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Economic analyses of forest management options can help landowners make informed decisions. However, landowners make decisions in complex and nuanced ways that transcend economics. The history and legal status of their land, their emotional connections to it, their access to knowledge and capital, and their broader objectives are vital elements in their decision-making processes. We present case studies of four Black landowners in Georgia through a combination of economic analyses that compare their current revenue with potential increased revenue through active forest management and qualitative interviews that provide context for past management decisions and insights into why active forest management may – or may – not prove to be their ultimate goal. Together these two types of analysis present a range of goals and management options that consider both economic and non-economic valuations of forested lands, which can inform extension and outreach strategies for increasing engagement of Black landowners in sustainable forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests offer critical social, economic, and ecological benefits. As fifty‐five percent of Georgia's forests are family‐owned, management decisions of these forest landowners have a considerable impact on the state's environment and beyond. So far, little is known about what drives the conservation intentions of forest landowners and how these drivers vary by gender. However, several studies outside the field of forestry have theorized that place attachment predicts pro‐environmental views and behaviors. To test this theory, we surveyed 1,143 family forest landowners in Georgia. Our results show that male landowners report stronger attachments to their forest, except for continuing family legacies which is of greater importance for female landowners. Regression models show that all dimensions of place attachments (dependence, identity, satisfaction, and family legacy) are strong predictors for conservation intentions in males. In contrast, the level of education and only a few dimensions (satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, dependence) of place attachment predict conservation intentions in females. As gender demographics in forest landowners are shifting and environmental degradation is an increasingly pressing concern, this study provides important insights and offers directions for further research for policymakers, researchers, and extension agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African American forest landowners in the southern United States (US) are typically considered a homogenous group in current studies. Our research challenges this assumption by identifying four distinct forest management outlooks among African American forest landowners using Q Method. Sustainable Harvesters focus on balanced land use with a long-term outlook; Back 40ers appreciate the presence of forests on their property but focus on alternative land use; Land Use Pragmatists are also interested in alternative land use and primarily view forest as an economic resource; Recreationalists value their forestland not for economic value but as a place for personal use. Finally, Indecisive landowners are not sure about how to best manage their forestland. We argue that an understanding of different forest management outlooks will improve sustainable forest management by better targeting extension and outreach efforts for African American forest landowners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the mid-1970s, the United States (US) South has been a net destination for African American migrants. We analyzed data from 1976 to 2015 to highlight major characteristics of migrants to the US South at the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA) level. Grounded in neoclassical and social network migration theory, we propose there are concurrent streams of migrants—those searching for economic opportunity and those returning to homeplaces. Here, we show that the overall percentage of migrants moving to rural areas has declined from 30 percent in 1980 to 14 percent in 2015. Our results suggest the stream of migrants moving for economic opportunity has always been larger and has grown proportionally larger with time. Along with a decrease in rural-bound migration, we demonstrate an overall decrease in migration, a concentration of migrants in a shrinking number of urban centers, and an unexpected increase in the human capital of rural migrants. Our findings have forced us to reckon with assumptions that professionals leaving cities for rural communities is a uniquely white phenomenon, challenged us to consider the importance of social ties to urban areas, and raised questions about the role of technology as a deterrent to moving home. Desde mediados de los años 70, el sureste de los EE.UU. ha sido un destino neto para los migrantes afroamericanos. Analizamos datos del 1976 al 2015 para resaltar las características importantes de los migrantes al sur estadounidense en el nivel de áreas de microdatos de uso público (PUMA). Fundamentados en la teoría neoclásica y de migración de redes sociales, proponemos que hay flujos concurrentes de migrantes, aquellos que buscan oportunidades económicas y aquellos que regresan a sus lugares de origen. Aquí, mostramos que el porcentaje total de migrantes que se mudan a áreas rurales ha disminuido del 30 por ciento en 1980 al 14 por ciento en 2015. Nuestros resultados sugieren que la corriente de migrantes en busca de oportunidades económicas siempre ha sido mayor y ha crecido proporcionalmente con el tiempo. Junto con una disminución en la migración de origen rural, demostramos una disminución general de la migración, una concentración de migrantes en un número cada vez menor de centros urbanos y un aumento inesperado en el capital humano de los migrantes rurales. Nuestros hallazgos nos obligaron a suponer que los profesionales que abandonan las ciudades para las comunidades rurales son un fenómeno exclusivamente blanco, nos desafiaron a considerar la importancia de los vínculos sociales con las áreas urbanas y plantearon dudas sobre el papel de la tecnología como elemento disuasivo para mudarse a casa. [End Page 282] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]