ABSTRACT
Being remote, small, and economically dependent on timber extraction no longer typifies all forest communities in the United States and has not for decades. The relations that communities have to forests now are considered in terms of the variety of complex ways they are culturally, socially, and economically linked to nearby forestlands. Forest communities vary considerably, ranging from high-amenity commuter suburbs of urban areas to remote, economically depressed areas surrounded by public and industrial forests. The diversity of communities creates a number of different types of connections to forests. A key premise of this book is that the ability to achieve sustainable forests and sustainable communities depends on resilient, dynamic, and robust connections between communities and forests. What determines the nature of the connections that communities have to forests? Through an examination of a range of management issues, types of forest communities, and forest governance structures, the chapters illustrate how socioeconomic, political, and institutional structures and processes contribute to strong and resilient connections, as well as undermine them. We conclude this book by looking at some of the factors that influence how communities interact with forests and engage in forest management. Then we offer some considerations for social science research related to forest communities.
