Changing with the times: Communication strategies to reach today's forest landowner

Background/Question/Methods

Forestry communication and education is at a crossroads. On one hand, the predominant demographics of forest landowners are still older, male, and white. On the other hand, more and more women and younger people are owning forest land, making management decisions, or both. A challenge faced by forestry extension personnel is how to balance our efforts and reach the most people possible.

Results/Conclusions

In this talk, I’ll discuss how I’ve built a regional forest health program using multiple communication strategies including traditional methods and novel approaches, including social media. I’ll provide tips on being an effective communicator, as well as gaffes that have had less-than-desirable consequences.