Fact:
No regional economies depend upon public lands logging. In the
states with the most federal
commercial timberland, logging and wood products employment represents
a minor share of
overall jobs. In Idaho, for example, only 3 percent of all jobs
are related to wood products.
And this is counting logging and manufacturing of all paper and wood
products, regardless of
whether these products originated from public land timber sales or
not. In Oregon, only 4.6
percent of all jobs are related to wood products. In Colorado,
where federal forests account for
a large share of the land base, only 1/2 of 1 percent of employment
is related to wood products.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, Covered Employment and wages Program,
(ES-202), November
1997)
Federal timber supplies are insignificant to the lumber and wood products
sector. Between 1988
and 1996, the amount of timber logged from National Forests dropped
by 70 percent, from 12.6
billion board feet to 3.9 billion board feet. During this period,
national employment in lumber
and wood products jobs actually rose. In 1988, the lumber and
wood products sector supported
771,000 jobs with a $15.2 billion payroll. In 1996, the
sector supported 778,000 jobs with a
S20 billion payroll.