Survey of Public Priorities as a Guide for Sustainable Investment Strategies in the Four Northern Forest States

摘要

Researchers completed 1,221 telephone surveys in February 2008, with roughly 300 complete responses from each of the Northern Forest areas in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, encompassing the 42 most northern counties in those states. The telephone survey followed a 2006-07 written survey that involved facilitated discussions with focus groups from communities in Tug Hill and the Adirondack Park in New York State (Cox et al. 2007). The intent of the overall study was to understand the choices Northern Forest residents would make if investment funds were available to help stimulate a sustainable economic and environmental future. Specifically, the study sought to determine if community-level, "bottom up" choices would be similar to region-wide, "top-down" ones. The results could enable policy makers at all levels to understand the differing community and regional investment priorities and to help guide investment decisions at the community, state and regional levels.