The purpose of this paper is to determine if there have been systematic changes in the characteristics of Douglas-fir stumpage sold on National Forests in the Pacific Northwest that would significantly bias the price of stumpage. Four hedonic methods were used to develop indices of pure price change holding stumpage characteristics constant. None indicated a significant trend in quality over the period 1968 to 1978. Quality differences, however, appeared to play a role in the year-to-year price changes. The advantage and inconveniences of each indexing method and their use for various purposes are discussed
