Compatibility Between Wood Production and Other Values and Uses on Forested Lands: A Problem Analysis

摘要

We provide background documentation for the Pacific Northwest Research Station's Wood Compatibility Initiative, a 5-year multidisciplinary research effort that began in response to 1997 Congressional direction. This problem analysis was the initial effort to examine the state of knowledge regarding compatibility between wood production and other values and to develop a framework for directing a research initiative (Wood Compatibility Initiative) that examines the central question: Can we as a society produce wood commodities and other forest values in an environmentally acceptable and sustainable manner. Forest policy issues are often framed as two-dimensional debates such as jobs versus the environment. That framework assumes that forest management is a zero-sum enterprise, in which actions such as timber harvest inevitably mean substantial tradeoffs for other forest values such as wildlife habitat, clean water, and recreation. The debate ignores the possibility that instead of direct tradeoffs, opportunities exist for compatible changes that can provide more of both. The research challenge is to determine if, and at what level, timber harvest and other forest services and products can complement one another. Compatibility is seen as the degree to which we can manage for wood production without impairing other values.