Tomorrow's Woodland Owners
Legacy or Memory? Talk about it!

The majority of Wisconsin's forestland -- about 60% -- is owned by individuals and families. More than half of that is owned by people 55 years of age and older.

Who will own your woodlands next?
Will the new owners understand your forest management goals?
Will the woodlands be sub-divided and developed?
Will heavy taxes, sibling disagreement, unexpected medical expenses, or other burdens prevent your heirs from carrying on the family legacy?

The 2007 Wisconsin Private Forestland Owner Offspring Study, conducted by Catherine M. Mater, Senior Fellow of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, found that the majority of children of Wisconsin family woodland owners are not connected to the land. Many have not been involved in the woodlands' management (female offspring even less than male offspring) but still expect to inherit the land from their parents. Some expect to own the land jointly with their siblings, which could prove troublesome because of disagreements regarding forest management. This next generation of woodland owners acknowledges that unexpected health care costs may jeopardize their ability to maintain the family woodlands.

If you're a woodland owner, you should plan now to protect and preserve this vital resource. Keeping family woodlands intact benefits everyone. Talking and planning today can help ensure that your woodlands continue to provide benefits for future generations. Your family land legacy depends on it!

Schedule family meetings.
The first step to ensuring your woodlands legacy is to talk about the land, your family's unique situation, and desirable options for the future. Here are some tips for conducting these conversations. [exit DNR]

Share your values and knowledge with your children or heirs.

• Talk to them about why you own your woodlands
• Listen to them -- and help them express their concerns and desires
• Walk through the woodlands with them
• Show them how and why you’ve improved the land
• Share your forest management skills with them
• Invite them to participate in decision-making about the woodlands
• Encourage them to find out more about caring for the woodlands through woodland owner groups and workshops.

Formalize your plans.

1. Research the best options. These resources from the US Forest Service can help:
   • Preserving the Family Woods: tools to help guide transfer to the next generation of landowners [PDF] [exit DNR]
   • Tax and Estate Planning Links [exit DNR]
   • Estate planning options for family forests [exit DNR]
2. Discuss the options
3. Formalize your decisions
Last Revised: Thursday October 16 2008