Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

Table of ContentsI. Introduction and Sum m ary ................................................ 531A. Requirements of the Endangered Species Act ................................. 531B. The Problem ......................................................... 531C. The Role of Economic Considerations ............................................ 531D. Summary of Features to Reduce Costs .......................................... 533E. Summary of Preliminary Estimatesof the Economic Effects of Implementing the Recovery Plan ............ 534II.General Economic Principles forReducing the Cost of Spotted Owl Recovery . ........................... 536A. The Efficiency Principle ......................................................... 536B. The Importance of Owl Habitat Productivity ................................... 537C. Joint Production Possibilities ........................................................ 538D. The Importance of Timber Productivity .......................................... 539E. Institutional Principles for Promoting Efficiency ............................. 539F. Equity and Distributional Principles .............................................. 540G. Dealing with Uncertainty and Risk ................................................ 540III. Relationship Between Spotted OwlHabitat and the Timber Resource Base ................................................ 541IV. Economic and Social Cost InformationConsidered in the Formation of the Recovery Plan . ...................... 543A. Previously Estimated Economic Costsof Owl Conservation Proposals ...................................................... 544B. Potential Social Costs of Owl Conservation Measures ..................... 548C. Indicators of the Timber Dependency of Local Economies ............... 550V. Preliminary Evaluation of the Economic Effectsof Implementing the Spotted Owl Recovery Plan ................................... 558A. Economic Effects Covered by Preliminary Estimates ....................... 558B. Analytical Concepts .......................................... 5581. The Supply Curve ......................................................... 5582. The Fundamental Economic Benefits of Timber Production ...... 5623. Economic Effects of Owl Habitat Protection .............................. 5654. The Demand for Labor in the Timber Industry ......................... 5715. Effects on the Value of Capital Assets ...................................... 573C. Estimating Economic Effects of Implementing the Recovery Plan .... 5731. Estimating the Loss of Benefits from Federal Timber Harvest .... 5732. Estimating Employment Effects ............................................... 5743. Estimating Wage Losses ......................................................... 5764. Estimating the Economic Effects of Silvicultural Practices ........ 5785. Estimating the Economic Effects of Salvage .............................. 5806. Estimating the Effects on County Revenues ............................. 580Bibliography . 583Figures1. Timber supply curve . 5592. Timber supply curve from Table H.7 . 5603. Timber supply curves . 5604. Timber supply curves from Table H.8 . 5625. Effect of removing low cost timber from timber supply curve . 562529