Indicators of economic conditions were negatively correlated with areas of concentrated employment in the forest products industry. Industrial concentration in the pulp and paper sector and the primary wood products sector was negatively correlated with median household income and the proportion of the population completing high school and positively correlated with unemployment and poverty rates. Further, industrial concentration in these sectors was negatively correlated with population growth and other indicators of economic development such as concentrated employment in the finance, insurance, and real estate sector. The degree to which the pulp and paper sector and the primary wood products sector influenced prevalent economic conditions cannot be easily determined.
The forest products industry provided good paying jobs relative to other economic sectors in areas where the forest products industry was located. On average, income per job in this industry ranged from marginally higher (in the primary and secondary wood products sectors) to much higher (in the pulp and paper sector) than average income per job for typical sources of employment.
Indicators of social conditions were mixed with respect to employment in the forest products industry. For example, industrial concentration in this industry was positively correlated with the proportion of owner-occupied housing and the proportion of the population that voted in presidential elections and was negatively correlated with rates of crime and divorce. However, industrial concentration was negatively correlated with the percent of the population graduating from high school and, in the case of the primary wood products sector, was positively correlated with infant mortality rates. The degree to which the forest products industry influenced prevalent social conditions cannot be easily determined.
Through the export of wood products to other regions, the forest products industry contributed to local economies by bringing in income, which then circulated through economies via the purchase of locally provided goods and services. The forest products industry also contributed to the local tax base of communities via income and property taxes.
Forest amenities were impacted in areas with concentrated employment in the pulp and paper sector and the primary wood products sector. Concentrated employment in these sectors was correlated with various indicators of an increasingly industrialized forest, including higher concentrations of plantation acreage, younger pine forests, and greater timber harvest intensity in hardwood forests.
The forest related recreation and tourism sector was concentrated in areas with more natural forest conditions. Increasing concentration of employment in this sector was correlated with higher proportions of upland hardwood forests, older forests, and forests where harvest pressure was less intense.
Areas of concentrated employment in the forest related recreation and tourism sector were correlated with better economic conditions and relatively higher levels of economic development. An increase in the degree of concentration in this sector was correlated with an increase in median household income; an increase in the rate of high school graduation; a decline in unemployment and poverty rates; an increase in employment concentration in the finance, insurance, and real estate sector; an increase in employment in the retail and wholesale sectors; and an increase in the rate of population growth. However, increased concentration in this industry was also correlated with an increase in the crime rate. Thus, areas of concentrated employment in the forest related recreation and tourism sector face different economic development challenges than do areas of concentrated employment in the wood fiber-based forestry sectors.
Competing demands on southern forests will likely increase as timber production intensifies in the South due to the region’s competitive advantage in timber growing and as people continue to move to locations in the South that provide natural forest amenities. In some areas these trends will intensify the social, political, and ideological tension related to forest use. And in some areas, quality of life for residents may decline where forests with natural amenity values come under increased pressure for timber harvest and intensified forest management.
