Forest Restoration and Forest Communities: Have Local Communities Benefited from Forest Service Contracting of Ecosystem Management?

Abstract

Conservation-based development programs have sought to create economic opportunities for people negatively impacted by biological diversity protection. The USDA Forest Service, for example, developed policies and programs to create contracting opportunities for local communities to restore public lands to replace jobs lost from reduced timber harvest. This article examines 12 years of Forest Service land management contracting in western Oregon, Washington, and northern California to evaluate if contractors located in communities near national forests have been awarded more land management contracts and contract value over time. We find that land management contracting spending has declined dramatically and, once we control for intervening factors, we find that local contractors have received a smaller proportion of land management contracts over time.

Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

“…However, researchers have found that labor-intensive jobs in the forestry services sector often go to distant workers, are relatively low paying, create less total local economic impact than other jobs, may entail poor working conditions and worker abuse, can be dangerous, and are seasonal (Moseley 2006, Moseley and Reyes 2007, NielsenPincus and Moseley 2013. In contrast, equipment-intensive work tends to be better paid and is more often carried out by local businesses (Moseley and Reyes 2008), though it also is typically seasonal. Forest decisionmakers who are aware of these patterns can make an effort to overcome them by targeting local workers, by ensuring that contracting and labor laws are enforced so that workers are paid the required wages, and by promoting fair and safe working conditions.…”

“…Restoration work such as road maintenance and decommissioning tends to be accomplished with equipment. Labor-intensive work creates more jobs than equipment-intensive work; however, job quality is typically better with equipment-intensive work, and equipment-intensive work is more likely to go to local contractors because of the cost of hauling equipment long distances (Moseley and Reyes 2008). Sometimes Forest Service decisionmakers have choices about whether to accomplish specific management tasks in labor-versus equipment-intensive ways.…”

“…The shift from timber production to forest restoration on national forest lands has brought about an associated shift from labor-intensive to equipment-intensive work (Moseley and Reyes 2008). Labor-intensive work has traditionally been associated with intensive timber management in which crews perform tasks such as small tree thinning with chain saws and tree planting.…”

Impacts of national forests in the West on county population and employment

“…Subsequently, since 2001, counties and schools in 42 states have received payments through this Act (Governor's Task Force, 2009). Federal conservation-based development programs were also created (Moseley and Reyes, 2008). In addition, there was federal funding for rural development (Chen and Weber, 2011).…”

“…Currently, there are active debates over how management of the National Forest System impacts nearby communities and their economies (Chen and Weber, 2011;Eichman et al, 2010;Moseley and Reyes, 2008;and Rasker et al, 2013). As indicated by Force et al (1993) in their longterm case study of a timber-dependent community in north Idaho, factors that affect timber production affect employment in such communities.…”