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secondary manufacturing are often located close to material sources and have the potential 

 for future growth if wood supplies are available. 



Ccnnparison of counties in Washington and California shows that there is very little 

 secondary manufacturing in counties facing the challenge of economic revitalization. In 

 Oregon, there is a moderate amount of secondary manufacturing in counties facing the 

 challenge of revitalization. Seven of the eight economically challenged Oregon counties 

 have one percent or more of the total regional secondary manufacturing establishments. 

 Two Oregon counties (Lane and Jackson) each have three percent or more of the regional 

 total. 



Table 4 shows the distribution of primary and secondary manufacturing 

 establishments by type of county. Counties with high population densities have 61 percent 

 of the secondary manufacturing establishments in the region, but only 33 percent of all 

 wood products manufacturing establishments. Counties relying on federal lands for wood 

 supply have only 12 percent of the secondary manufacturing establishments, but 25 percent 

 of adl logging establishments. Hence, there appears to be limited potential for secondary 

 manufacturing employment to substitute for loss of logging and sawmilling Jobs in counties 

 facing the greatest challenges of economic revitalization. 



QUESTION 6 



Would allocation of future federal timber harvests 

 to small businesses help counties meet these challenges? 



The limited opportunities for tourism and secondary manufacturing to substitute for 

 loss of wood products employment and employment earnings leave phmary wood products 

 manufacturing as the most promising economic sector for strengthening the economic base 

 of wood-dominant rural counties. Eajnomic development policies that promote small 

 businesses may offer the most promising way for promoting a sustainable wood products 

 economy in local communities. 



As compared to larger corporate businesses, small, family-owned, businesses are 

 more likely to stimulate the local economy because they tend to buy a higher proportion of 

 their supplies and services frcnn local suppliers and invest profits in local businesses. Small 

 business is also linked to social conditions that are most conducive to community-initiated 

 economic development Sociological studies in agriculture have shown that local 

 communities are far healthier and better integrated when family farming rather than 

 corporate farming dominates the local economy (Goldschmidt , 1947). Communities based 

 on family farming exhibit greater involvement of citizens in self-governance, more active 

 churches and community clubs, better environment and activities for young people, and 

 lower rates of anti-social behavior. Banks report a higher proportion of savings are 

 invested locally when communities are based on small businesses rather than large 

 externally-owned businesses. 



Moreover, small mills have been most important to the local economy of counties 

 most heavily reliant on federal wood supplies. Table 5 shows that about 53 percent of 

 anticipated 1993 federal log consumption by small mills was in the 15 counties most 

 heavily reliant on federal wood supplies, while only 41 percent of the federal log 

 consumption by large mills was situated in these counties. As a consequence, small mills 

 have been disproportionately impacted by the sudden reduction in federal timber sales, and 

 those coimties most reliant on federal wood supplies are now most challenged to replace the 

 family-wage jobs provided by these small mills. 



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