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Study Questions 



My testimony will present answers to six questions: 



1 . How were wood products employment and earnings affected 



by the decline in the saic and harvesting of federal wood between 1988 and 1992? 



2. Have counties reliant on federal wood supplies faced a greater challenge in revitalizing 

 their local economies? 



3. Has reduction in wood supply required by the President's forest plan affected the 

 ability of counties to meet these challenges? 



4. Can recreation and tourism help counties meet these challenges? 



5. Would secondary manufacturing help counties meet these challenges? 



6. Would allocation of future federal wood supplies to small businesses help counties 

 meet these challenges? 



Limitations of Study 



There are two major weaknesses to this report ( 1) lack of reliable, comparative 

 information on the economic and social dynamics of local communities, and (2) lack of 

 comparable data on county economies after 1992. Substantial changes in local 

 economies, community structures, families, and individuals are overlooked by focusing on 

 county-level information. Wood products workers have been losing jobs, income, and 

 social status, while other people have been gaining. Major changes involving the 

 redistribution of social standing, jobs, income, and economic opportunity are not visible 

 when the average conditions of a county are examined. These redistribution effects remain 

 the most important, and under-studied, consequences of the decisions to suddenly withhold 

 federal wood supplies. 



By 1992 counties had already exhibited the sudden economic changes described in 

 this report. But, when this study was conducted, economic data series were not available to 

 describe the additional changes that have taken place over the ensuing three years. 

 Anecdotal reports from counties indicate that many counties and communities are only now 

 experiencing the full impacts of the 1990 decisions to reduce federal wood supplies as the 

 last stocks of volume under contract are exhausted. As a result, some counties that are not 

 identified in this report as highly challenged by the need for economic revitalization may 

 now face such challenges. 



Reliance on Federal Wood Supplies 



An alternative to metropolitan/non-metropolitan classification for counties was 

 developed for making more discriminating judgments about population density, the 

 importance of the forest products industry to the local economy, and reliance on federal 

 wood supplies. This means for classifying counties resulted in a clearer picture of the 

 imjxjrtance of the wood products industry to the economic base of counties such as Lane 

 County, Oregon, which would otherwise be classified as metropolitan. The 72 counties in 

 the owl region were assigned to one of the four following types: 



