Natural Resource Economics and Management

Land Management

Forest Land Management

One of the most precious resources that the United States possesses are the national and state forests which dot the landscape. Federally protected forests can be a great asset to government if they are properly controlled, and there has been some concern shown by the present administration regarding this issue. The Bureau of Land Management has just issued new directives about "which parts of the forest can safely be opened to logging, mining and recreation, and which parts must be set aside to protect wildlife and the health of the forest" (NY Times). This paper discusses what investments are worthwhile for foresters.

The main issue for the loggers and other who would use the federal lands is whether the projects they wish to undertake are a good investment for them. Of course, the federal government is much more concerned with management practices that benefit both the forest and the public which wishes to enjoy the land. For the foresters this is a simple calculation. They realize that "Any project with a positive net present value is worth doing" (Buongiorno & Gilless 378). This means that they have to calculate whether the worth of the trees they are going to harvest are worth the costs incurred from paying the government fee, replanting the area, and other costs that may be incurred. The benefit to the government is that the land is used in a responsible manner which revitalizes it, and that there are jobs created for a large group of people because of the activity.

The article in the NY Times says that "The new rules will allow all uses, including logging, energy development and recreation. But the clear focus is on conservation and restoration." The logging industry creates value for the land, and that is why there is so much stress on the logging industry in the new rules. The federal government is in the business of both preserving the land and making sure that it benefits all of the people in the nation. The forestry service wants to maintain the forests in their best possible state by "tree planting, herbaceous weed control, fertilization, precommercial thinning, final harvests, harvests for habitat improvement, preservation, road construction, road obliteration, and prescribed fire" (Bettinger, Boston, Sirey & Grebner 2). The management if these forests then is not ecological or commercial in nature, it is both. The Bureau of Land Management would be remiss if they did not look at all avenues of protecting and projecting the forests. One of the concerns in the article is that declining species are not a part of the concern on the part of the new standards, but they are a part of management practices. Even though some may think that they do not go far enough, the new forestry management standards place a premium on ensuring that the forests are properly managed for all species. The people who are complaining that the standards do not go far enough need to understand all aspects of the management process.