1. Protecting the Northern Spotted Owl: What it Cost the Logging Industry
Flint Jackson

2. The Question
In 1996, legislation was enacted establishing protection areas for Northern Spotted Owls
The logging industry lost large areas of previously harvestable timber.
The question: what was the value of the timber lost?
Area was limited to Snohomish County for visibility

3. Data Data was acquired from the following sources: Types of Data
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT)
Washington State Department of Revenue (DoR)
Types of Data
Protected Habitat Areas
Stand Types
Documented Logging Areas
Logging Areas No Longer in Use

4. Selecting Specific Stands
Only stands within habitat areas were selected

5. Separating Stand Types
Selected stands were differentiated by predominant species type

6. Total Area Lost
Statistics used to determine total affected area for each type

7. Total Affected Area 12,265 acres of Douglas Fir 25 acres of Red Alder
21,459 acres of Western Hemlock

8. Value
Current the DoR:
Douglas Fir: $535 / MBF
Red Alder: $304 / MBF
Western Hemlock: $336 / MBF
The DNR and DoR use an average yield of 45 MBF (thousand board feet) per acre

9. Total Value Douglas Fir: $294,997,034 Red Alder: $347,155
Western Hemlock: $323,984,080
Total Value Lost: $619,328,268

10. Conclusion
Snohomish County had a relatively small area lost to commercial logging and still lost over $600 million worth of lumber
Other counties with larger areas lost even more
This helps explain the large number of jobs lost and the damage done to logging reliant communities