Building Relationships with Family Forest Landowners in the Western Upper Gulf Coastal Plain to Enhance Forest Management and Promote Certification

Authors

• Sandeepa Pantha, College of Forestry, Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Monticello, ArkansasFollow
• Nana Tian, College of Forestry, Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Monticello, ArkansasFollow
• Ana Gutierrez-Castillo, College of Forestry, Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Arkansas at Monticello, Monticello, ArkansasFollow
• Joshua Adams, School of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LouisianaFollow
• Eric Taylor, Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Center, Overton, TexasFollow

Volume

64

Issue

2

Abstract

Responsible forest management provides ecological, economic, and societal benefits. Sustaining these benefits in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas depends on the forest management practices of 821,000 family landowners who own 32 million acres of forestland. This study uses an innovative network-building approach to support family forest landowners (FFLs), particularly underrepresented ones, by connecting them with professionals through facilitator teams established in each state by an advisory board. This network-building strategy provides supportive networks for FFLs, fostering trust and connections within a more extensive and diverse FFL community. This network encourages cooperative, communication-centered technical support to FFLs within essential landscapes to enhance forest management practices and promote certification.

Authors’ Contribution Statement

Conceptualization, Nana Tian; methodology, Sandeepa Pantha and Ana Gutierrez-Castillo; writing–original draft preparation, Sandeepa Pantha, Ana Gutierrez-Castillo, Nana Tian; writing–review and editing, Joshua Adams and Eric Taylor; project administration, Nana Tian; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Pantha, S., Tian, N., Gutierrez-Castillo, A., Adams, J., & Taylor, E. (2026). Building Relationships with Family Forest Landowners in the Western Upper Gulf Coastal Plain to Enhance Forest Management and Promote Certification. Journal of Extension, 64(2), Article 29. https://doi.org/10.66752/1077-5315.5781