• Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
  
• Department of Forestry Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA
  
• Facultad de Ciencias Forestales Universidad de Concepción Concepción, CHILE
  

During the past ten years industrial plantation land ownership in the southeast United States shifted from predominantly vertically integrated forest product company ownership (VIFPCs) to a more diverse group of owners encompassing real estate investment trusts (REITS), timber investment organizations (TIMOS), and pension funds. The reasons for these changes are discussed by Hickman (2007) and include the need by VIFPC's to improve returns to stockholders, the rising value of forest land, various consolidations that were made to enhance international competitiveness and changes in the long-held belief that ownership of the timberlands ensured the availability of raw material at a reasonable cost. During this time the Forest Nutrition Cooperative (FNC) membership has similarly changed.