Financing Forestland Acquisition and Management: a Feasibility Framework for Wallowa County

Community forest management is the use, ownership, and management of local forests by communities rather than for the benefit of private corporations or investors. This management practice has been gaining traction in the United States for the last thirty years. Community forest ownership provides increased recreational access to community members and allows for enhanced ecosystem services compared to ownership under timberland investment management organizations (TIMOs). Our project serves as a framework for understanding the feasibility of financing forestland acquisition and management in Wallowa County, Oregon by leveraging ecosystem service provision under local ownership. Our client, Wallowa Resources, is a non-profit in Wallowa County whose mission is to “empower rural communities to create strong economies and healthy landscapes through land stewardship, education, and job creation.” Ecosystem services evaluated in this project include carbon storage and timber, first foods, and recreation, and their potential under community forest management was measured and compared to potential under profit-maximizing management by TIMOs. The enhanced ecosystem services possible under community forest management could attract a diverse array of public and private funding to support the purchase and management of forestland. Funding mechanisms considered include grants and investments from non-profits, government agencies, carbon markets, and natural capital projects. This project can serve as a foundation for other western, rural, resource-based communities interested in planning and financing for community forest management.

Methods
The data was collected and sorted into five main ecosystem services: Carbon storage/timber, recreation, first foods, and salmonid habitat. All datasets have been obtained through public open-access sources such as US Forest Service or the Nasa Digital Elevation Model. Some equations and values were obtained from published articles available online. Using google drive, this data has been stored and organized to share amongst group members.