Scholarship Application Details

E-mail:
patrick.lyons@maine.edu

Phone:
207.712.2427

Address:
5755 Nutting Hall
Orono, ME 04469-5755

University Enrolled:
University of Maine

Enrollment Type:
Graduate

Degree Program:
School of Forest Resources

Dean:
Robert Wagner

Dean's E-mail:
robert.wagner@maine.edu

Visa:
N/A

How my attendance/participation will contribute to my educational experience:
The opportunity to attend and participate in the Emerging Issues Along Urban-Rural Interfaces conference would greatly aid my graduate research at the University of Maine. My work is funded through the Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, in particular on the Family Forests Project. Family forests are defined as forested land from 10 to 1000 acres. In Maine this accounts for over 5.7 million acres of land, with approximately 120,000 owners. Unfortunately, over the past three decades numerous family forest landowners have subdivided or sold their land. From 1980 to 1995 family forest landowners increased by twenty percent, though the overall acreage remained the same. The industrial forests of Maine are also experiencing great change, witnessing rapid transfer of ownership from paper industry lands to a variety of financial and other interested groups. “Highest and best use” practices of this land has been the impetus behind rapid parcelization and amenity-based development in Maine, particularly impacting lake shore properties. Potential negative impacts of these changes in forestland ownership in Maine include: decrease in native wildlife populations, alterations to forest structure leading to decrease in biodiversity, long term-modification to and decrease in water quality, reductions in timber harvest, detriment to scenic quality and recreation opportunities, and shifts in price levels and economic benefits for forest-based products. As a native of Maine I have witnessed first hand the impacts of parcelization and development. The post holes for my family's camp were dug by my grandfather, Bill, 26 years ago. He had purchased the twenty acres of forest along Weber Pond and Seven Mile Stream in Vasalboro, Maine the previous winter and finished the cabin that summer, weeks before my birth. When Bill built his cabin there was only a handful of homes in the area. Since that time the area (bordering Augusta, the state capital) has witnessed a great deal of change, as properties have been sold off, parceled, and developed. My grandmother inherited the financial responsibilities of Bill's camp when he passed away and quickly found herself having trouble paying the property taxes on the land. She considered selling a section of the acreage. Fortunately, my uncle bought Bill's camp from her and we were able to keep the entire property in the family. Bill's camp and the area of Weber Pond is just one of many examples of the changing landscape in the southern and coastal forestland areas of Maine. The story of Bill's camp is a microcosm of the issues facing landownership in Maine: aging landowners and estate transfer, development, land-use and timber harvest. My research is attempting to address these issues by identifying family forest owners and finding ways to create a dialogue in hopes to better understand the values they place on their land and in turn educate them on sustainable land-use practices. As I am still in the nascent stages of my research, participation at the conference will be invaluable to my work. Exposure to such a wealth of knowledge and experience focused on linking human dimensions aspects of land-use change to the urban-rural interface will allow me to walk away from the conference with new found perspective on the issues facing Maine. Moreover, it will enable me to network with other academics in the field and create professional relationships to rely upon over the course of my research. There is great effort underway on land-use change at the University of Maine and I look forward to sharing our work with the field this April. I thank you for considering me for this $500 scholarship. Best regards, Patrick Lyons

Title and authors of my oral/poster proposed for conference:
Developing a Stakeholder Driven Family Forest Initiative