保留林地的家庭，林地

For families in the 美国东南部 who own forestland, caring for trees is a way of life. It’s a commitment to supporting the ecosystem and preserving what’s beautiful for future generations. 对他们来说，这样做是正确的.

所以当挑战出现时 这可能会说服他们卖掉土地——就像飓风一样, invasive species, 或者昂贵的维护费用——他们不容易被说服. 林业顾问威尔·伦纳德说, 谁会关心客户在佛罗里达狭长地带的森林, it’s because their passion for the forest is rooted in something deeper than money.

“Most of these landowners are multi-generational families and landowners,” he says. “这是家族至少两代人的财产, 你对这个地方有一种深刻的感觉，与这片土地有一种联系. It's a connection to people they knew and loved who were good stewards of the land before them.”

不管他们拥有20英亩还是2英亩,000, 所有土地所有者都有一个共同点，那就是对土地的热爱, its history, 还有那里的野生动物. Chances are, 他们要么是在自家的林地里长大的, or their family taught them to appreciate trees starting in childhood.

保护大自然的美丽和奇迹

Burke Hayes, a forest owner in Florida, doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t in or near a forest.

“我们一辈子都待在加拿大28回水林里. I can remember riding around the car with my grandfather and going in the woods, 他喜欢钓鱼,” he says. “He was managing that land, so I was able to go in those woods starting at a very young age. 我父亲教我在加拿大28回水林里开车. 我对那有美好的回忆.”

现在，他的财产是他和妻子的家. 大约一英里外，他的成年儿子在同一块土地上养家糊口. Another generation of caretakers for the family’s property is already growing.

Stelling Nelson, 谁的森林在这个家族里已经传了四代了, 也对加拿大28回水木所带来的美丽有着深厚的感情. Deer, turkey, quail, 甚至偶尔会有熊在他的房子里游荡, 加强了纳尔逊和他的家人爱护的生态系统, 私人护林员, 两位野生生物学家, 以及乔治亚州林业委员会. To him, doing what’s right for wildlife is essential — even when it’s expensive.

拥有一片森林往往是一种热爱的劳动. 最重要的是管理森林和野生动物, owners often work full-time jobs to cover the cost of hiring professionals for sustainable management, as well as everyday costs like insect and disease prevention and fencing. It could cost several thousand dollars for a professional to conduct a controlled burn of only a hundred acres. This level of personal financial commitment takes forestry ownership from hobby to lifestyle.

“这真的是另一份全职工作，”尼尔森说. “土地不是你谋生的地方. 你们这样做是出于对这片土地的热情和热爱.”

These landowners know their woods like the back of their hand, even their ancient history. Forests in the Southeast grow in areas that used to mark the end of the ocean 35 million years ago. And today, it’s not unusual for owners to unearth the odd shark tooth or fossil in a creek bed.

For those nature lovers who don’t inherit a forest, purchasing one is a lifelong dream. 牛顿·詹宁斯一直是个狂热的户外运动爱好者, and when the opportunity arose for him to purchase forested land for his family in 2021, he jumped at it.

“We purchased it as a piece of land where we could practice conservation wildlife management, 栖息地管理. 这对我们来说是一个财政负担, 但我们都迫不及待地说, 如果这是可行的, 我们会成功的.’”

Jennings is already passing down conservation values to his three teenage sons, 就像他的家人为他做的那样. They already shadow (from a safe distance) the Georgia Forestry Commission professionals who manage controlled burns on the property. 总有一天，詹宁斯想把土地传给他们.

“这是上帝的一小片土地. And if I can maintain a section where we keep it wild and free, I want to do that,” he says.

献给安妮·道森, seeing her father own a forest in her childhood fueled her desire to own one someday. 从教学岗位退休后, she finally found the perfect opportunity — near where her parents owned land. With its fishpond, vineyard, and abundance of wildlife, it was everything she always wanted.

“我从来没有想过我能得到这样一块房产. It’s quiet. It’s serene. I’d rather go up there and sit on the porch and swing, it’s just relaxing,” she says.

积累遗产

在美国东南部, owning a forest means having a mailbox full of offers to buy it. For townhomes. Businesses. Cropland.

但土地会受到影响. 自然生物多样性将因城市化而下降. And an essential region for long-term reforestation could be cleared away.

对于土地所有者来说，钱并不重要. 即使当灾难性的飓风横扫该地区, 工作变得很有挑战性, 或者钱开始少了. When faced with a world of challenges that could tempt anyone to cut their losses and move on, 他们扎根于此.

植加拿大28回水节基金会与当地的, thoroughly vetted partners who give landowners in the Southeast the financial boost they need to keep forestland, forestland. It allows landowners to hold true to their values, and the forests to survive for generations more.

“钱对我来说不重要. 我对卖东西不感兴趣. God’s not going to make any more land, so if you got something, you better hold onto it. Just keep it in its natural habitat and pass it on down to your children,” Dawson says.

对于海耶斯来说，他认为任何出价的人都是目光短浅的. 他们不了解在家庭森林中生长的遗产.

“They think everybody’s trying to get rid of land because most people don’t think long-term. I’m thinking, I hope my grandchildren grow up and take it over,” he says. “I’ve told them, ‘One day, you’re also going to do this for your grandchildren, if you’re lucky.’”