Socioeconomic Trajectories of 10 Rural Federal Forest-Based Communities in the American Pacific Northwest

Since the 1980s, many rural forest-based communities in the United States Pacific Northwest have experienced negative shifts in their socioeconomic well-being. Following a preceding assessment conducted in the early 2000s, we analyzed the socioeconomic status and local perspectives of change in 10 rural federal forest-based communities after 25 years of ecosystem management under the Northwest Forest Plan. We used a community classification approach to understand the variability in socioeconomic trajectories and illustrate how trajectories shape the different ways that communities define themselves as forest-based. The classification groups communities according to distinct trends in the shifting relationships between forests, community identity, and socioeconomic characteristics. We found that community well-being did not improve with trajectories retaining significant timber-based production. We discuss our results within the context of previous findings and suggest some hypotheses for deepening understanding of the relationships between the developmental pathways of rural forest-based communities and federal forest management.