Background/Question/Methods An important issue to many nonindustrial forest landowners is the potential to receive income from small parcels of timberland. However due to increasing operating costs, these parcels are often ignored by large scale timber operations. The absence of a market for their timber not only affects income from the land, it also limits employment opportunities in the local economy and can have an adverse effect on forest health. One alternative available is to utilize low cost wood working technologies such as portable sawmills on small parcels of forestland. A national web-based survey of portable sawmill owners was conducted in late 2008 to obtain a basic understanding of their operations as well as the economic viability of entrepreneurial opportunities for both small-scale nonindustrial private landowners, as well as rural residents who do not own land.
Results/Conclusions The results of our national web-based portable sawmill owner survey indicated a variety of portable sawmill owner objectives ranging from full-time employment to operating as a hobby only. There also existed a wide range of timber species signifying a potential microenterprise opportunity for those in various regions of the country, although certain species were milled by the majority of respondents; approximately 80% indicated milling oak,  71% mill pine, 60% maple, 52% cedar, and 51% walnut. Approximately 67% of respondents produce less than or as much as they can sell, indicating a demand for products created, which ranged from lumber to wood for entire home construction.  Respondents indicated that timber was milled from both their own land and others’ land, originating from a variety of sources including storm damage, thinning, yard trees, bug damage, and other sources.  These sources of timber used in the portable sawmills demonstrate the maintenance of forest health, while at the same time utilizing the byproducts to increase landowner quality of life either through financial gain or product creation for self use.