Impacts of national forests in the West on county population and employment

This study seeks to understand the manner and extent to which western national forests influence an area's overall population and employment growth by evaluating changes in management emphasis from single to multiple uses. The Carlino and Mills model was used to examine county level data from 12 western states over the period 1977-2010. Changes in timber sales and the amount of land owned by the Forest Service were not found to be significantly related to employment growth.