Economics

Economics studies the flow of currency between individuals and industries: locally, nationally and globally. Production, distribution and consumption of wealth is the main concern in economics. Economics is a subdiscipline within social science because, like social science, economics deals with the relationship between society and a force in or around society that's powerful enough to shape its citizens' decisions based on the well-being or direction of that particular force. In social science, changes in the environment elicits changes in society. Whereas in economics, the national and worldly state of prosperity is what triggers changes within the financial system. Much like individual trees are required to grow and develop into a forest, the progression and condition of the environment, economy and other factors help make up each individual tree within the forest of society.

Carol Raish
Research Social Scientist

See Also: Fire/Fuel

Albuquerque Forestry Sciences Lab

Interests:

• Archaeology/Anthropology;

• Homeowner attitudes toward fire threat mitigation;

• Determining management practices favored by communities and users of Valles Caldera National Preserve;

• Understanding the role and importance of ranching to families and communities;

• Evaluating Community Knowledge, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Preferences Concerning Fire and Fuels Management, Economic, Social, and Cultural Aspects of Livestock Ranching.

• Understanding the importance of ranching in rural Hispanic cultures as well as better management of Forest Service relations with communities and individuals.

Geographical Areas: New Mexico; Santa Fe and Carson National Forests; Valles Caldera National Preserve.

Alan Watson
Research Social Scientist

Aldo Leopold Wilderness Institute

Interests:

• Modeling
• Landscape
• Forest policy
• Social values

Geographical Areas: Bitterroot NF; Alaska; Oregon Eagle Cap Wilderness; Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, MT.

Daniel Williams Research Social Scientist

Human Dimensions: Social and Economic Values

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Interests:

• Application of environmental psychology

• Consumer behavior

• Cultural geography to recreational and amenity uses and perceptions of natural environments

• Public lands planning and policy

• Ecosystem management

• Advancing knowledge and methods for describing and mapping place specific values and meanings held by stakeholders and the social forces and practices shaping those values and meanings

Geographical Areas: Arctic Wilderness; Femundsmarka National Park; Norway; Australia.

Thomas Brown Economist

Human Dimensions: Social and Economic Values

Interests:

• Economic valuation of natural resources

• Environmental, economic, and institutional aspects of water resource management

Geographical Areas: Fort Collins, Colorado.

Patricia Champ Economist

Human Dimensions: Social and Economic Values

Interests:

• Validity issues associated with nonmarket valuation methods

• Survey research issues

• Allocation mechanisms for recreational opportunities on public lands

• Issues associated with institutional arrangements and incentives

Geographical Areas: Valles Caldera National Preserve; Taiwanese National Park; Colorado Springs.

Dan McCollum
Economist

Human Dimensions: Social and Economic Values

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Interests:

• Economic valuation of nonmarket goods and natural resources

• Studying how benefits and economic activity accrue to groups or sectors within the economy--an economic distribution or equity perspective

• Emphasizing applications of economic theory and methods to natural resource management

Geographical Areas: Alaska; Colorado; Montana; Maine; Arizona; New Mexico; Denali National Park.

David Calkin
Research Forester

See Also: Fire/Fuel, Forest Ecosystems

Missoula Forestry Sciences Lab: Economics

Interests:

• Forestry

• Wildland fire economics

• Economics of fuel treatments

• Biomass utilization

• Economics of ecosystem management

• Multi-resource modeling

• Economics of fuel reduction treatments

• Joint production analysis

• Spatial modeling of silvicultural activities using heuristic optimization techniques

Geographical Areas: Western Montana; Northern and Intermountain Region lands.

Greg Jones
Research Forester

See Also: Fire/Fuel, Forest Ecosystems

Missoula Forestry Sciences Lab: Economics

Interests:

• Management

• Developing and testing methodology and models for applying economic analysis at both project and landscape scales

• Economics of ecosystem management and planning, including the recent emphasis on fire and hazardous fuel management

Geographical Areas: Western Montana; Bitterroot National Forest.

John Mitchell
Rangeland Scientist

See Also: Forest Ecosystems, Rangeland Management

Fort Collins Forestry Sciences Lab: Natural Resources

Interests:

• Effects of urban development and subdivisions on plant communities and rangelands in the Rocky Mountains

• Working to develop consistent, acceptable measures of rangeland's long-term contributions to society

• Assessing the status of U.S. rangelands nationally

Geographical Areas: Rocky Mountains; Big Cimarron Watershed; Southern Colorado.

Social Sciences and the Economics of Moderation in Fuels Treatment (pdf)

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Place, leisure, and well-being

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Hydrology and Erosion Impacts of Mining Derived Coastal Sand Dunes, Chanaral Bay, Chile

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Surviving the Deepening Downturn

RMRS Economics Unit at the Missoula Forestry Sciences Lab

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RMRS Human Dimensions Program

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Social Sciences in Forestry

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Integrating Social Science into Planning (ppt)

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Restoring Hope: The U.S. Forest Service's Economic Recovery Program