Regional Ecosystem Office (REO) - Northwest Forest Plan
Interagency Regional Monitoring: Socio-Economic Program

We must never forget the human and the economic dimensions of these problems.
In the early 1990s, forest-associated communities in the Pacific Northwest, still struggling with the legacy of recession and industry consolidation in the 1980s, were met with new restrictions for cutting timber on federal lands. Concerns about the possible social and economic impacts of federal forest management on these communities led to monitoring requirements in the Record of Decision for the Northwest Forest Plan, framed as two questions:
- Are predictable levels of timber and non-timber resources available and being produced?
- Are communities and economies experiencing positive or negative changes that may be associated with federal forest management?
The key objectives of the monitoring program are to identify communities experiencing significant positive or negative conditions or trends, as well as those that are not, and to improve understanding of the relationship between federal forest management and social and economic change.
To address the objectives above, the monitoring program analyzes trends in data for timber harvest, special forest products, livestock grazing, mineral extraction, and recreation. Social and economic indicators derived from U.S. census data, analysis of quantitative data from agency databases, and interviews conducted in four sample case-study areas were part of the research program for the Northwest Forest Plan Ten Year Monitoring Report.
Contact Information
- Elisabeth Grinspoon - Regional Social Scientist, 503-808-2207, egrinspoon@fs.fed.us
Reports
Time | Five-Year Monitoring Reports |
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20-Year | Grinspoon, E.; Jaworski, D; Phillips, R. 2015. Northwest Forest Plan—The First 20 Years [1994-2013]: Socioeconomic Status and Trends. Report FS/R6/PNW/2015/0006. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region.
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15-Year | Grinspoon, E; Phillips, R. 2011. Northwest Forest Plan—The First 15 Years [1994-2008]: Socioeconomic Status and Trends. Tech. Paper R6-RPM-TP-02-2011. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region.
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10-Year | Charnley, S., tech. coord. 2006. Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): socioeconomic monitoring results. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-649. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 6 vol. |
Other Monitoring Reports |
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Buttolph L. et al. 2006. Socioeconomic Monitoring of the Olympic National Forest and Three Local Communities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-679. |
Donoghue E. et al. 2006. Considering Communities in Forest Management Planning in Western Oregon. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-693. |
Donoghue, E.M.; Sutton, N.L. 2006. Community socioeconomic information system, [CD-ROM]. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-672. |
McLain, R. et al. 2006. Socioeconomic Monitoring of Coos Bay District and Three Local Communities. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-675. |
Moseley, C. 2006. Northwest Forest Plan-the first 10 years (1994-2003): Procurement contracting in the affected counties. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-661. |
Charnley, S. et al. 2003. Social and Economic Effectiveness Monitoring. Northwest Forest Plan. 2002 Annual Summary Report.
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Stuart, C. et al. 2002. Social and Economic Effectiveness Monitoring. Northwest Forest Plan. 2001 Annual Summary Report.
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Sommers, P . 2001. Monitoring Socioeconomic Trends in the Northern Spotted Owl Region: Framework, Trends Update, and Community Level Monitoring Recommendations.
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Christensen, H.; Donoghue, E . 2001. A research framework for natural resource-based communities in the Pacific Northwest. PNW-GTR-515. |
Warren, D. 2001. Production, prices, employment, and trade in Northwest forest industries, all quarters, 1999. PNW-RB-235. |
Christensen, H. et al., tech. eds. 1999. Northwest Forest Plan: outcomes and lessons learned from the Northwest economic adjustment initiative. PNW-GTR-484. |
Christensen, H. et al. 2000. Atlas of human adaptation to environmental change, challenge, and opportunity: northern California, western Oregon, and western Washington. PNW-GTR-478. |
Data
Data Reports |
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20-Year report |