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Forest-based communities in the Blues: adapting to environmental and social change [ Tech Note No. 3 (HTML, 23k) ]

by M. Carroll and K. Blatner

Much has been written and said about the ecological implications of the forest health problem in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington. Less attention has been devoted to the implications of the issue for rural communities in the region, many of which have traditionally depended on forest resources as an economic base. In discussing these implications, however, it is inappropriate to overlook the fact that these communities like other resource-based communities throughout the West, would, with or without the forest health problem, be undergoing fairly dramatic changes due to economic and political developments that extend far beyond their borders. This document addresses the broad context of the forces of change faced by these communities as well as some important considerations that should figure into the "search for solutions" to the dilemmas and difficulties they confront.

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