Rural-to-urban migration and the geography of absentee non-industrial private forest ownership: A case from southeast Ohio

There is a growing literature on tropical forests that demonstrates ways in which rural-to-urban migration establishes dynamic connections between forest landscapes and urban areas. In the United States, context, however, studies of the geography of absentee ownership of non-industrial private forest (NIPF) lands focus on urban-to-rural migration for retirement or amenity purposes. Using parcel data sourced from local governments in an 11-county study area in central and southeastern Ohio, along with a range of openly available data, we analyze patterns of absentee ownership of NIPF parcels to determine the characteristics of areas where absentee owners reside. We hypothesize the rural-to-urban migration patterns, particularly of youth, will help explain where absentee NIPF owners of parcels in our study reside. We estimate models for all census tracts in the United States, finding that indicators of migration, creative class employment opportunities, and affluence are strongly associated with finding at least one absentee owner of an NIPF parcel in our study area. Considering these complex connections affecting NIPF parcels in a North American context could support improved forest management education, outreach, and planning efforts.

Title	Rural-to-urban migration and the geography of absentee non-industrial private forest ownership: A case from southeast Ohio
Creator	Munroe, D.
	Gallemore, Caleb
	van Berkel, D.
Publisher	Applied Geography
Academic Department	International Affairs
Division	Social Sciences
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	July 2018
Date Available	2022-01-06
Type	Article
Language	English
Keyword	creative class
	migration
	absentee ownership
	private forest ownership
Bibliographic Citation	Gallemore, C., D. Munroe, and D. van Berkel (2018 July) "Rural-to-urban migration and the geography of absentee non-industrial private forest ownership: A case from southeast Ohio." Applied Geography 96: 141-152.
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/k3569588v
Standard Identifier	DOI 10.1016/j.apgeog.2018.05.010
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/k3569588v
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Rights Holders	Elsevier, Ltd.