Comment by Alex Williamson
The United States Forest Service operates under a funding structure that encourages forest managers to sacrifice the long-term sustainability of federal forest ecosystems and infrastructure. This Comment identifies some of the most counterproductive federal statutes and proposes a remedy in the form of a market-based decision-making framework. This framework incorporates both traditional environmental economics principles, as well as a funding mechanism based on more theoretical ecosystem services. This framework would resolve many of the Forest Service's environmental and financial difficulties by encouraging Forest Service managers to balance more accurately present and future user interests by allowing forest managers to reap the benefits of sound management. Finally, this Comment evaluates the economic and environmental benefits and shortcomings of the proposed model, noting the political, social, scientific, and economic difficulties surrounding Forest Service reform.
About the Author
Alex Williamson. J.D. candidate 2006, Tulane University School of Law; B.A. 2003, Whitman College.
Citation
80 Tul. L. Rev. 683 (2005)