Evaluating the effectiveness of the Forest Stewardship Program in West Virginia: Ten-year assessment

Sixty-three percent of the 2,656 West Virginia Forest Stewardship program (FSP) participants sampled in this study responded to a survey aimed at assessing the implementation rates of the forest management practices recommended in their forest stewardship plans. Logistic regression models were used to determine factors related to the implementation of 10 different forestry practices. Thirty-nine factors were evaluated for these 10 different binary (implemented, not implemented) response variables including landowner demographics, participation in other private landowner assistance programs, motivation behind enrollment in the FSP, and whether a specific practice was recommended in a plan. Implementation of these 10 practices statistically was associated to 23 of the 39 factors. Participation in other private landowner assistance programs and practice recommendation were two commonly occurring factors related to implementation of forestry practices.