"Because family forest owners own the majority of forestland in the country, many states attempt to incentivize them to be active managers of their woodlands. Property tax incentive programs provide family forest owners with certain tax breaks, credits, or exemptions in exchange for developing a written forest management plan. Michigan's Qualified Forest Program (QFP) is examined here because it provides context for analyzing landowner behavior. High non-compliance penalties provide some assurance that forest management practices will be completed. The ability of parcel characteristics (stand acres, forest type, condition (size and density), and region) to predict forest management practices at the stand level is evaluated. Certain variable categories are significant in predicting forest management practices on QFP enrolled land. Forestry incentive program managers, forestry practitioners, and policymakers could use these results to predict family forest owner management decisions and focus conservation efforts."--Page ii.
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