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Abstract Private woodland owners (PWOs) face an increasing number of considerations for climate change adaptation and mitigation activities in their forest management. Evidence suggests there may be a disconnect between PWOs’ climate change perceptions and behaviors, which can limit implementation. We conducted seventeen semistructured interviews in Maine to develop a typological framework of PWOs based on their perceptions of climate-induced threats and efficacy. Our results produced three types of PWOs: the steady-as-they-go landowner (low perceived threat), the science-driven landowner (high perceived threat; high efficacy), and the seeking-support landowner (high perceived threat; low efficacy). Although all three types of PWOs regularly implemented resistance and resilience practices, their attitudes toward transition practices (i.e., assisted migration) diverged based on their perceptions of threat and efficacy. This typological framework can be used when targeting communications to PWOs regarding the overlap between climate adaptive management and traditional best management practices. Study Implications: PWOs in our study recognized climate-related impacts while implementing diverse forest management practices to meet both climate-related and non-climate-related objectives. The divergent attitudes toward transition practices exhibited by our three PWO types highlight the notion that adaptive practices can be both intentional and incidental. Our findings suggest that outreach efforts should understand PWO perceptions of climate change threats and their feelings of efficacy in responding to such threats. When combined with knowledge about the overlap between traditional best management practices and new climate-adaptive strategies, extension and outreach efforts can tailor their messaging to fit the appropriate audience. 

Abstract We conducted a spatially explicit vulnerability assessment of the forest industry in Maine, USA, to climate change in an effort to (1) advance a spatial framework for assessing forest industry vulnerability and (2) increase our understanding of Maine’s specific vulnerabilities to climate change in order to guide decision-making. We applied a bottom-up indicator approach to evaluate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to climate change using both biophysical and social indicators, largely driven by participatory processes. Our approach enabled us to synthesize and aggregate indicators of regional importance to evaluate vulnerability, allowing us to simultaneously examine combinations of potential changes. We found that each Maine county had its own unique combination of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicators, with overall vulnerability highest in the rural northern and western parts of the state, where forest industry activities are most prevalent. However, results also indicate that although increased stress from climate-related changes can negatively affect Maine’s forest via high exposure, reduced sensitivities and increased adaptive capacity have the potential to largely decrease overall vulnerability in many parts of the state. 

The authors of this research brief conducted a series of qualitative interviews with people in the Frenchman Bay watershed in Maine. Based on the interviews, they identified emergent themes regarding place attachments to Frenchman Bay and sense of place. Scale was identified as an umbrella concept encompassing the other themes, including perceived environmental and community risks and drawbacks; aesthetic, historical, and recreation-based place attachments; and concerns intersecting with adjacent marine tensions such as state licensing processes and the shifting of traditional working waterfronts to tourism-based economies. The study highlights several implications for aquaculture policy in Maine. 

Eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem; SBW) is a native forest pest that can severely damage spruce-fir forests in Maine. Monitoring SBW defoliation and populations is important to ensure forest managers make timely decisions regarding forest management. This research brief presents the results of a survey of Maine’s large forest owners and managers. Our findings indicate a need for clear policies and collaborations between forest organizations to prepare for a SBW outbreak. While many forest organizations use satellite imagery, personnel capacity and lack of knowledge are barriers to using remote sensing. We recommend strengthening forest health programs by hiring a remote sensing specialist and increasing knowledge and skills around remote sensing in Maine’s forest sector.