What family forest owners talk about when they talk about trees: Bioenergy and forest landscapes in the U.S. South

Family forest owners in the southern United States have complex relationships with trees and forests rooted in a long history of forest-based rural economies and land use change. As the South is the primary wood-producing region in the U.S., economic and utilitarian valuations of forests are stronger here than in other parts of the country. However, forests are also deeply valued for aesthetics, recreation, wildlife (game and non-game), family history, and community heritage. Social and cultural values of forests are intertwined with economic values and biophysical conditions, but family forest owner decision-making is still not well-understood. The development of bioenergy in the South provides an opportunity to examine the social and cultural aspects of trees and forests and their role in decision-making. We analyze the ways that family forest owners and foresters talk about trees and forests in interviews and field notes from ethnographic fieldwork on wood-based bioenergy in two communities in Georgia and one in Mississippi to understand the multiple, complex, and sometimes competing values ascribed to southern forests, forest landscapes, and particular tree species. Bioenergy development serves as both a driver of new markets for wood products and as a lens through which to examine how owners make decisions about how to best manage their forests for multiple objectives.