Publisher's Synopsis
One of the Northwest Forest Plan's socioeconomic goals was to protect the forest values and environmental qualities associated with late-successional, old-growth, and aquatic ecosystems. In Volume V we address the topic of forest protection from the socioeconomic perspective. A literature review revealed that between 1990 and 2002 there has been surprisingly little change in Pacific Northwest residents' views of how Pacific Northwest forests should be managed. Throughout this period, research findings indicate that people support forest management to provide a broad set of multiple uses and both economic and environmental benefits. Nevertheless, there has consistently been a proenvironment leaning, with the majority favoring environmental over economic management objectives when asked to make a choice between them. Throughout the study period, the belief that active forest management improves forest health has predominated. However, clearcutting has consistently been unpopular, and the majority have favored old-growth protection. New forestry techniques that are not intensive are more socially acceptable.
