The state, resilience, and potential future of oak-dominated forests in the Driftless Area of the midwestern U.S

........................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1 Thesis Organization ..................................................................................................... 2 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................ 3 CHAPTER 2. OAK CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION ON PRIVATE FORESTLANDS: NEGOTIATING A SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE ................. 6 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 6 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 8 Results ........................................................................................................................ 10 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 17 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 19 Implications for Practice ............................................................................................ 20 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... 20 Literature Cited .......................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 3. THE CHANGING SOCIAL LANDSCAPE IN THE MIDWEST: A BOON FOR FORESTRY AND BUST FOR OAK? ......................................................... 25 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 25 Methods ..................................................................................................................... 27 Findings and Discussion ............................................................................................ 29 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 36 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... 37 Literature Cited .......................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 4. THE STATE, RESILIENCE, AND POTENTIAL FUTURE OF MIDWESTERN U.S. OAK FORESTS AS PERCEIVED BY REGIONAL CHANGE AGENTS .............................................................................................................. 42 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 43 Research Approach .................................................................................................... 47 Results ........................................................................................................................ 50 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 57 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... 61 Literature Cited .......................................................................................................... 62 Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................. 76 Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................. 77