 Private Pond with Forest Photo by Steve Nix |
Changing Forests Means Changing Foresters - An Interview with Lester DeCoster - Part III
Lester DeCoster is President of the DECOSTER GROUP, INC. In Reston, Virginia. His firm offers expertise in public relations, writing, marketing and explaining forestry and environmental science. He’s a graduate of University of Maine, School of Forestry, an (APR), Accredited Public Relations practitioner, and owner and manager of three forests: a small backyard plot in Virginia and two sizeable tracts in Maine. He’s written more than 500 articles speeches and publications, most recently publishing: Public Programs for Private Forestry, a Reader on Programs and Options, co-authored with Neil Sampson. He’s also presently a Senior Fellow at the Forest Policy Center in Washington, DC. His most recent article in the Journal of Forestry (JOF), "The Boom in Forest Owners - A Bust for Forestry", discusses the changing landowner with important impacts on foresters. decorator is a graduate forester, a fellow of the Society of American Foresters and a recipient of PRSA Silver Anvil Award for public relations excellence, 1988 and Chevron Conservation Award for outstanding national efforts in conservation, 1988
SN: Lets wrap part three up and I thank you for doing this with me. I am concerned that a forester will not continue to be able to maintain an income in areas that are not traditional money makers for a forester and specifically for a hired consultant. Will a forestry consultant have anything to sell to the "new crowd"?
Lester DeCoster: Consulting forestry has been growing. These are businesses that can respond directly to local markets. If New Jerseys’ tax laws encourage hiring a forester, they can market to that. If southern New Hampshire’s urban growth encourages aesthetics, they can provide that. Green certification? They can do that. Most have a "guesstimated" marketing approach that maintains a small business as long as there isn’t a lot of direct competition. They could be a much larger factor in the forestry mix if they add additional expertise and start marketing their services strategically and aggressively. If given sufficient incentive they could also probably reach down into the smaller ownerships more efficiently than public agency staff, because they are rewarded (or punished) directly for their efficiency levels.
| "Owners of small forest tracts
don’t seek forest information because it’s generally not relevant." Lester DeCoster |
SN: What responsibilities do State Foresters have in helping this "new crowd"?
Lester DeCoster: State foresters have a responsibility to all forests in their state. But their probable market penetration with forest programs is likely to decline, (relevant to percentage of owners and acres reached) unless new ways are found to reach smaller owners. Those serving declining segments of a population tend to lose public support. Just from the aspect of maintaining public support for forestry efforts, state foresters have an important role of teaming up with the forestry community to reach more than the 5% who own large tracts (more than 100 acres). I’m seeing some exciting things where state foresters are reaching into urban areas, encouraging consultants, and connecting to market forces. The state foresters’ offices are valuable "bully pulpits", information sources and middle ground for forestry factions, but most are very thin on budget and staff. They will have to find more ways to connect to market forces to deal with the amount of ground that needs to be covered.
SN: I love your term "occasional relevance". You seen to indicate that owners of smaller tracts only occasionally or never need traditional forestry assistance.Explain how this may undermine the importance of foresters and forestry.
Lester DeCoster: The catch-22 of occasional relevance makes reaching small tracts especially difficult. CATCH-22 Owners of small forest tracts don’t seek forest information because it’s generally not relevant. When occasional events make forest information relevant, these owners won’t know how to find it because they generally don’t seek such information.
The syndrome goes around and around. One breaks into this cycle by finding, and sometime creating, relevance generating events--or you make your information ubiquitous--easily found whenever a relevant occasion arises. Marketers of most major services or products spend millions to make sure that we can find them easily when the mood strikes. Forestry is getting on the Internet and that will help but we are still not easy to find and, with the exception of the Ad Council’s Smoky Bear Ads, we have little exposure. What do I mean by relevance generating? If, for example, forest owners received a mailing with their property tax bill offering tax reduction in return for certain forest practices, that would be a forestry relevance generating event.
SN: How can foresters cast off a somewhat "slimy" image to become more relevant?
Lester DeCoster:: I don’t think that foresters have a "slimy" image to cast off. We simply aren’t known in general. We’re not easily visible in places like the yellow pages along with plumbers, doctors, lawyers and other common services.
Foresters are as "needed" as most of the services people pay for today. The street where I live swarms with companies that will make your grass grow, and then they will come cut it.. and make it grow again...and so on. Some people make a good living helping information flow in an out of my office, on paper and electronically. Other people make a living hauling away the detritus of my information flow, and there is even a service that I hire to intercept the flow so I can ignore communications if I wish to. There are services like this for huge organizations, and there are services like this designed to fit the needs of one person. I did not have to chase down and plead with these services to get them to fit my needs, they wooed me.
My point: Needs don’t chase services. Services chase and adapt to needs. One size will not fit all. Most of the millions of people who own forests-- a few trees or a few billion are not going to hunt for foresters and press money into their hands. They aren’t even going to chase down "free" (subsidized) forestry services.
SN: How can the forestry community combat becoming irrelevant? How do we encourage "seekers of the forestry truth"? Are foresters really needed by the "new crowd anyway"? Lester DeCoster: Foresters who want to reach more people will have to figure out what various categories of people want from their forests; then offer it clearly, attractively, competitively and effectively... in the present context of the people to be served. It’s called marketing ... PR... pitching woo. It’s an art and a science used to grow services, just as forestry is an art and a science used to grow forests.
Changing Forests, Changing Foresters - Part I > Part II
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