You are invited to participate in the 2020 Northern Forest Manager Survey, a research project led by Dr. Rachel Schattman (University of Maine) and Dr. Tony D’Amato (University of Vermont). The purpose of the research is to understand forest managers’ perceptions of changing environmental conditions, management decisions, and challenges to adopting new practices. 

What Will You Be Asked to Do?

If you decide to participate, you will be asked to take an anonymous on-line survey.  The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Risks 

Except for your time and inconvenience, there are no risks to you from participating in this study.

Benefits

While this study may have no direct benefit to you, the information gathered through this survey will inform future research, outreach, and education around real challenges faced by forest managers like yourself. By extension, this work may lead to new professional development opportunities for forest managers. The results of our study will also be used to inform state and federal regulators and policy makers about important issues foresters are facing, which could have implications for the long-term viability of the forestry sector in Northern states. 

Confidentiality

This study is anonymous. To ensure that no one takes the survey more than once, we will collect IP addresses automatically. These IP addresses will not be associated with survey responses, and will be discarded as soon as we have eliminated any duplicate responses. You will be asked to provide your name or email if you wish to receive a summary of the research results. Your personal identifying information will not be connected to your survey responses. Data collected through this survey will be kept on a password-protected computer indefinitely.

Voluntary

Participation is voluntary.  If you choose to take part in this study, you may stop at any time. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer. Submission of the survey implies consent to participate.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this study, please contact Dr. Rachel Schattman at 207-581-2913 or rachel.schattman@maine.edu.  If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the Office of Research Compliance, University of Maine, 207/581-2657 (or e-mail umric@maine.edu).

Please download a PDF version of this information for your records