Timber Reform I

Question 1

Define ‘natural amenity economies’ and explain why and where they are growing

Answer 1

Natural amenity economy: main activity is the provision of services that leverage the benefits of the natural resources. ie: recreation, tourism → subset of service sector that attracts you to come and benefits the non extractive resources

rural towns population growth is starting to happen because they are adapting to having more amenities and incorporating more of these amenities to draw people i

Question 2

linkages/multipliers of an natural amenity economy

Answer 2

Backward linkages: backpacks, equipment, materials for building
Forward linkages: hotels, campgrounds, guides, tour groups, naturalists, gift shop
Final demand linkages: food, housing, entertainment for the workers
Fiscal linkages: No linkage similar to that of logging and rural communities

Question 3

Contrast the types of linkages that might be stronger/weaker in a timber vs amenity economy, and describe how that might impact support for those different economic pathways

Answer 3

(weak → not local)
Amenity weak: backward & fiscal
Timber strong: fiscal
Amenity strong: forward (hotel) & final demand
Timber weak: backward (wood industry) final demand in tourism (downstream)

Question 4

Explain why some argue that the Forest Service is no longer truly respecting its broad mandate to support rural economies

Answer 4

shift in economic focus from timber-based industries to natural amenity-based economies. This shift has created new winners—such as hotels, recreation businesses, and supply industries—and new losers—such as the timber industry, sawmills, loggers, and hardware stores. The
challenges for communities that previously depended on timber production

Question 5

Characterize how the Forest Service’s mandate to maintain the Public Lands “sustainably” has changed over the last ~150 years

Answer 5

shifted to mandate forest protection, and the forest resource
Maximum sustainable yield - support rural economies - 1880’s
Forest health - ecological health, biodiversity (spotted owl) - 1980’s
Resistance/resilience to wildfire - 2010’s
Sequester/store carbon as possible

Question 6

timber sales an essential component of sustainable forestry on ecological

Answer 6

Fire and thing mimics natural services, these forests need fire because they have grown up with it

Question 7

timber sales an essential component of sustainable forestry on financial

Answer 7

Restoration and maintenance of the forest is a funded operation, they need timber sales in order to manage the forest and perform restoration projects. Timber sales are fiscally sustainable.

Question 8

imber sales an essential component of sustainable forestry on moral

Answer 8

timber production should occur where it is well regulated– not outsourced from regions with poorer practices
The morally right thing to do is we should be willing to pay more for well managed wood, compared to cheap poorly managed wood

Question 9

timber sales an essential component of sustainable forestry on rural development grounds

Answer 9

Timber sales are used for building materials, support the mills+ mill workers, the backwards and forwards linkages in the timber industry. Their economy and jobs need to be sustained, this is part of sustainability.

Question 10

Peak annual increment:

Answer 10

The peak age, one year period, in which the tree grows the most

Question 11

Cumulative mean annual increment

Answer 11

The point out of all the ages where the cumulative volume is the highest (annual growth rate and average growth rate intersect each other)

Question 12

Identify the rotation age that the Forest Service targets on that graph, and clarify why that is considered the MSY

Answer 12

80 years (the biologically optimal rotation age), which is the Cumulative mean annual increment calculated
why:
Maximum Sustainable yield (MSY) because it maximizes the long term yield in volume of wood, when you harvest at that point you get the most wood that you can
If you were to wait longer, you would not be adding enough wood to justify the wait

Question 13

two main reasons that the Forest Service typically incorporate a significant thinning program in its management regime

Answer 13

Reduce overstock: Maximize Sustainable Growth Rate -Yield
Thin o reduce the competition for water, soil, light, so you get that maximum growth rate
Reduce biomass (fire): overstocked forests are susceptible to forest fire, so they thin to manage

Question 14

harvest methods that are used to moderate the destruction associated with clearcutting

Answer 14

Green Tree Retention: clear cuts but they have to leave some trees, two down, two standing/ acre

Variable Retention: leave patches of forest within a specific cut, so that there is tree age diversity which creates an environment that is suitable for a wider variety of wildlife

Question 15

Identify the rotation age that private companies typically target on growth rate graph.

Answer 15

They go for PAI (biggest time tree will grow)
40 year rotation. Maximize profits

Question 16

Private PAi- why that position is desirable, considering the cost/benefit analysis associated with waiting a bit longer

Answer 16

If you wait till they are older:
Benefits: higher revenue.(higher quality wood)
Costs: Higher costs. Have to conduct more thinning, manage fire and diseases, and there are opportunity costs.
PAI because:
- balances the benefits of maximum timber volume and value with the costs associated with long-term management.
- companies can achieve high returns on their investment, ensure wood quality

Question 17

Characterize the challenge that the Forest Service has faced in delivering adequate forest thinning in the context of the growing regulations

Answer 17

Regulatory barriers: can slow down and complicate the implementation of forest thinning projects.

NEPA: extensive environmental review, lengthy processes and delays,
NFMA:adherence to detailed forest management. Restriction on a 15 year management plan. (Too much constraint) .
With these restraints: Harvest decline. Causes overstocking and biomass buildup. (build up can causes spread of diseases in forest and pose wildfire risk)

Question 18

Characterize the challenge that the Forest Service faces in navigating the growth of old-growth preserves and the transition towards amenity economies in neighboring towns

Answer 18

Declining Revenue for USFS (Loss of Fiscal Linkages)
The expansion of old-growth preserves reduces timber sales, leading to a loss of revenue that the Forest Service traditionally used.

Demand for Budget to Support Amenities:
-shift towards amenity economies increases demand for other services, placing additional financial burdens on the Forest Service.
Forest Service will continue old growth cuts to make that revenue.