The Economic Case Against National Forest Logging

A report by John Talberth and Karyn Moskowitz

National forests provide many important social and economic contributions to the nation, simply by existing as natural ecosystems. Natural resource economists have coined the term "ecosystem services," to describe such social and economic contributions. These include important functions such as flood control, nutrient cycling, soil production, purification of water, carbon sequestering, pollination, pest control, and waste recycling; products such as plants used in manufacturing of medicines, edible mushrooms, and floral greens; uses such as recreation, hunting, and fishing; and scenic, aesthetic, and cultural values that are important quality of life factors for forest dependent communities.

• Natural resource economists have conservatively estimated that such ecosystem services contribute $4.7 trillion dollars each year to the global economy.
  
  
• In communities nearby national forests, the number of jobs and amount of income generated by ecosystem services far outweighs the jobs and income associated with logging. For example, in Alaska, jobs related to environmental quality outnumber logging jobs by a factor of 16:1.
  
  
• The Forest Service has access to information and models which permit the agency to quantify ecosystem service values. Yet in timber sale program decisions made at the national, forest, and project level, these services are ignored while the value of timber is regularly exaggerated.
  
  
• The Forest Service’s failure to address ecosystem service values violates requirements of several statutes, regulations, and rules governing national forest management.

For a copy of this report, contact John Talberth at (505) 986-1163, or write to:

Forest Conservation Council
P.O. Box 22488
Santa Fe, NM 87502.