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FORESTRY
The
value of forest products in 2000 (including timber, firewood and Christmas trees)
was $5,736,000. In 2001, the value dropped significantly to $313,000. The
timber industry is slowly dying in the County due to stricter government and
environmental constraints.
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The western portion of Glenn County
is encompassed within the boundaries of the Mendocino National Forest,
which occupies about 1,397.5 square miles and includes portions of six
counties in the region.
Approximately twenty-two percent of Glenn County's
total land area lies within forest boundaries.
Data from the Glenn County Profile
indicate that the value of harvested timber in Glenn County
in 1990 was approximately $4.8 million.
About 4.4 percent of the county's total workforce was employed in
forestry-related industry in 1990, representing roughly 425 jobs, making this
sector of the county's economy the sixth largest among categories of major
employers. Approximately sixty
percent of all forest-related employment is attributable to timber management
programs and activities.
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For decades, the harvesting of timber in
the National Forest has been a substantial source of economic activity in Glenn County and the surrounding
region. However, projections by
the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) suggest that timber production in the Mendocino National Forest may decline to less
than thirty to forty percent of levels prevalent in the 1980's. Substantially affecting timber
production potential in the Mendocino
National Forest are the
recent listing of the northern spotted owl as a threatened wildlife species,
recent and pending legislation, recent lawsuits, and increased regulation of
private timber harvesting.
Regionally, lumber mills have closed down or been consolidated into
major milling centers. The role
of the timber industry, and of forestry in general, is not expected to grow
in relationship to the balance of the Glenn County
economy.
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