost half say talking to a forester or other natural resource professional would be a useful way of getting information about woodland management. This is followed by publications, books or pamphlets (34%), newsletters, magazines or newspapers (30%), other landowners (23%), and the Internet (19%). These choices are similar to the preferences of landowners overall.

Learn about how to communicate with SI Owners »

Note: This description is based on data from the National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS, www.fia.fs.fed.us/nwos).