A Socio-economic Analysis of French Public Timber Sales

This socio-economic study aims to better understand the functioning and the evolution of timber sales held by the French public forest service. The auction mechanism is the historical institution which has been used in France for centuries. The recent will to develop supply contracts through private agreements is a major change in the French timber industry. It accurately raises questions about the timber prices issue.Timber sales, timber auctions, timber prices, French public forests, French wood industry, institution

A profile of federal timber purchases in the U.S. West

2 pagesThe US Forest Service primarily engages the private sector through service contracts, stewardship contracts, and timber sales. Both stewardship project and timber sales can generate commercially valuable wood products, and some businesses may rely on these federal timber sources. However, little is known about the timber-purchasing businesses currently active on federal lands. To gain a better understanding of these businesses, we investigated their characteristics, business needs, challenges, and reliance on federal timber sales.This research was supported by funding from the USDA Agricultural and Food Research Initiative, grant #2011-67023-30111

HEDONIC ESTIMATION OF SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA FORESTLAND PRICES

Forestland is a composite good, the price of which varies with its characteristics, such as its ability to produce timber and its proximity to markets. Sales of predominately forested land in southeastern Oklahoma were examined to better understand and quantify the influences of physical and spatial characteristics on sales prices.Land Economics/Use,

A REVIEW OF APPEALS AND LITIGATION OVER TIMBER SALES BETWEEN 1999 AND 2008 ON THE LOLO NATIONAL FOREST

A review of litigation and appeals over timber sales on the Lolo National Forest for the years 1999 thru 2008 revealed that of the 157 timber sales that could have been appealed or litigated, 27%, representing 55% of the timber volume in all the reviewed sales, had some form of appeal or litigation.. The categories of timber sales with the highest percentage of appeals and/or litigation in relation to their representation within the population as a whole were those that were performed to improve forest health or to meet stewardship goals. The silvicultural prescription that had the highest percentage of appeals and/or litigation in relation to their representation within the population as a whole were thin from above prescriptions while the least frequent was a clear cut. This study intends to serve as a source of information about appeals and litigation on the Lolo National Forest over timber sales by discussing reasons why environmental groups litigate and appeal timber sales. Additionally, this study hopes to give individuals, the Forest Service, private interest groups, or citizen groups involved with attempting to decrease the number of timber sales appealed or litigated as well as the volume of wood appealed or litigated, a point of comparison to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts

Multiple-criteria stem bucking (Picea abies L. Karst.) for maximizing monetary value of timber trade

In this study, timber trade scenarios are considered in a wood procurement region of Finland. This multiple objective decision-making situation includes the timber purchase from forest owners and the lumber sales from sawmill to abroad. The situation is further complicated by a number of stem bucking instructions of sawmill during different periods. In practice, this decision problem has been solved by applying single-objective stem bucking instructions in harvesters. Due to the complex nature of the problem, single-objective solution can’t be directly used to support the timber trade in a manner that it is techno-economically relevant to the forest owners and industries. In this study, stand parameters and timber trade attributes were measured in local wood procurement conditions to improving the bucking instructions. Three scenarios of how the simulation system works based on the real stem diameters and optional monetary value of logs are investigated in the timber-trade process. The Finnish timber trade market is subjected to agreements regarding stem bucking regulations. These agreements could be made on the basis of the three criteria suggested in this study accounting for the effects of stand classification on the timber sales of forest owners and the lumber sales of export companies

Set-Asides and Subsidies in Auctions

Set-asides and subsidies are used extensively in government procurement and natural resource sales. We analyze these policies in an empirical model of U.S. Forest Service timber auctions. The model fits the data well both within the sample of unrestricted sales where we estimate the model, and when we predict (out of sample) bidder entry and prices for small business set-asides. Our estimates suggest that restricting entry to small businesses substantially reduces efficiency and revenue, although it does increase small business participation. An alternative policy of subsidizing small bidders would increase revenue and small bidder profit, while eliminating almost all of the efficiency loss of set-asides, and only slightly decreasing the profit of larger firms. We explain these findings by connecting to the theory of optimal auction design.set-asides, subsidies, natural resources, timber, auctions

L’évolution de la commercialisation des bois publics français : entre dépendance au chemin et rupture institutionnelle

The evolution of the French Public Timber Sales Mechanisms: Between Path Dependence and Path Breaking This article suggests applying the “path dependence” and “path breaking” concepts to the study of merchant institutions through which timber is sold in France. The aim is to analyze the consequences of a new law on timber industry. First we remind, the features which led to the appearance of a path dependence situation around the auction. Then we describe the exogenous and endogeneous factors in favour of a change in the institutional trajectory, due to the raise of supply contracts sales by private agreements. Finally, we present all the arguments given by part of the timber industry to maintain the auction as the main sales method.path dependence, public timber auction, institution, path-breaking, lock-in.

Reducing Taxes on Timber Sales.

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Mountain-pine beetle outbreaks and shifting social preferences for ecosystem services

Conventional wisdom appears to implicate climate change as the root cause of the unprecedented mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreak currently underway in the western United States. While climate change is undoubtedly a factor, historic changes in public forest management have resulted in greater numbers of large-diameter host trees in MPB habitat. We present a model that integrates standard economic and ecological principles in an attempt to clarify the roles of climate change and public forest management in the current MPB outbreak. Using data on timber sales, climate change and MPB populations, model simulations illustrate how an increased emphasis on non-timber ecosystem services induced a regime shift from climate-independent to climate-dependent disturbance processes, amplifying the current MPB outbreak.mountain pine beetle; climate change; forests

Timber Talk, Vol. 51, No. 2, June 1, 2013

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; Nebraska Timber Industry 2009; Global Timber and Wood Products Market Update; Drying Methods For Small Operators; Nebraska Forestry Spotlight; The Trading Post; Timber Sales