• Leahy, Jessica
  University of Maine
  

This research project, conducted by the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine in cooperation with Southern Illinois University, investigated individuals, families, and communities who contribute through forestry and forest-based tourism to the economic, cultural, and natural sustainability of the rural Northern Forest region. Many family forest landowners are now incorporating innovative forest-based tourism enterprises with timber production. Forest-based tourism enterprises can include maple sugaring, Christmas tree farms, fee-based public recreation, educational forest tours, and haunted forests, among others. Research questions addressed were: what motivates family forest landowners to pursue forest-based tourism enterprises, what non-economic and economic benefits do they gain, what practices and approaches are shared in common among success stories, what challenges face forest-based tourism enterprises, and what can be learned about the visitors to such places from the operators themselves?