Gregory Frey Email & Phone Number

Dr. Frey conducts research with the goal of empowering land users to improve their own lives in a way that also provides benefits to society.His main current research areas include forest policy, regulation, and taxes, including these themes:Forest taxationTaxes drive people crazy. Private forest landowners say that taxes that are either too high or poorly designed force them to make decisions that are not the best for the land or for society. Since forests in the US East are about two-thirds privately owned, this has consequences for all of us. Dr. Frey is leading research into how tax policies engage and affect landowners, and how they change the way they manage forests such as when to harvest timber, sell land, or invest in improvements.Non-timber forest productsPeople use forests for all kinds of things. Of course, forests are used for timber, and provide clean air and water. But other important forest products come from the fruits, roots, bark, stems, and leaves of forest plants. You may have used some of those products yourself as food, art supplies, or remedies. They are often overlooked in forest management and economic analysis, but many people do rely on them to make ends meet. Dr. Frey is leading a group to synthesize past research and conduct new research into harvesting, markets, and regulations for these products, so we can improve forest management and people’s lives.Common-pool resourcesWhen a property owner dies without a will, the land becomes common property among heirs. Since decisions have to be unanimous, the land becomes difficult to manage or improve, and often ends up being sold to developers. However, communal ownership occurs in many other countries, and they have strong community institutions that make and implement decisions. Dr. Frey is interested in whether community-owned forests are successful and profitable, and if so, how. Can we apply those lessons to the US?

Listed skills include Natural Resource Management, Forestry, Climate Change, Research, and 23 others.