Economic Importance of Federal Grazing: An Interindustry Analysis

Abstract

An important, yet overlooked aspect of public land management involves the economic significance to rural areas of grazing and lumber production on federal lands. To illustrate the relative importance of these two uses, a mathematical technique was used to quantify the economic interdependence of all business activity in an eastern Oregon county. In addition to a description of the existing situation, changes in magnitude of grazing and logging use in the county were simulated to illustrate likely impact on the local economy.