abstract: 'Questions related to economics figured prominently in the priority

  information needs identified in the 1997 Tongass Land Management Plan.

  Follow-on studies in economics were designed to improve understanding of

  aspects of the competitiveness of the Alaska forest sector, links

  between Alaska timber markets and other markets as evident in prices,

  and the relationship between resource allocation decisions and economic

  conditions in communities and the region. Analysis of the role of

  recreation and tourism in the regional economy was added to the topics

  addressed, based on early results of work to describe economic dynamics.

  Comparisons are undertaken to evaluate the economic changes taking place

  in southeast Alaska, to analyze the sources of these changes, and to

  determine if and why they differ from the changes taking place at larger

  scales and those occurring in a similar rural and resource-abundant

  region. Divergent views regarding the current role of the Tongass in the

  regional economy are summarized and assessed by using contemporary

  evidence. A variety of factors contribute to comparative and competitive

  disadvantages for the forest products sector in southeast Alaska. Alaska

  product and log markets are effectively integrated with other markets

  supplied by producers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

  Empirical evidence suggests the need to re-examine assumptions regarding

  the relation between changes in ``basic{''''} sector activities and

  employment (such as timber harvesting and wood products manufacturing)

  and ``nonbasic{''''} (or support sector) employment in the rural

  communities of southeast Alaska. Many of the changes occurring in the

  economy of rural southeast Alaska are driven by changes in the

  international markets in which Alaskan products compete, and are largely

  independent of Tongass forest management.

  Unearned income and tourism have replaced resource-extractive industries

  as the principal sources of income growth in the region. The

  contribution of the Tongass National Forest to the regional economy has

  become more complex and difficult to quantify. Forest management

  policies that enhance the comparative advantages the region enjoys in

  providing both tourism opportunities and quality of life attributes will

  aid communities in maintaining and expanding their economic

  opportunities. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.'
affiliation: 'Crone, LK (Corresponding Author), US Forest Serv, USDA, Recreat Solut,
  POB 1165, Troy, MT 59935 USA.

  US Forest Serv, USDA, Pacific NW Res Stn, Forestry Sci Lab, Juneau, AK 99801 USA.'
author: Crone, LK
author-email: lcrone@fs.fed.us
author_list:
- family: Crone
  given: LK
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.09.019
eissn: 1872-6062
files: []
issn: 0169-2046
journal: LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
keywords: 'competitiveness of the Alaska forest sector; economic changes in rural

  southeast Alaska; forest sector models; timber prices; market arbitrage;

  timber production; timber supply'
keywords-plus: EMPLOYMENT; MULTIPLIERS
language: English
month: APR 30
number: 1-3
number-of-cited-references: '71'
pages: 215-233
papis_id: c42c88ed050b4cc9c022451d13bbc340
ref: Crone2005southeastalaska
times-cited: '9'
title: Southeast Alaska economics - A resource-abundant region competing in a global
  marketplace
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000228128000014
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '14'
volume: '72'
web-of-science-categories: 'Ecology; Environmental Studies; Geography; Geography,
  Physical; Regional

  \& Urban Planning; Urban Studies'
year: '2005'