Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 12.2.
Number of acres under contract and number of acres with completed treat-
ments by fiscal year for the White Mountain Stewardship Contract (Note: WMSC began in
fall 2004, figure runs through spring 2010).
impressive, this figure is much less than halfway to the 150,000-acre goal set at the be-
ginning of the contract. The relatively modest progress to date is not due to legal ac-
tions seeking to halt the project or to community resistance to forest activities;
indeed, the project has maintained a high level of support from both the local com-
munities of place and the communities of interest (e.g., sporting and environmental
groups). The primary limitation has been a lack of funding to pay for administrative
costs and to fill the gap between treatment costs and the value of salable wood prod-
ucts removed. While federal policy makers have begun to recognize the potential of
community-based restoration on public lands, they have not been as willing to provide
the funds needed to plan, administer, and implement these projects. This stands in
contrast to the heavy federal subsidies provided to southwestern national forests when
their management activities were focused on commercial timber production (Hirt
1994).
The restoration progress made in the White Mountains to date has been substan-
tial, but the fact that it has fallen short of expectations indicates the challenges faced
by communities throughout the country attempting to redefine both how local public
lands are managed and the community's role in managing them. Hjerpe, Abrams, and
Becker (2009) highlight the fact that it is often social and economic challenges, rather
than scientific uncertainty, that impede restoration progress in Southwest forests. In
the case of the White Mountains, a once sharply divided community has made great
progress in working together toward common goals and building a local infrastructure
to support restoration activities, but the process of turning ecological liabilities into
economic assets has been harder to achieve. As one member of the wood products
