Social Acceptability Of Alternatives To Clearcutting

Changing social contexts have necessitated a new approach to forest management. Growing dissatisfaction with clearcutting has made the USDA Forest Service the focus of criticism by various public interest groups.We discuss and provide a comprehensive annotated list of published and unpublished references on the subject of socially acceptable alternatives to clearcutting, with emphasis on southeast Alaska. The literature reveals that social acceptability is a complex synthesis of multiple opinions, values, and attitudes, and indicates that both qualitative and quantitative social science research are required to identify socially acceptable alternatives to clearcutting in southeast Alaska.

This compendium of papers was developed in response to the assumption that implementing an ecological approach to forest management requires an understanding of socially acceptable forestry -- what it is and the implications of doing it. Perspectives from a variety of social science disciplines are presented which attempt to define social acceptability and examine the question from a public, philosophical and ethical standpoint to determine whether the focus on social acceptability is an appropriate and useful one. Charts and tables. Bibliography.

Balancing Ecosystem Values: Innovative Experiments for Sustainable Forestry is a compendium of more than 40 contributions from Asia, Europe, and North America. The theme encompasses experiments implemented at an operational scale to test ecological, social, or economic responses to silvicultural treatments designed to balance the complex set of objectives currently targeted in sustainable forest management. Several invited and plenary papers emphasize the variety of outcomes demanded by the public, as well as the essential role that these long-term studies will play in allowing natural resource managers to make better-informed, science-based decisions. A broad spectrum of silvicultural treatments and systems are covered, as are simulation runs with different types of models and discussion about design challenges for scaling up from stands to landscapes. Diverse forest ecosystems, stand structures and plant, animal, and fungal species are also considered. The conference included 2 days in the field where participants saw several types of the comprehensive field experiments firsthand. The conference concluded with a critique from state, private, and public land managers.

Newsletter for the forest plan revision.

In 1997, scientists at the Pacific Northwest Research Station initiated several social science studies in response to information gaps identified while developing the Tongass Land Management Plan. Results presented here summarize findings from studies of demographic trends and tourism trends in the region based on data available through 2002. Demographic trends suggest that despite having many unique geographic, climatic, and physical characteristics, southeast Alaska exhibits many social conditions and trends similar to those statewide, as well as in the greater United States and nonmetropolitan United States. Much variation exists at the community level, however, when measuring change in population and income in southeast Alaska. In the last decade, tourism has been one of the fastest growing components of Alaskas economy and an important source of export-based income. Natural resource management and use in Alaska will affect and will be affected by trends in tourism growth and activities.