Experiments In Sustainable Forestry

The California Jackson Demonstration State Forest experiment in sustainable forestry has been an economic success. But is the policy driven by the wrong incentives?

1 minute read

May 4, 2003, 3:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Short-term financial gain is driving a policy that sacrifices a precious resource, critics say... To the chagrin of environmentalists, the scenic 50,000-acre Jackson Demonstration State Forest has been a cash cow, with woods full of 80- to 120-year-old trees generating as much as $12 million annually...But other money goes to pay private landowners — among them rural resorts and country clubs — to plant lesser trees to mitigate erosion and to thin the woods on their own land."

Thanks to Laura Kranz

Saturday, May 3, 2003 in The Los Angeles Times

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