Conservation Land Amenities and Regional Economies: A Postmatching Difference‐in‐differences Analysis of the Northwest Forest Plan

Abstract

The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) resulted in the protection of over 11 million acres of public forestland in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. This paper quantifies the amenity effect arising from protected NWFP lands on long-run community economic growth. Using community fixed effects and postmatching panel regression to control for many sources of bias, we find highly localized and positive amenity impacts on the growth in median income, population, and property values for small communities close to protected NWFP land, as compared to communities far from the NWFP. We find no effect on medium-sized communities.

Assessing the local economic impacts of land protection

“…However, in a more recent study of the plan, Chen et al. () found positive, long‐term amenity benefits for small communities and no long‐term effects for medium‐sized communities.…”

“…; Chen et al. ). Employment‐related growth effects are usually driven by recreational visitor spending in or near protected areas, which creates additional demand for locally produced goods and services.…”

“…; Chen et al. ). Prior research in northeastern states also associates county‐level environmental amenities with economic growth (White & Hanink ).…”

“…; Chen et al. ; Jakus & Akhundjanov ), whereas future conservation is likely to include more private conservation in highly populated areas (Rissman et al. ; Lilieholm et al.…”

“…Only Chen et al. () used a similar unit of analysis, and their results pertain to a different U.S. region. Novel regional studies of local impacts are crucial for informing future policy.…”