Title: Evaluating forest policy in the Pacific Northwest, USA. 20 years of efforts to protect endangered salmon habitat in Washington State forests
Abstract: The State of Washington, which hosts some of the last old-growth forests in the continental United States, commissioned the University of Washington to conduct a policy impact assessment after 20 years of “forests and fish” policies to protect endangered salmon habitat. This presentation will frame the policy background of the resulting impact assessment, its main findings, and the data that remains available for further analysis and publication. The central trade-off the report analyzes is the net outcome of regulations and policies intended to secure riparian function against the complaint of forest owners that the same regulations are an incentive to divest from forest stewardship thereby driving the conversion of forest lands to non-resource uses and reducing riparian function. The policy environment includes a mix of regulations, an easement program for partial compensation of foregone timber revenues in riparian zones, an alternative riparian management program, and a landowner assistance office. I will describe the data we collected to serve as a starting point for conversations about future research collaboration potential.
