Contemporary Natural Resource Economic Issue (Essay Sample)

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Timber Harvest Falls in National Forests
Once a major industry in the West of the United States logging has drastically dwindled following pressure from environmental groups in the past three decades, which forced the federal government to intervene. Following the move, logging has reduced by up to 80 percent in parts of the West. Recent rampant forest fires across Oregon, California, and Nevada have stirred opinions calling for heightened logging inside forests and national parks to counter the damages caused by the fires by ensuring that the forests are thinned.
Logging has its supporters who justify that forests have become too overcrowded and dense hence thinning to reduce wildfire. Harvesting timber will also help stimulate the economy. For instance, a fire that was experienced in Yosemite Rim in the summer of 2013, consuming down 400 square miles of forest forced neighboring communities to look for a remedy to counter forest fires as they felt endangered on numerous occasions. The fires are a serious threat to biodiversity in trees and animals. Scientists attribute the intense forest fires to be a result of the high density of national forests which has been a consequence of reduced logging following government interventions in the ‘70s and ‘80s. California has been the most affected by forest fires which have forced residents to resort in protecting their national forests. With three quarters of California’s drinking water coming from the water catchment areas, people believe that thinning forests via logging can help protect biodiversity and improve the health of national forests.
Research by EcoWest found that timber harvest has declined as stated by the United States Forest Service. The infographic below shows trends of how logging has been declining.


“Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act” was enacted by the House of Representatives. The bill stipulated a minimum quota of timber to be harvested from federal lands annually for biomass energy and creation of lumber. In 1905, around which the Forest Service was established, logging was unregulated in the West. However, after the Second World War, logging rates rose significantly up the to late '70s when international competition and environmental regulations led to a drastic reduction in volumes of timber from federal lands. Restrictions connected to the spotted owl of ‘90’s and passage of the National Forest Management Act of the late '70s led to great fall in clear-cutting and other unwanted practices.
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