Rocky Mountain Research Station Publications
RMRS Online Publication
RMRS-RN-20WWW: Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and Integration:
Economic Uses
Fact sheet topics from the Economics Team include prescribed fire costs, harvesting, log hauling, NEPA and other regulations, wood utilization, economic impacts on communities, markets for wood, and harvest equipment requirements. More information ...
Other fact sheet series: Overview of the Project | Social Issues | Forest Structure and Fire Hazards | Environmental Consequences
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Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 1: mastication treatments and costs. 2004. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-1WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
Mastication, or mulching, is a mechanical fuel treatment that changes the structure and size of fuels in the stand. This fact sheet describes the kinds of equipment available, where mastication should be used, and treatment factors affecting cost.
RMRS-RN-20-1WWW: Mastication Treatments and Costs
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_01.pdf
PDF File Size: 150 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 2: log hauling cost. 2004. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-2WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
Knowing the cost of fuel reduction treatments and associated activities, such as hauling cut trees, is essential for fire and fuels planning. This fact sheet explores the main factors that determine the cost of hauling cut trees and points the user to an interactive tool that can help plan for those and other expenses.
RMRS-RN-20-2WWW: Log Hauling Cost
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_02.pdf
PDF File Size: 150 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 3: economic impacts of fuel treatments. 2004. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-3WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
With increased interest in reducing hazardous fuels in dry inland forests of the American West, agencies and the public will want to know the economic impacts of fuel reduction treatments. This fact sheet discusses the economic impact tool, a component of My Fuel Treatment Planner, for evaluating economic impacts.
RMRS-RN-20-3WWW: Economic Impacts of Fuel Treatments
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_03.pdf
PDF File Size: 150 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 4: My Fuel Treatment Planner. 2005. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-4WWW Revised. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
My Fuel Treatment Planner (MyFTP) is a user-friendly spreadsheet application that helps the user answer the questions of which trees to cut, what material to utilize for forest products versus treatment in place, equipment options, what types of stands to treat, as well as provides a way to calculate cost or net revenue of treatments and fuel surface loads following treatment. This fact sheet identifies the intended users and uses, required inputs, what the model does and does not do, and tells the user how to obtain the model.
RMRS-RN-20-4WWW: My Fuel Treatment Planner
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_04.pdf
PDF File Size: 160 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 5: NEPA and economics. 2004. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-5WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the law that requires Federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of their actions, involve the public in the decisionmaking process, and disclose information, starting at the initial stages of planning. This fact sheet discusses when you should consider economics in the NEPA process, when to do an analysis, whether or not to use an economist to conduct the analysis, and other statutes, such as the Clean Air Act, you should be aware of.
RMRS-RN-20-5WWW: NEPA and Economics
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_05.pdf
PDF File Size: 150 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 6: selection criteria analysis. 2004. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-6WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
Confidence in decisionmaking can often come from knowing if others in similar circumstances would choose the same management strategy. Researchers at the USDA FS Pacific Northwest Research Station and the University of Saskatchewan have developed a Selection Criteria Analysis for answering this very question. This fact sheet discusses factors affecting the choice of treatment, such as site characteristics and management objectives; and how the Selection Criteria Analysis balances the factors in the decisionmaking process.
RMRS-RN-20-6WWW: Selection Criteria Analysis
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_06.pdf
PDF File Size: 150 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 7: markets and log prices. 2004. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-7WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
Markets and prices for logs vary widely across the West, fluctuating from place to place in response to regional variables and hauling costs. This fact sheet discusses those variables, locality of log markets, markets for low-value logs, and caveats to consider when using My Fuel Treatment Planner.
RMRS-RN-20-7WWW: Markets and Log Prices
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_07.pdf
PDF File Size: 150 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 8: prescribed fire costs. 2004. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-8WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
Although the use of prescribed fire as a management tool is widespread, there is great variability and uncertainty in the treatment costs. Given specific site variables and management objectives, how much will it cost to use prescribed fire? This paper describes the FASTRACS database, a tool that has been developed to aid managers in addressing this question.
RMRS-RN-20-8WWW: Prescribed Fire Costs
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_08.pdf
PDF File Size: 130 KFuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 9: Mechanical treatment costs. 2005. Res. Note RMRS-RN-20-9WWW. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.
Although fuel reduction treatments are widespread, there is great variability and uncertainty in the cost of conducting treatments. Researchers from the Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, have developed a model for estimating the per-acre cost for mechanical fuel reduction treatments. Although these models do a good job of identifying factors that influence the costs of treatments, individual fuel treatments are unique, and the associated costs remain highly variable. Therefore, these cost estimates should only be used as a rough first estimate.
RMRS-RN-20-9WWW: Prescribed Fire Costs
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rn020_09.pdf
PDF File Size: 200 K
Title: RMRS-RN-20WWW:
Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and Integration: Economic Uses
Electronic Publish Date: September 28, 2004
Last Update: December
22, 2005