Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl - DRAFT

B. Potential Social Costs of Owl Conservation MeasuresThere is substantial literature on the social effects of economic changes inrural communities. Research on timber dependent communities has beenused in several studies to assess the social effects of the timber harvest reductionsthat might result from owl conservation measures. This literature wasreviewed and discussed by the Recovery Team. Existing sociologic studies donot provide a basis for quantitative estimates of the social effects that wouldresult from implementation of the recovery plan or other owl conservationplans. Such studies do, however, allow an assessment that is useful in judgingthe types of social effects that are likely and in planning programs to mitigatesuch effects.It appears likely that success of the recovery plan in the long run may dependsubstantially on how its social effects are handled. The support and cooperationof local communities has proven to be important in the success of manywildlife preservation programs. Experience with other large-scale wildlifeconservation programs has shown that it is difficult to sustain a healthy anddiverse ecosystem unless the human communities that depend on it are alsohealthy. It appears likely that, if people in timber dependent communities areto support efforts to protect the owl, substantial efforts will be needed to reducethe social costs they bear.The work of Robert G. Lee of the University of Washington provides a goodsynthesis of studies of the social effects of owl conservation programs (Lee1990 and 1991 a). Louise Fortmann of the University of California, Berkeley,has studied similar effects in California (Fortmann et al. 1990). This worksupports the use of employment and revenue estimates as indicators of economicand social effects. More importantly, it suggests that other factors mayhave an equally important bearing on the way people in timber dependentcommunities respond to the resulting changes in their lives.Lee identified four factors that are likely to exacerbate the social effects of owlconservation: 1) an apparent shift from decentralized, participatory forestlandmanagement that is oriented toward community stability to centralized commandand control regulation to protect owl habitat; 2) the perception that thefederal government has reneged on its commitment to maintain a nondecliningeven flow of timber from federal forests, a commitment on which many peoplebased a lifelong commitment of their own resources; 3) a social structure thatis less likely to adapt to permanently decreased employment and loss ofpersonal and business assets in timber dependent communities than isassumed: 4) the potential emergence of conflict among different groups ofpeople in which timber workers are stereotyped and stigmatized.Lee's work suggests that these factors may create a situation that inhibits theadaptiveness of people in timber dependent communities and increases theundesirable social effects of reductions in federal timber harvest.Research in timber dependent communities suggests that the shift fromdecentralized forest management to centralized species preservation policycauses increased opposition to owl conservation measures. As a result,implementation of owl conservation plans is likely to require greater use ofenforcement measures and greater short-term exploitation of the forests mayoccur. Accelerated liquidation of private timberlands may offset economiclosses for some in the short run, but also may have undesirable ecologicaleffects and exacerbate the decline in timber harvests in coming decades.The removal of forestland from the timber base to protect owl habitat will causea permanent decrease in timber harvest levels. This is perceived by people in548