Atlas of Human Adaptation to 

Environmental Change, Challenge, 

and Opportunity: Northern California, 

Western Oregon, and Western Washington

Harriet H. Christensen, Wendy J. McGinnis,

Terry L. Raettig, and Ellen Donoghue

United States 

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest

Research Station

General Technical

Report

PNW-GTR-478

May 2000

WASHINGTON

OREGON

NORTHERN

CALIFORNIA
HARRIET H. CHRISTENSEN is a research social scientist, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 4043 Roosevelt 

Way, Seattle, WA 98105-6497; WENDY J. McGINNIS was a research economist and ELLEN DONOGHUE is a

research social scientist, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, P.O. Box 3890, Portland, OR 97208-3890; and TERRY L.

RAETTIG is an economist, Pacific Northwest Research Station, stationed at Olympic National Forest, 1835 Black

Lake Blvd. S.W., Olympia, WA 98512-5623.

Authors
Atlas of Human Adaptation 

to Environmental Change, 

Challenge, and Opportunity: 

Northern California, Western Oregon, 

and Western Washington

Harriet H. Christensen 

Wendy J. McGinnis

Terry L. Raettig

Ellen Donoghue

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest Research Station

Portland, Oregon

General Technical Report PNW-GTR-478

May 2000
Christensen, Harriet H.; McGinnis, Wendy J.; Raettig, Terry L.; Donoghue, Ellen. 2000. Atlas of human 

adaptation to environmental change, challenge, and opportunity: northern California, western Oregon, and

western Washington. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-478. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 66 p.

This atlas illustrates the dimensions, location, magnitude, and direction of social and economic change since

1989 in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California that have occurred during a major transition period in natural resource management policy as well as large decreases in timber harvests. The diversity

and the social and economic health of the Northwest Forest Plan region are synthesized by examining the fundamental attributes of the region, provinces, and communities; the atlas includes information about ourselves,

our settlements, and our natural resources. We set the stage for dialogue, debate, and developing a set of indicators to monitor the dimensions of well-being for sustainable development. The atlas is a tool for decisionmakers, civic leaders, economic development practitioners, researchers, and others interested in understanding

change, easing the transition, and finding and pursuing opportunities to enrich society.

Keywords: Northwest Forest Plan, social and economic indicators, GIS, atlas, regional scale, provincial scale,

county scale.

The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) is a new paradigm for forest management. It is intended to provide a sustainable balance between the needs of people and the environment by focusing on three areas: economic assistance, forestry, and coordination among agencies. It is a major effort to end years of legal gridlock and to address

human and ecological needs served by Federal forests of the Pacific Northwest and northern California.

Developed in response to the need to maintain habitat for the northern spotted owl, this new approach to forest

management led to reductions in timber harvests across all ownerships in western Washington, western Oregon,

and northern California from 1989 to 1994. This fundamental change in forest management reflects social values.

These values share common roots with those that led to the passing of the Endangered Species Act, international agreements for the protection of wildlife, and local, regional, and national responses to international global

environmental awareness. Under the Northwest Forest Plan, the decline in timber harvests and subsequent

changes are aimed at achieving, for the most part, long-term societal goals and sustainability.

The period from 1989 to the present has been marked by an abrupt transition with rapid declines in timber harvest and related effects. Human populations in the Pacific Northwest impacted by change will emerge from this

transition period as having either addressed or disregarded the problems, issues, and opportunities facing rural

economies, communities, and regions. The as-yet-unknown long-term impacts of forest management changes

will evolve from the actions and processes that individuals, communities, and society at large initiate during this

transition.

During the late 1980s, many people predicted major impacts, including the demise of the timber industry in many

rural areas and selected community collapse. In a spatial display created from county-level data, this document

demonstrates how, and in what direction, change has occurred.

This atlas illustrates the dimensions, location, magnitude, and direction of social and economic change in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California, beginning in 1989. This atlas synthesizes the diversity

and the social and economic health of the Northwest Forest Plan region by examining the fundamental attributes

of our region, provinces, and counties; it includes information about ourselves, our settlements, and our natural

resources. The stage is set for dialogue, debate, and development of a set of indicators to monitor the dimensions of well-being for sustainable development. The atlas is a tool for decisionmakers, civic leaders, economic

development practitioners, researchers, and others interested in understanding change, easing the transition,

and finding and pursuing opportunities to enrich society.

Explaining the “why” of change requires a scientific research design with well-defined dependent, intervening,

and independent variables, which is beyond the scope of this atlas. A change in a community or county, such as

high in-migration, is not due to any one factor but several factors. The replacement of labor by technology in

mills and factories has had an immense effect on the economic well-being of some rural communities. Rural

resource-based communities also are affected by regional, national and global factors, both political and economic, such as globalization of the economy and cyclical variations of the market. Our stories attempt to show

the magnitude, location, and direction of change and the possible reasons for change.

Three base maps (maps 1-3) and two Mylar overlays provide context. Following a section on context, we ask

seven questions. The information addressing each question is accompanied with maps, figures, and tables that

illustrate the collected data. The questions are as follows:

1. What kinds of social and economic changes have taken place in the face of reduced timber harvest? 

Are Pacific Northwest communities changing? If so, how?

2. What changes have occurred in the timber industry since 1990? Has timber employment changed? 

Is private harvest increasing?

3. Have changes in Federal harvest had a significant effect on county revenues?

4. Are western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California singularly dependent on natural

resources?

5. What Federal assistance has aided cities and rural areas?

6 How have the population characteristics changed? What are the trends in migration, educational attainment,

and changes in ethnicity?

7. What have been the changes in selected social issues such as rates of poverty, property and violent crimes,

and alcohol-related incidences? 

The stories depicted in each map and accompanying text are complex and require consideration of data accessibility and limitations, the external conditions occurring during the time frame of each map, such as recessions

and broader social trends, and undefined relations among indicators. We highlight below some important points

depicted in each map.

Abstract

Executive Summary

How This Atlas Will Contribute

Telling the Story 
Change in Public TImber Harvest

• Public timber harvest is the volume of timber harvested from Federal, state, county, and municipal lands. Public

timber harvests decreased in all but four counties in the region. The volume decreases were particularly large

on the Olympic Peninsula, in the Washington Cascades, and in coastal and southwest Oregon.

Change in Public and Private Timber Harvest

• The total change in timber harvest was affected by both the harvest from public lands and the harvest from

privately owned lands. As Federal harvests declined, harvests from other ownerships could either moderate 

or exacerbate the change.

• The largest declines in total harvests were in many of the same areas that showed large declines in public

harvests, but additional counties in Washington also showed large total decreases.

Change in Wood Products Employment

• Employment changes in the wood products industry are affected by the availability of raw material as well as

several other conditions.

• Wood products employment decreased in most counties of the region and percentage decreases were 

particularly large in the counties along the Columbia River, in southwestern and along coastal Oregon, and in 

northern California. 

• Secondary wood products manufacturing caused increases in wood products employment in certain areas.

Federal Lands-Related Payments to Counties

• Federal lands-related payments are relatively more important to the rural counties of southwest Oregon and

Klamath provinces and Skamania and Jefferson Counties in Washington. Federal legislation has insulated

counties that historically have received large payments from experiencing rapid declines in the Federal

payments as timber harvests and sales values have fallen.

Unemployment Rate Compared to Region

• Unemployment rates in the Pacific Northwest have followed national trends since the mid-1980s, but there has

been a large variation in absolute value of the rates in the three states when compared to the Nation.

• Unemployment rates in northern California, the Washington Cascades, and selected coastal counties have

consistently been higher than the rate in the rest of the region.

Change in Total Employment

• Changes in wood products employment provide one indicator of economic performance, but it is important to

know the changes in total employment to have a better understanding of the general health of the economy

and availability of potential opportunities for unemployed workers. The lowest increases in total employment

were in the rural southwestern Oregon and northern California counties. Changes in total employment for a

county may not always reflect changes in specific communities.

Wage Trends

• Wages are an indicator of job quality and labor market conditions. Events of the early 1980s were particularly

devastating to the Pacific Northwest.

• Nonmetropolitan wages were consistently lower than metropolitan wages in each state. There was a general

downward trend in earnings per job in counties along the Columbia River and certain coastal counties. Twelve

of the 14 counties in the region that have had experiences with a downward trend in the region are counties

with moderately large percentage declines in wood products industry employment.

Wage Level

• The absolute value of wage levels is another useful indicator of economic performance. Wage levels were

relatively high in those counties along the Interstate 5 corridor, from Everett to Salem, and in California counties adjacent to the San Francisco metropolitan area.

• Only four of the counties with the lowest wage level had a generally upward trend in wage levels. This indicated that those counties with the lowest wage level were not likely to increase in wage level ranking in the

region.

Economic Diversity

• Economic diversity is the way to assess the structure of the economy by looking at the distribution of jobs

across industries. There were few patterns in economic diversity within the region, except for a concentration

of low diversity in the eastern Washington portion of the region. There was a general trend of increasing

industrial diversity over time in the region and the Nation. 

Fastest Growing Nonfarm Industries

• The country and the region have undergone a fundamental shift from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge-based economy. Services, trade, finance, and construction were the fastest growing sectors in most

counties of the region. In very few counties in the region were manufacturing and durable goods manufacturing, in particular, the fastest growing industries.

Slowest Growing Nonfarm Industries

• The relative decline of manufacturing was evident at the county-level in the Northwest Forest Plan region, and

manufacturing was the slowest growing industry in 38 of the 72 counties. Durable goods manufacturing, which

includes wood products manufacturing, was the slowest growing industry in 75 percent of these 38 counties. 

Change in Timber Harvest and

Wood Products Employment

Change in Economic Conditions:

Economic Performance

Structural Economic Change
Change in County Population

• The entire west coast and Pacific Northwest grew faster in population than the United States as a whole

between 1989 and 1994. The population growth persisted even through the economic downturn in California. 

• Different patterns were found in population growth. Many western counties considered to be high amenity

counties experienced high migration turnover. Northern California counties tended to exhibit slow to medium

growth during this period. The Puget Sound area and northern Cascades counties exhibited fast growth. In

Oregon, the metropolitan areas and the Crook-Deschutes-Jefferson area had the fastest growth.

Change in Unincorporated and Incorporated Population 

• Because many of the counties in the NWFP region experienced fairly rapid population growth in the early

1990s, it was useful to examine whether the unincorporated portions experienced the same growth rates as

the incorporated areas. Twenty-three of the 72 counties in the region experienced population growth in both

incorporated and unincorporated portions of the county. Thirteen counties experienced rates of growth in unincorporated areas that actually exceeded rates for the incorporated population.

Migration Status and Trends

• Increasing employment opportunities encourages in-migration and also encourages upward mobility, including

the search for better jobs outside of an area. Of the 36 counties with high in-migration in the region, 27 also

had high out-migration relative to the rest of the counties in the region.

• Net migration, natural change (the difference between births and deaths), and to a lesser extent, international

in-migration affect population dynamics. For 16 of 26 metropolitan counties, the majority of the population

growth was attributed to natural increase. Some natural decrease occurred along the northern Oregon coast.

Change in Ethnicity

• Ethnicity is an indicator of identity and population diversity and has implications for forest management, as

well as for school systems, health providers, and other public services. Asian or Pacific Islanders showed the

largest percentage of increase between 1980 and 1990 in the major metropolitan areas of Oregon, Washington,

and northern California. Native American populations increased on the coasts of Oregon and Washington.

Educational Attainment 

• Educational attainment is one of the most important indicators of lifetime economic opportunities. Nationally,

25 percent of individuals did not have a high school diploma in 1990. The three states fell below the national

figure with California at 24 percent, Oregon at 19 percent, and Washington at 16 percent. The percentage of

individuals that were high school graduates or had some college during 1990 was lower in California and 

higher in Washington and Oregon as compared to the national percentage.

• The higher educational attainment was found in the major metropolitan areas such as Puget Sound, Portland,

and San Francisco suburban areas. In contrast, the lowest educational attainment in the region was in counties traditionally dependent on natural resources, and that creates a challenge for economic and community

development efforts focusing on diversifying the economy.

Change in Income Maintenance

• Income maintenance is an indicator of economic stress and poverty. The largest per capita average annual

change from 1989 to 1994 occurred in northern California and southern Oregon, in the Puget Sound region,

and in counties of eastern Washington. The smallest change occurred in the San Francisco Bay area, Shasta

County, California, and Jackson and Deschutes Counties, Oregon.

Change in Poverty Rate

• The poverty rate reflects the distribution of income and is an indicator of economic distress. In 1995, 

California had a higher percentage of persons of poverty level than the national level of 14 percent. Oregon

and Washington were lower than the national average. Poverty rates increased in the majority of counties in

all three states and ranged from 0 to 5 percent for 1979 to 1993.

Change in Violent Crime Rates

• High and increasing violent crime rates reflect social and economic distress. Violent crime rate analysis

showed that the majority of the NWFP landscape had no primary trend—neither an increase nor a decrease 

in violent crime. Pockets of change were evident, however.

Change in Property Crime Rates

• An increase in rates of property crime is an indicator of economic or social stress, or both. Downward trends

were reflected in Skagit and Adams Counties, Washington; and Clatsop, Clackamas, Wasco, Marion, Linn,

and Jackson Counties and the Oregon coast, Oregon. In Humboldt, Tehema, and Glenn Counties,

California, property crime rates appeared to be in an upward trend from 1989 to 1995.

Alcohol-Related Incidences

• Alcohol-related incidences are indicators suggesting stress in a person, family, or community. In Oregon, 

6 to 10 people per 1,000 population experienced alcohol-related arrests. In Washington, between 10 and 15

percent of the total collisions in 1993 were alcohol related. Data from California were unavailable. 

• Local differences may have reflected variations in enforcement activities as well as absolute differences in the

rate of incidences. The lower rates in the largest metropolitan areas may be related to several factors including the availability of alternative transportation, the prevalence of nonalcohol drug problems, and the close

proximity of alcohol sources in urban areas.

Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative

• The Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative is one part of the NWFP intended to support the region’s 

people and communities during the economic transition resulting from changing natural resource management

policies.

• Beginning in fiscal year 1994, $1.2 billion was allocated over 5 years. Four counties in the region received

between $20 and 30 million. Most of the eligible counties received $10 million or less.

Social Issues

Federal Assistance

Characteristics of the Population
The period from 1989 to the present was a time of transition for Washington, Oregon, and California as a result

of changing forest management policies. Counties in the NWFP region have and will continue to experience

impacts to society and the economy related to changes in public and private forest management. This atlas 

provides information on many of these social and economic variables, which can be used as indicators of

change. The information is on state and county levels.

This atlas provides information under six sections, as follows:

1. Change in timber harvest and wood products employment

2. Change in economic conditions—economic performance

3. Structural economic change

4. Characteristics of the population

5. Social issues

6. Federal assistance

With this document, the stage is now set for dialogue, debate, and development of a set of indicators to monitor

the dimensions of our natural resources. This atlas is a tool for those interested in understanding change, easing

the transition, and finding and pursuing opportunities to enrich society.

Summation
1 Introduction

1 Telling the Story

2 Organization of the Atlas

3 Section 1: Overlays and Base Maps

9 Section 2: Change in Timber Harvest and Wood Products Employment

10 Change in Public Timber Harvest

12 Change in Public and Private Timber Harvest

14 Change in Wood Products Employment

16 Federal Lands-Related Payments to Counties

19 Section 3: Change in Economic Conditions—Economic Performance

20 Unemployment Rate Compared to Region

22 Change in Total Employment 

24 Wage Trends

26 Wage Level 

29 Section 4: Structural Economic Change

30 Economic Diversity 

32 Fastest Growing Nonfarm Industries 

34 Slowest Growing Nonfarm Industries

37 Section 5: Characteristics of the Population

38 Change in County Population 

40 Change in Unincorporated and Incorporated Population 

42 Migration Status and Trends

44 Change in Ethnicity

46 Educational Attainment

49 Section 6: Social Issues

50 Change in Income Maintenance

52 Change in Poverty Rate

54 Change in Violent Crime Rates

56 Change in Property Crime Rates

58 Alcohol-Related Incidences

61 Section 7: Federal Assistance

62 Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative

64 Acknowledgments

64 References

65 Appendix

Section 1: Overlays and Base Maps

Overlay—County Names

Overlay—Provinces of the Northwest Forest Plan

Map 1—Federal and tribal lands

Map 2—Population distribution: 1990 census places

Map 3—Metropolitan counties

Section 2: Change in Timber Harvest and Wood Products Employment

Map 4—Change in public timber harvest

Map 5—Change in public and private timber harvest

Map 6—Change in wood products employment

Map 7—Federal lands-related payments to counties

Figure 1—Timber harvest on public and private lands by state, 1978-94: (A) California, (B) Oregon, and 

(C) Washington

Figure 2—Wood products employment, primary and secondary processing industries, 1983-95: (A) California, 

(B) Oregon, and (C) Washington

Section 3: Change in Economic Conditions—Economic Performance

Map 8—Unemployment rate compared to region

Map 9—Change in total employment

Map 10—Wage trends

Map 11—Wage level

Figure 3—Unemployment rate (precentage of civilian force unemployed), by state, compared to the national 

unemployment rate, 1984-94

Contents

Map and Figures
Figure 4—Total nonmetropolitan employment by state, 1969-93

Figure 5—Employment trends for counties with reductions of over 100,000 board feet in public timber harvest, 

1979-93

Figure 6—Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan wage trends in 1992 dollars compared to the Nation, 1969-93: 

(A) California, (B) Oregon, and (C) Washington

Section 4: Structural Economic Change

Map 12—Economic diversity

Map 13—Fastest growing nonfarm industries

Map 14—Slowest growing nonfarm industries

Section 5: Characteristics of the Population

Map 15—Change in county population

Map 16—Change in unincorporated and incorporated population 

Map 17—Migration status and trends

Map 18—Change in ethnicity

Map 19—Educational attainment

Figure 7—Dominant minority populations in the United States during 1995 

Figure 8—Level of educational attainment, Pacific Northwest and northern California, compared to the Nation, 1990

Section 6: Social Issues

Map 20—Change in income maintenance

Map 21—Change in poverty rate

Map 22—Change in violent crime rates

Map 23—Change in property crime rates

Map 24—Alcohol-related incidences

Section 7: Federal Assistance

Map 25—Northwest economic adjustment initiative

Section 2: Change in Timber Harvest and Wood Products Employment

Table 1—Change in jobs, Pacific Northwest and northern California, 1990 to 1994

Section 3: Change in Economic Conditions—Economic Performance

Table 2—Unemployment rates and consistently high unemployment counties, Pacific Northwest and northern 

California, 1988 to 1995

Section 4: Structural Economic Change

Table 3—Fastest growing industry by county

Table 4—Slowest growing industry by county

Section 5: Characteristics of the Population

Table 5—Population growth rates of incorporated places, by state and size, Pacific Northwest, 1990 to 1995 

Table 6—Percentage of population living in unincorporated areas in 1990, Pacific Northwest and northern 

California

Table 7—Net in-migration and natural increase effects on population growth, Pacific Northwest and northern 

California, 1990 to 1994

Table 8—Percentage of change of Hispanic origin, Pacific Northwest and northern California county populations, 

1980 to 1990

Table 9—Population projections, by the Nation and by states, 2000-2010

Table 10—Percentage of the population with no high school diploma, Pacific Northwest and northern California, 

1990

Section 6: Social Issues

Table 11—Average annual per capita income maintenance, Pacific Northwest and northern California, 1989 to 1994

Table 12—Persons below poverty level, for the Nation and by state, 1990 to 1995

Table 13—Change in percentage of poverty, Pacific Northwest and northern California, increase or decrease by 

county during 1979 to1989 and 1989 to1993

Table 14—Violent crime trends, Pacific Northwest and northern California, 1995

Table 15—Property crime rates, for the Nation and by state, 1995

Table 16—Trends in property crime rates, Pacific Northwest and northern California 

Table 17—Trends in both violent and property crime rates, Pacific Northwest and northern California

Table 18—Percentage of alcohol-related incidences out of total number of collisions, Washington, 1993

Table 19—Rate of adult arrests for driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII), Oregon, 1993

Section 7: Federal Assistance

Table 20—NWEAI funding, by category of assistance

Table 21—NWEAI Federal funding, by department, 1994 through 1996

Table 22—Counties with 1 to 4 agencies reporting less than 12 months of crime data for a specified number of 

years between 1989 and 1995

Tables

Appendix
This page is intentionally left blank.
The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) is a new model for forest management. It is intended to provide a sustainable balance between the needs of people and the environment. This plan, originally entitled the “Forest Plan for

a Sustainable Economy and a Sustainable Environment,” focuses on three areas: economic assistance, forestry,

and coordination among agencies. The plan is a major effort to end years of legal gridlock and develop a direction addressing the human and ecological needs served by Federal forests in the Pacific Northwest and northern

California.

In response to the need to maintain habitat for the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), a new

approach to forest management led to reductions in timber harvests across all ownerships from 15.6 billion board

feet in 1989 to 8.4 billion board feet in 1994 in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California.

This fundamental change in forest management reflects social values. These values share common roots with

those that led to the passing of the Endangered Species Act (U.S. Laws, Statutes 1973), international agreements for the protection of wildlife, such as Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES),

and local, regional, and national responses to international global environmental awareness. Under the NWFP,

the decline in timber harvests and subsequent changes are aimed at achieving, for the most part, long-term

societal goals and sustainability.

Historians suggest that it took 150 years to arrive at the current situation in the Pacific Northwest with regard to

timber harvest and subsequent effects, as shown in the following list: 

Early to mid 1800s Cutting of forests begins with non-Indian settlers.

Late 1800s to early 1900s Lumber camps are noticeable, and commercial timber

harvesting increases.

Early 1900s to World War II Widespread logging and industry harvest of old growth from private 

lands increases.

Post-World War II Logging begins on Federal lands in the Pacific Northwest.

1980s 1988-89 is an all-time peak in timber harvesting activity.

Public perceptions and expectations concerning Federal timber 

management in the Pacific Northwest lead to increased protection of 

species and ecosystems.

Timber harvesting declines.

Widespread social and economic changes begin to occur in the region.

The 10 years from 1989 to 1999 were marked by a new transition with rapid declines in timber harvesting and

related effects. Human populations in the Pacific Northwest impacted by change will emerge from this transition

period as having either addressed or disregarded the problems, issues, and opportunities facing rural economies,

communities, and regions. The as-yet-unknown long-term impacts of forest management changes will evolve

from the actions and processes that individuals, communities, and society at large initiated throughout this transition period.

This atlas is a reference book illustrating the dimensions, location, magnitude, and direction of social and economic change in western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California that have occurred since 1989.

We synthesized the diversity and the social and economic health of the NWFP region by examining the fundamental attributes of our region, provinces, and communities, including information about ourselves, our settlements, and our natural resources. We set the stage for dialogue, debate, and development of a set of indicators

to monitor the dimensions of well-being for sustainable development. This atlas is a tool for decisionmakers,

civic leaders, economic development practioners, researchers, and others interested in understanding change,

easing the transition, and finding and pursuing opportunities to enrich society.

Three base maps (maps 1-3) and two Mylar1 overlays provide context. Following the section on context, we ask

seven questions:

1. What kinds of social and economic changes have taken place in the face of reduced timber harvest? 

Are Pacific Northwest communities changing? If so, how?

2. What changes have occurred in the timber industry since 1990? Has timber employment changed? 

Is private harvest increasing?

3. Have changes in Federal harvest had a significant effect on county revenues?

4. Are western Washington, western Oregon, and northern California singularly dependent on natural

resources?

5. What Federal assistance has aided cities and rural areas?

6. How have the population characteristics changed? What are the trends in migration, educational attainment,

and changes in ethnicity?

7. What have been the changes in selected social issues such as rates of poverty, property and violent crimes,

and alcohol-related incidences?

During the late 1980s, many people predicted major impacts, including the demise of the timber industry in many

rural areas and selected community collapse. In a spatial display created from county-level data, this document

demonstrates how and in what direction change has occurred.

1The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture of any product or service.

Introduction

Telling the Story

1
Explaining the “why” of change requires a scientific research design with well-defined dependent, intervening,

and independent variables; that is beyond the scope of this atlas. A change in a community or county, such as

high in-migration, is not due to any one factor but to several factors. The replacement of labor by technology in

mills and factories has had an immense effect on the economic well-being of some rural communities. Rural

resource-based communities also are affected by regional, national and global factors, both political and economic, such as globalization of the economy and cyclical variations of the market. Our stories attempt to show

the magnitude, location, and direction of change and potential reasons why change has occurred. The focus of

this material is on the NWFP region and does not directly portray the impacts and effects of implementing the

plan. In other words, this is not a cause-and-effect analysis, but rather the status and trends of 22 social and

economic indicators in the region.

This atlas is divided into seven sections:

1. Overlays and base maps

2. Change in timber harvest and wood products employment

3. Change in economic conditions—economic performance

4. Structural economic change

5. Characteristics of the population

6. Social issues

7. Federal assistance

Mylar transparencies of county names and province boundaries are included and can be overlaid on the other

maps. The content and scope of the atlas are focused on selected indicators from the Northwest Forest Plan. 

It is intended to complement existing information. We expect the atlas to stimulate interest and discussion. We

welcome your comments on this atlas.

2

Organization of the Atlas
Section 1: 

Overlays and Base Maps

County Names

Provinces of the Northwest Forest Plan

Federal and Tribal Lands

Population Distribution: 1990 Census Places

Metropolitan Counties

3
4
5
6
7
8
Section 2: 

Change in Timber Harvest 

and Wood Products Employment

Change in Public Timber Harvest

Change in Public and Private Timber Harvest

Change in Wood Products Employment

Federal Lands-Related Payments to Counties

9
10

The debate over how public lands should be managed escalated in the late 1980s. “A series of legislative and

legal battles in the late 1980s led to an injunction in 1991 that prevented the Forest Service from preparing any

new timber sales in northern spotted owl habitat; in 1992, the Bureau of Land Management was also enjoined

from any new timber sales in owl habitat” (Tuchmann and others 1996:1). These legal actions virtually halted

Federal timber sales for 3 years. In 1994 the injunctions were lifted as a result of the adoption of the NWFP, and

Federal timber was again offered for sale but at a much lower rate. “The [Federal] timber pipeline went down

from about 5 billion board feet sold and available for harvest before the injunction to about 1 billion board feet

three years later” (Tuchmann and others 1996:3). The NWFP allows for a sustainable Federal timber harvest of

1.1 billion board feet per year from the plan region. By 1996, 873 million board feet were offered for sale from

Federal lands.

Reduced levels of public timber sales started to show up in 1989 and 1990, even before the injunctions, as new

Federal plans, policy uncertainties, and conflict at the local level began to impact the Federal agencies (see fig.

1, a, b, and c). After the injunctions were implemented, there still was volume under contract that could be harvested (Federal timber sales can be harvested for an extended period after purchase); thus the drop in Federal

timber harvest occurred over several years, but this time line probably was different in different areas. The large

drop in timber harvest between 1989 and 1990 occurred simultaneously with a national recession, which further

complicated the assessment of what was happening. 

Tuchmann and others (1996) provide a good overview of the events surrounding Federal forestry in the late

1980s and early 1990s; however, most of their analysis is for the entire plan region or for metropolitan versus

nonmetropolitan portions of the region. Our goal was to further spatially disaggregate, to the county level, some

of the information on the timber situation and the economic and social indicators. 

Map 4 shows the change in public harvest by county between 1989 and 1994. Harvest referred to as “public”

includes the harvest from lands managed by Federal, state, county, and municipal entities (harvest from tribal

lands in Washington also is included as “public”); in most cases, this category is dominated by harvest from

Federal lands. Note that 1989 was one of the higher harvest years in the last decade (see fig. 1, a, b, and c)

but near the long-term average harvest for nonrecession years. By 1993 the public harvest in all three states

had fallen below the levels experienced in the early 1980s recession years. Timber harvest since 1994 has

remained relatively stable. Map 4 shows that the largest declines were in southwest Oregon, especially

Douglas and Lane Counties, where the 1994 harvest from public lands was more than 600,000 thousand

board feet lower than the 1989 harvest. When the transparency for the provinces is overlaid on the public 

timber harvest map, it can be seen that the southwest Oregon province is the only one made up entirely of

counties with decreases greater than 100,000 thousand board feet. At the other end of the spectrum, the

northwest Sacramento province is composed mostly of counties having decreases of less than 45,000 thousand

board feet. Eighteen counties on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Cascades and coastal areas south of Puget

Sound that traditionally had large Federal timber harvests also had relatively large decreases in public timber

harvests (greater than 100,000 thousand board feet). The two Cascades provinces of Washington are striking

in their uniformity across an eight-county area—all had decreases between 45,000 and 100,000 thousand

board feet. Four counties in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington showed a slightly larger public timber

harvest in 1994 compared to 1989. These counties historically had negligible acres of Federal public land and

very small public harvests. 

Public and particularly Federal ownership of forest lands (largely lands managed by the USDA Forest Service

and the Bureau of Land Management) are most important in the Willamette, southwest Oregon, and Klamath

provinces. State-owned lands are locally important in Washington. Private forest lands account for a larger

proportion of the ownership and harvest in Washington and parts of northern California (McGinnis and others

1996, 1997). 

Public timber harvest changes could be calculated for 58 of the 72 counties in the region. In all, timber harvest

declined in 54 of the 58 counties and increased in 4 counties. Large decreases in public harvest occurred

across the region and in all three individual states. 

Displaying the change in public timber harvest in board feet indicates the potential impacts in absolute terms

rather than relative terms. Small decreases in public timber harvest may indicate a low level of public timber 

harvest to begin with rather than a small percentage of decrease in harvest.

Change in Public Timber Harvest

1978 1980 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994

10,000,000

8,000,000

6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000

0

Thousand board feet

Private Public

A

1982

Year

1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994

10,000,000

8,000,000

6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000

0

Thousand board feet

Private Public

B

Year

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993

10,000,000

8,000,000

6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000

0

Thousand board feet

Private + Indian Public

C

Year

Figure 1—Timber harvest on public and private lands 

by state, 1978-94: (A) California, (B) Oregon, and (C)

Washington.
11
Total timber harvest is affected not only by the public harvest (Federal, state, county, other public) but also 

by harvests from other ownerships. Land ownership differs by county, and the harvest decisions of landowners

depend on various things, including market conditions, stocking levels, management goals, and changing forest

regulatory policies that can affect private as well as public lands. Thus there was uncertainty about how private

timber harvest would respond as public harvest declined. As Federal harvests declined, harvests from other

ownerships could either moderate or exacerbate the change. One possible scenario was that the public timber

supply constriction would cause a price increase with private landowners responding to the price signal by

harvesting more timber. In reality, harvest decisions are highly complex and ownership patterns differ, so that

even though prices increased, in many areas private harvest declined too. In some cases private landowners

were constrained by inventory; they lacked sufficient mature timber to increase harvest.

For the region displayed in map 5, 42 percent of harvest came from public lands in 1989 versus 17 percent in

1994, and the total harvest dropped from 16 to 9 billion board feet. Of the 55 counties that had decreases in

public harvest (regardless of whether they are in the “mostly public” group or not), 16 (30 percent) had increases

in private harvest. In Pierce County, Washington, and Tillamook County, Oregon, these increases substantially

offset the public decreases. 

Map 5 shows how harvest from all owners in 1994 differed from harvest in 1989 (portrayed by the shadings) 

and whether the difference was primarily the result of change in public harvest, private harvest, or a nearly equal

combination of both (represented by the patterns). We classified the change as “mostly due to public” if the

absolute value of the change in public harvest was at least 1.5 times greater than the absolute value of the

change in private harvest, and the opposite for “mostly due to private.” The remaining counties fell into the “due

equally” category (though the changes may not be exactly equal). Thus, one cannot tell which direction public

and private changed, only their relative magnitudes. 

Map 5 shows that the largest declines in total harvest were in many of the same areas that showed large

declines in public harvest (see map 4), but additional counties in Washington now appear in the categories

having larger decreases (over 100,000 thousand board feet decline), thereby indicating declines in private harvest as well. A larger share of timberlands and harvest in Washington are private compared to Oregon, so that

private harvest has a greater potential to affect total harvest in Washington. Change in private timber harvest

was more than 1.5 times greater than change in public harvest for 22 of the 72 counties, and in 15 of these 22

private harvest went down (ranging from -750 to -200,000 thousand board feet). Twenty-nine counties were in

the “mostly public” group, and private harvest decreased in all but three of these. The harvest changes in 13

counties were not categorized as “mostly public” or “mostly private,” and in all but two (Pierce and Tillamook,

mentioned above) private harvest went down as did public harvest. Six counties had small increases in total harvest, driven by harvest from private lands. Of the 27 counties with declines of more than 100,000 thousand board

feet in total harvest, 14 were in the “mostly public” category, 5 were in the “mostly private” category, and 8 were

in the “equally public and private” category.

Map 5 shows changes in timber harvest to be a complex issue, with total harvest being affected by a variety of

factors including but not limited to public policy on Federal lands.

12

Change in Public and Private

Timber Harvest
13
Economic systems are complex. Wood products employment (especially logging and saw milling) in the

NWFP region clearly has been affected by changes in harvest from Federal lands, but many other factors

came into play to determine the changes in wood products employment across the region. As map 5 shows,

total harvest was affected by what was happening with other ownerships (stocking levels, management goals,

and age class distribution). 

Additional factors included the following:

• The availability of wood from sources outside the region (imports) and exports of unprocessed logs.

• Increases in labor productivity (a given amount of timber can be processed with fewer employees).

• Trends in other segments of the industry, such as growth in secondary manufacturing. 

• Regional, national, and international economic conditions, which affected demand for wood products.

• The structure of the local industry, and log flows from harvesting areas to processing centers.

Map 6 shows how wood products employment (SIC 24)2 changed between 1990 and 1994 in percentage

terms. Percentages were used, as opposed to absolute number of jobs, to give a relative sense of how the

wood products industry changed in the various counties: Was the change large or small relative to the number of

people in the industry in that county? Small percentages can correspond to large absolute numbers of jobs (and

vice versa), however; thus, table 1 shows the change in the number of jobs. The map and table are based on

data from each state’s employment department; those data include only those employees covered by unemployment insurance. Certain classes of employees such as proprietors and partners are omitted. 

Across the region, the 51 counties having declines in wood products employment far outnumbered the counties

showing increases in lumber and wood products employment. Importantly, the counties losing wood products

employment had large relative and absolute declines when compared to the increases in counties gaining lumber and wood products employment. Two counties, Douglas and Lane in Oregon, had net losses of more than

2,000 lumber and wood products workers between 1990 and 1994. The 23 counties with large relative losses in

lumber and wood products employment (greater than 20 percent) are distributed across the region, with concentrations in those counties having a high proportion of timber harvests coming from public lands or processing

facilities dependent on public lands in other counties. 

Ten counties had more people employed in the wood products sector in 1994 than they did in 1990 (eight of

these were increases of less than 5 percent). There have been important changes in the geographical distribution of the specific industries comprising the lumber and wood products sector (SIC 24). One of these changes

was the increasing share of the sector that is accounted for by secondary manufacturing industries (Raettig and

McGinnis 1996) as employment was declining in primary processing industries. This change is most noticeable

in Oregon and Washington (fig. 2, b and c) but also is evident in recent years in California as the recession of

the early 1990s has abated (fig. 2a). In those counties with increasing wood products employment, the increase

was due to growth in secondary manufacturing (such as mobile home manufacturing in Marion County, Oregon)

or the importance of private harvest (in Tillamook County, for example).

Changes in income derived from wood products employment provide another measure of the role of the wood

products industry in the economy. Changes in income may be either higher or lower than the changes in employment because of such factors as whether part-time or full-time jobs are lost or created, whether the jobs are low

paying or high paying, and the seasonality of the jobs. In many of the important timber counties of the region,

the percentage of decline in payrolls was less than the percentage of decline in employment, thereby indicating

that wages in the wood products sector actually went up between 1990 and 1994. 

2 SIC stands for standard industrial classification. Classification 24 includes all the lumber and wood product industrial sectors.

14

Change in Wood Products

Employment

1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995

70,000

60,000

50,000

30,000

20,000

0

Avg. annual employment

A

Year

40,000

10,000

Primary processing Secondary processing

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991

100,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0

Avg. annual employment

B

Year

60,000

Primary processing Secondary processing

1993

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991

60,000

50,000

30,000

20,000

0

Avg. annual employment

C

Year

40,000

Primary processing Secondary processing

1993

10,000

Table 1—Change in jobs, 

Pacific Northwest and northern

California, 1990 to 1994

Employment change

County standard industrial

and state classification 24

Percent Number

Napa, CA 76.6 49

Jefferson, OR 34.0 316

Tillamook, OR 32.7 127

Yakima, WA 26.4 394

Marion, OR 18.7 603

Thurston, WA 15.3 152

Humboldt, CA 8.2 317

Marin, CA 4.4 3

Crook, OR 3.4 65

Trinity, CA 1.2 5

Colusa, CA NA NA

Sherman, OR NA NA

Adams, WA NA NA

Benton, WA NA NA

Douglas, WA NA NA

Franklin, WA NA NA

Grant, WA NA NA

Island, WA NA NA

Kittitas, WA NA NA

Wahkiakum, WA NA NA

Walla Walla, WA NA NA

Whatcom, WA -.5 -6

Lewis, WA -.9 -22

Washington, OR -2.2 -44

San Juan, WA -2.2 -1

Mason, WA -2.6 -37

Jackson, OR -3.5 -185

Yamhill, OR -3.8 -49

Clark, WA -4.2 -65

Pierce, WA -7.7 -338

Lassen, CA -9.8 -69

Yolo, CA -10.0 -93

Chelan, WA -11.9 -28

Linn, OR -12.6 -521

King, WA -13.0 -952 

Curry, OR -13.3 -97

Okanogan, WA -13.7 -166

Hood River, OR -14.0 -78

Sutter, CA -14.1 -101

Snohomish, WA -14.3 -442

Jefferson, WA -14.4 -13

Pacific, WA -15.0 -97

Grays Harbor, WA -16.1 -451

Tehama, CA -16.3 -213

Lincoln, OR -17.0 -82

Benton, OR -19.1 -266

Deschutes, OR -19.2 -654

Multnomah, OR -19.4 -435

Cowlitz, WA -19.5 -610

Klamath, OR -20.0 -703

Polk, OR -21.7 -193

Lane, OR -22.2 -2,269

Mendocino, CA -22.6 -724

Klickitat, WA -23.3 -181

Modoc, CA -23.5 -23

Glenn, CA -24.4 -10

Josephine, OR -24.6 -485

Coos, OR -25.7 -593

Columbia, OR -25.9 -273

Wasco, OR -26.7 -82

Shasta, CA -27.0 -640

Douglas, OR -28.3 -2,388

Skagit, WA -28.7 -244

Sonoma, CA -29.2 -523

Clatsop, OR -29.6 -232

Clackamas, OR -30.5 -629

Lake, CA -32.0 -16

Kitsap, WA -33.8 -102

Siskiyou, CA -40.9 -508

Clallam, WA -45.9 -648

Del Norte, CA -53.5 -253

Skamania, WA -63.3 -297

NA = not applicable.

Figure 2—Wood products employment, primary and 

secondary processing industries, 1983-95: (A) California,

(B) Oregon, and (C) Washington.
15
Federal agencies historically have returned a portion of the receipts from the sale or lease of natural resources

on Federal lands to local governments. These payments offset, in part, the property and harvest taxes that local

governments would realize were the Federal lands in private ownership (Bray and Lee 1991). Examples of these

payments are the return of 25 percent of gross timber receipts from National Forest lands and 50 percent of the

timber revenues from Oregon and California lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management to local governments (Tuchmann and others 1996). Counties also receive Federal land-related payments through a program for payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) established in 1976. The PILT payments are based on a complex

formula that includes county population, two alternative per-acre payment rates, acres of Federal lands, and

receipts from prior years from Federal natural resource-based programs (Schuster 1995).

Map 7 shows Federal land-related payments as a percentage of county expenditures and is an indication of the

relative importance of Federal land payments to a specific county. The percentage of Federal land payments

used in the calculations for the map included PILT payments, Oregon and California (O&C) payments from the

Bureau of Land Management, and National Forest payments for 1995. The specific year used in the calculations

is not particularly important because some Federal land payment programs are subject to legislatively mandated

floors, and short-term trends are dampened. County expenditures used in the calculations for map 7 included

both total (nonschool) county expenditures and school expenditure for 1991-92 from the Federal goverment 

census (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 1997b). National Forest payments can be used

only for school and road expenditures; O&C payments can be used for any purpose.

Federal land-related payments are most important to the rural counties of the southwest Oregon and Klamath

provinces. Skamania and Jefferson Counties in Washington also receive a relatively large share of funding from

Federal land-related payments. In general, the counties where Federal land payments are relatively more important are those containing Federal lands with high sales value of natural resources and comparatively low populations. Federal land-related payments are relatively unimportant in the Portland and Seattle metropolitan counties.

Federal legislation has, in the short run, insulated those counties receiving payments from the sale of Federal

natural resources from experiencing rapid declines in the Federal payments as timber harvests and sales value

fall. Federal legislation passed in 1993 specified that payments in 1994 to counties in the region would be at least

85 percent of the 1986-90 average (Tuchmann and others 1996). Minimum payments will decrease gradually to

58 percent of the base period in 2003. The floor is eliminated in 2004. The PILT legislation also acts as a floor

on Federal land payments to local governments; however, inflation has significantly reduced the real value of

PILT payments over time. An adjustment specified to increase the PILT payments has never been fully funded.

As the full impact of declining sales value of natural resources (particularly timber) begins to be felt in counties

tied to sales value, more counties will be tied primarily to PILT instead of sale value for Federal land-related 

payments. This has the potential to make more counties dependent on annual congressional funding of the PILT

program and to increase the amount of funding Congress must appropriate to fully fund the program. Those

counties most likely to be impacted in the future by changes in the value of Federal land-related payments are

those having the greatest percentage of Federal land-related payments, as indicated in map 7.

16

Federal Lands-Related Payments

to Counties
17
This page is intentionally left blank.
Section 3: 

Change in Economic

Conditions—Economic Performance

Unemployment Rate Compared to Region

Change in Total Employment 

Wage Trends

Wage Level

19
Unemployment information is collected monthly by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This information is available by state, county, and metropolitan area. It is expressed as a percentage of the 

civilian labor force that has been unemployed for a given period. The basis for map 8 is the annual average

unemployment rate for the designated years.

Unemployment rates in the Pacific Northwest have followed national trends since the mid 1980s, but there has

been variation in the absolute value of the rates in the three states when compared to the Nation (fig. 3). The

unemployment rate in California was very close to the national rate prior to the 1990 recession and has been

higher than the national rate since. The unemployment rates in Washington and Oregon were generally above

the national rate prior to 1990 and very close to the national rate since 1990. Some areas (often urban) where

growth in high technology, construction, and services is keeping labor markets tight have had consistently low

unemployment rates; however, other areas, especially some rural places, have experienced high unemployment

during this period. Some counties have experienced consistently higher annual unemployment rates owing to

the structures of their economies. Many jobs in agriculture, tourism, and natural resource industries tend to be

seasonal, thus contributing to a higher unemployment rate during the off-season. These counties may have different needs than those where high unemployment rates are due to different circumstances (one of which may

be the loss of timber jobs and the resulting restructuring of the local economy). Though we do not know the

underlying reasons with certainty, in map 8 we have tried to differentiate between counties with consistently high

unemployment rates and those where rates became high in the early 1990s. In half a dozen counties, the unemploy- ment rate was more than one standard deviation (about 1.5 percentage points) above the rate for the

NWFP region as a whole for each year between 1975 and 1995. This is almost certainly a sign of unemployment inherent in the local economic structure. In map 8, 19 counties are indicated that had consistently high

unemployment rates (greater than one standard deviation from the regional rate) from 1988 to 1995. Most are in

northern California, in interior Washington, or along the southwest coast of Washington. What cannot be determined from map 8 is what kind of variation these areas experienced in their unemployment rates during this

period (for instance, they may have gone very high or they may have stayed just barely 1.5 points above the

regional rate). 

A larger group of counties have had consistently lower unemployment rates than the region as a whole, and

these 40 counties are indicated on map 8. These were consistently 1.5 percentage points below the regional

rate between 1988 and 1995. Most are metropolitan counties, counties in northern and central Oregon, or fastgrowing rural counties. Some counties may have experienced job losses in wood products that were offset by

gains in other sectors, or unemployed workers may have left or dropped out of the labor force, which also would

keep the unemployment rate low. In other words, a variety of factors can lead to low unemployment rates.

A second pattern occurred for 13 counties, indicated in map 8. These counties were lower than the regional rate

(by at least 1.5 points) during the first part of the period (roughly 1988 to 1990) and then were higher than the

regional rate (by at least 1.5 points) during all or most of the remaining years. These are areas where there may

have been a structural change in the early 1990s that altered local labor market conditions. Most of these counties are rural where timber traditionally has been an important part of the economy. From a policy perspective,

these counties (as well as the California counties noted above) will require a detailed review to determine what

led to this transition. Many of these counties were high-unemployment counties in the early to mid 1980s as

well, became lower than the regional rate by the late 1980s, and returned to higher rates in the early 1990s.

See table 2 for annual data on how these consistently high-unemployment counties changed between 1988 and

1995. The table shows that several California counties have shifted to even higher rates since 1991, while many

others experienced the regional pattern of elevated rates in the early 1990s and a drop back to rates similar to

the late 1980s after that.

20

Unemployment Rate Compared

to Region

Table 2—Unemployment rates and consistently high unemployment counties, 

Pacific Northwest and northern California, 1988 to 1995

Unemployment ratesa

County

and state 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Percent

Clallam, WA 8.2 8.5 6.8 7.7 8.9 9.8 9.3 8.7

Douglas, OR 7.7 7.8 8.2 10.0 12.1 11.2 8.6 7.4

Hood River, OR 8.6 8.0 8.2 8.9 10.5 10.1 7.6 8.7

Humboldt, CA 7.7 7.9 7.4 8.4 9.9 9.9 8.8 8.3

Josephine, OR 7.1 7.7 7.2 8.1 10.1 10.4 8.7 8.5

Kittitas, WA 9.9 8.9 7.6 9.8 12.6 10.7 8.9 8.7

Klamath, OR 8.5 7.8 9.0 8.9 10.4 10.5 8.3 7.5

Lassen, CA 8.2 8.4 8.7 10.8 10.5 11.8 10.7 11.0

Lewis, WA 8.9 8.9 7.8 10.1 11.0 10.9 8.6 8.6

Mendocino, CA 8.4 7.9 7.5 10.2 12.1 11.1 9.7 9.6

Modoc, CA 7.9 8.5 8.7 11.6 12.6 12.6 11.9 12.9

Shasta, CA 9.0 9.0 7.9 10.1 12.4 12.0 11.8 11.3

Skagit, WA 8.7 8.4 6.6 8.1 9.9 10.8 9.3 9.0

a Expressed as a percentage of the civilian labor force unemployed during the given time period.

4

6

8

10

12

Rate percent

1084 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994

Year

United States California Oregon Washington

Figure 3—Unemployment rate (percentage of civilian force 

unemployed), by state, compared to the national unemployment

rate, 1984-94.
21
Employment changes in the wood products industry (section 2) provide an indication of economic performance

in the region’s counties, but it is also important to know what has happened to employment in all economic 

sectors combined. This is an indicator of the general health of the economy and the availability of potential alternative opportunities for unemployed workers. It does not address the quality or suitability of opportunities for

workers who have lost their jobs in specific industries, such as the wood products industry.

Total employment trends in many of the region’s counties followed the pattern shown in figure 4. For the groups

of nonmetropolitan counties in this chart, employment growth slowed, and for some individual counties it

declined in 1990 and began rebounding by about 1992 or 1993. Map 9 portrays the change in total employment

between 1990 and 1994. For the counties that experienced the state trends for nonmetropolitan counties, this

map shows how much employment has rebounded relative to its 1990 level rather than how big the decline was

during the early 1990s. In all but six cases, county employment surpassed its 1990 level by 1994, and those six

were all within 3 percent of their 1990 levels. Figure 5 shows the total employment trends for three of these

counties—Siskiyou and Trinity in California and Douglas in Oregon—that also had reductions of over 100,000

thousand board feet in public timber harvest for the same period (see map 4).

Except for Yolo County, California, all the counties with moderate or large gains in total employment for the period were in Washington and Oregon. In Oregon, except for four counties adjacent to the Columbia River, all the

counties in the Oregon Coast area and Willamette and Deschutes provinces had moderate or large gains in total

employment. The Southwest Oregon province, which had large declines in public timber harvest, showed a mixed

picture for county-level employment growth, with employment growth rates in the southern, more economically

diverse, part of the province outpacing those in the northern part. In Washington, the counties with larger gains

in total employment were distributed across all provinces. Counties with smaller total employment gains tended

to be rural counties with relatively important forest products industries but also included King County in the

Seattle metropolitan area and two counties in the Tri-Cities area of eastern Washington.

The recession of the early 1980s had a larger impact on the nonmetropolitan counties of the region than did the

recession of the early 1990s. Recessions, as indicated in figure 4 for the block of nonmetropolitan counties in

each state, reflect employment changes in many industrial sectors. The wood products industry has tended to

be closely tied to national business cycles (fig. 2). 

Counties in the Pacific Northwest can be large and include many diverse communities with wide variations in

important industrial sectors. Employment trends (fig. 4) should be interpreted with caution, because county-level

data may be a mix of communities with relatively poor economic performance and those with more robust economic health. Many rural counties that have experienced large decreases in timber harvest and wood products

industry employment also include urban communities with relatively diverse and healthy economies. Employment

gains in the diverse portion of the county may be locationally and occupationally unavailable to unemployed wood

products industry workers.

22

Change in Total Employment 

1969 1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993

Oregon California

Year

Number of people

500,000

450,000

400,000

350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000

Washington

1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993

Year

Siskiyou, CA Trinity, CA Douglas, OR

Index of total employment (1990=100)105

100

95

90

85

80

75

Figure 4—Total nonmetropolitan employment by state, 1969-93.

Figure 5—Employment trends for counties with reductions of over 100,000 board feet

in public timber harvest, 1979-93.
23
Wages often are used as an indicator of job quality and labor market conditions. If high-wage, full-time jobs are

lost and replaced by low-wage or part-time jobs in an economy, the average wage level, measured here as

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) average earnings per job, should drop. Map 10 explores the pattern of

wage changes from 1989 to 1994. To more fully understand wage trends in the Northwest, however, it is necessary to view them in the context of a longer time horizon. 

Events of the early 1980s were particularly devastating to wages in the Northwest, especially the rural Northwest.

Figure 6 shows metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area wage trends (in constant 1992 dollars) for each state

compared to the Nation. Several trends are apparent: First, nonmetropolitan wages were consistently lower than

metropolitan wages in each state and that gap widened during the 1980s, as nonmetropolitan wages fell further

during the recession of the early 1980s or recovered to a lesser degree afterwards. Second, there were differences among the states. Wages were lowest in Oregon and highest in California, but these differences were

greater for the metropolitan portions of the states. Inflation-adjusted wages in the nonmetropolitan portion of

each state were fairly similar and shared similar trends, declining significantly during the early 1980s and

recovering little afterwards. Third, nonmetropolitan wages declined between 1989 and 1991 but began to rise

again after that (there may have been another drop in 1994, but the most recent year is likely to be revised

and too much emphasis should not be placed on it). Thus it does not seem that there has been a widespread

permanent shift to lower nonmetropolitan wages since 1989. Fourth, the drop in the early 1990s was much

smaller than the drop in the early 1980s; however, wages were starting from a lower level in the early 1990s, so

it can be argued that smaller reductions may have a large impact on already tight family budgets. The decrease

in wages in the rural portions of the NWFP region in the early 1980s also coincided with a period of intense

restructuring and pressure on increasing labor productivity in natural resource industries in general and particularly the wood products industry. In any case, it is apparent that the general economic climate during which large

structural shifts take place has an important role in how economies respond. In the early 1980s, a time of

recession and low economic activity, the loss of high-wage nonmetropolitan jobs was very apparent in the 

average wage data.

The nonmetropolitan portion of each state may not be representative, however, of the experiences of all nonmetropolitan counties in the state. In map 10, we therefore examine county-by-county trends in inflation-adjusted

wages in the early 1990s. Counties are the smallest unit for which BEA reports wage information. The shadings

represent general patterns in the way wages behaved between 1989 and 1994—general downward trend, down

in early 1990s with partial recovery, and full recovery or general upward trend. Seven counties had no clear pattern. Six of these seven counties are in the eastern Washington Yakima and Cascades provinces. From the

standpoints of policy and socioeconomic well-being, the 14 counties having a downward trend in wages, including

those counties with a downward trend in the early 1990s and little recovery since, are cause for concern and

warrant further investigation. With one exception, the counties with downward trends in wages are located

along either the Pacific coast or the Columbia River. The 15 counties concentrated in the Southwest Oregon

and Klamath provinces that have recovered only partially from a drop in the early 1990s are the next tier to be

concerned about and would be good candidates for more indepth investigation. Given the historical wage trends,

most nonmetropolitan counties would benefit from continued economic development efforts targeted at increasing

wage levels. There were 36 counties with a more positive wage picture in the early 1990s. These 36 counties

included almost all the metropolitan counties in the NWFP region as well as many of the adjacent nonmetropolitan counties. Twelve of the 14 counties in the region that experienced a generally downward trend in wages

also were counties with moderate to large percentage declines in wood products industry employment between

1990 and 1994.

24

Wage Trends

Figure 6—Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan wage trends in 1992 dollars compared to the

Nation, 1969-93: (A) California, (B) Oregon, and (C) Washington. 

A

1992 dollars

1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993

Year

32,000

30,000

28,000

26,000

24,000

22,000

20,000

Metropolitan Nonmetropolitan United States

1992 dollars

1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993

Year

32,000

30,000

28,000

26,000

24,000

22,000

20,000

Metropolitan Nonmetropolitan United States

B

C

1992 dollars

1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993

Year

32,000

30,000

28,000

26,000

24,000

22,000

20,000

Metropolitan Nonmetropolitan United States
25
Map 10 focuses on the pattern of wage changes in the early 1990s but does not portray areas of high and low

wages relative to the NWFP region. For a broad relative ranking of wages, map 11 divides the counties into

three groups based on their 1994 average annual earnings per job. These earnings within a county are based

on place of employment and are from the BEA regional economic information system (REIS; U.S. Department of

Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration 1997). Two-thirds of the counties fall within a narrow range

between $17,000 and $23,835 per year. This group encompasses most (80 percent) of the nonmetropolitan

counties and 40 percent of the metropolitan counties. These metropolitan counties tend to contain the smaller

metropolitan areas or be on the fringe of larger metropolitan areas; high-wage jobs may not be present in the

county, but residents may commute to high-wage jobs in the nearby city. 

A large group of the highest wage counties are located along the Interstate 5 corridor roughly from Edmonds,

Washington, to Salem, Oregon, in the Willamette, Southwest Washington, and Western Washington Cascades

provinces. The higher wage group is dominated by metropolitan counties, though eight nonmetropolitan counties

also fell into this category. Another area of higher wage jobs is in the northern California counties adjacent to the

San Francisco and Sacramento metropolitan areas. These two areas accounted for 20 of the 24 high-wage

counties in the plan region. Twenty-one of the 24 lowest wage level counties are nonmetropolitan counties and

are dispersed across the region with particular concentrations in the Eastern Washington Cascades, Yakima,

and Klamath provinces. There also are low-wage counties scattered at intervals along the Pacific coast of all

three states.

When the map of wage levels (map 11) is compared with the map of wage trends (map 10), it can be seen that

only four of the counties with the lowest wage levels had a generally upward trend in wages between 1989 and

1994, and two of these are island counties in Puget Sound. Wage trends do not indicate that important changes

in the relative rankings of the lowest wage counties are likely in the immediate future. Wage levels also can be

compared with changes in wood products employment. Sixteen of the 24 counties with the lowest wage level

also lost 6 percent or more of wood products employment, and only one of the lowest wage level counties had a

6 percent or greater increase in wood products employment. Many other factors affect the relative wage level for

a county including the mix of industrial sectors in the county, the relative seasonality of employment in important

industries in the county, the distance to higher wage level metropolitan areas, labor abundance or scarcity, and

international markets for major industrial commodities and products from the county.

26

Wage Level 
27
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Section 4: 

Structural Economic Change

Economic Diversity 

Fastest Growing Nonfarm Industries 

Slowest Growing Nonfarm Industries

29
Another way to assess how the structure of an economy is changing is to look at the distribution of jobs across

industries. Economies based primarily on one or a few industries are thought to be more vulnerable to exogenous changes (those beyond the control of the local area) than those that are more diversified. An increase in

economic diversity therefore is generally interpreted to be desirable. Achieving greater economic resiliency is

more complex than simply increasing industrial diversity and requires that vulnerability to various exogenous

changes be distributed such that only a small proportion of jobs in the economy will be impacted by any particular change. An increase in industrial diversity that occurs as a consequence of attracting new industries may not

make an economy any more resilient if the new industries are as sensitive to the same outside forces as were

the old industries. In rural counties with small economies, the entry or exit of a single firm may have a large influence on the diversity index. 

Although industrial diversity data must be used with qualification, tracking industrial diversity potentially can provide useful information about how economies are changing. For map 12, we measured industrial diversity by

using an index of employment in 70 industries for each county. Employment data are at the two-digit SIC level 

of detail and are from the IMPLAN (a proprietary regional economic system for calculating employment impacts)

database (Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. 1997). This index, called a Shannon-Weaver entropy index, is equal

to 0 when all employment is in one industry (no diversity) and equal to 1 when employment is equally distributed

across all 70 industries (maximum diversity). The counties in map 12 are shaded by the value of their 1993

industrial diversity index. This map differs from many of the others in that it is a snapshot. It identifies areas of

low and high diversity in 1993 but does not show how the index has changed through time. 

Examination of data from 1990 to 1993 (the most recent available) revealed that there were counties with both

increases and decreases in the index, but that the magnitude of the changes in either direction was very small in

all but a few cases. Portraying these changes on a map would tend to overexaggerate them; therefore, just the

1993 index value is displayed. The counties with relatively large changes in diversity index, Benton and Klickitat in

Washington and Sherman in Oregon, are all on the east side of the NWFP region and had relatively low industrial diversity indices in 1990. In contrast to the small changes in the 1990-93 period, industrial diversity index

changes for three other periods—1977-82, 1982-85, and 1985-90—were generally much greater, especially the

latter two periods, and were usually toward more industrial diversity. These trends may indicate that the pace of

industrial diversification in the local economies of the Pacific Northwest has slowed. 

Except for an apparent concentration of low-diversity counties in eastern Washington, there were few patterns to

the distribution of counties in the region by industrial diversity. The diversity of a county’s economy did not seem

to be related to either the distribution of public timber harvests or employment in the wood products industry.

Economic diversity, as calculated for map 12, was insensitive to changes in timber harvest in the NWFP region.

In Washington, there were low-diversity counties reflecting the concentration of government workers, such as

Thurston (state government), Kitsap (military bases), and Benton (U.S. Department of Energy at Hanford). There

has been a general trend of increasing industrial diversity over time in the region and the Nation. The relatively

small changes in diversity between 1990 and 1993 may be a result of more mature economies, and continued

monitoring of industrial diversity may provide useful indications of future economic changes. 

30

Economic Diversity 
31
During the first half of the 20th century, manufacturing was the fastest growing industry in the United States

(Council of Economic Advisors 1991). Since the 1950s, the country and the region have undergone a fundamental shift toward a knowledge-based economy with expanding service and finance, insurance, and real estate

sectors (Council of Economic Advisors 1991; U.S. Department of Commerce, BEA 1998). This shift is apparent

in map 13 which shows the fastest growing (based on increased wages) nonfarm industries in the NWFP region

between 1989 and 1994. Services was the fastest growing industry sector for 17 counties; finance, insurance,

and real estate (which covers producer services) was the fastest growing sector for six others. Population growth

and high-tech industrial expansion were two of the main drivers behind the growth in the construction industry,

which was the fastest growing industry in 20 counties, all in Oregon and Washington. Population growth also

contributed substantially to the growth in real estate. The pace of expansion in the construction industry in the

region is expected to slow in the coming years (Marple’s Business Newsletter 1997). 

An array of industrial sectors provided the fastest growing industries in the remaining counties of the NWFP

region. Durable manufacturing was the fastest growing sector in four counties, and nondurable manufacturing

was the fastest growing sector in an additional four counties. Wholesale and retail trade, and state and local

government were the fastest growing sectors in 14 counties. Transportation and utilities; agricultural services,

forestry, and fishing; and Federal civilian government were the fastest growing sectors in seven counties classified as “other” in map 13 (see table 3). The industrial sectors for map 13 are at the one-digit SIC level of detail; 

a wide variety of specific industries thus are included in each aggregated sector in map 13, and it is impossible

to determine exactly which industry within the sector is accounting for the growth in a county.

Table 3—Fastest growing industry by county

County

and state Fastest growing industrya

Glenn, CA Agricultural services, forestry, fisheries

Douglas, OR Civilian, Federal Government

Adams, WA Agricultural services, forestry, fisheries

Chelan, WA Agricultural services, forestry, fisheries

Clark, WA Transportation and public utilities

Douglas, WA Transportation and public utilities

Klickitat, WA Transportation and public utilities

a “Other” designation on map 13.

32

Fastest Growing Nonfarm

Industries 
33
Employment and earnings in manufacturing industries have been providing a decreasing share of total employment and earnings in the national economy since the 1960s (Council of Economic Advisors 1991). This same

trend has been evident in the NWFP region where manufacturing provides only 16 percent of total nonfarm labor

earnings, down from 25 percent in 1969. In map 14, for 56 of the 72 counties in the region, the “slowest growing

industry” is, in fact, an industry declining in relative terms.

The relative decline of manufacturing was evident at the county level in the NWFP region, and manufacturing

was the “slowest growing industry” in 38 of 72 counties. Durable goods manufacturing, which includes wood

products manufacturing, was the slowest growing industry in 75 percent of these 38 counties. The counties

where manufacturing was the slowest growing industrial sector are distributed across the region, with concentrations in the lumber- and wood products-producing counties of the Klamath, Southwest Oregon, Deschutes,

Western Washington, and Eastern Washington Cascade provinces. The construction sector was the slowest

growing industrial sector in 10 counties; 8 are in northern California, an area hard hit by the recession of the

early 1990s. 

Transportation and utilities, wholesale trade, and agricultural services, forestry, and fishing also were categorized

under slowest growing industries and were distributed across the region with little evidence of concentration.

The “other” category of slowest growing industries was concentrated in the Puget Sound area of Washington

and included such diverse industries as retail trade, military, and state and local government (see table 4). As is

true with the fastest growing nonfarm industry map (map 13), the industrial sectors shown on map 14 are at the

one-digit SIC level of detail so that each category can include a wide variety of specific industries. 

Table 4—Slowest growing industry by county

County

and state Slowest growing industrya

Modoc, CA Services

Benton, OR Retail trade

Washington, OR State and local government

Island, WA Military

Lewis, WA Mining

Pierce, WA Military

San Juan, WA Retail trade

Thurston, WA State and local government

a “Other” designation on map 14.

34

Slowest Growing Nonfarm

Industries
35
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37

Section 5:

Characteristics of the Population

Change in County Population 

Change in Unincorporated 

and Incorporated Population 

Migration Status and Trends

Change in Ethnicity

Educational Attainment
Population growth or decline—in particular, the portion resulting from migration—often parallels changing economic conditions. It also can be a result of economic change or a factor leading to economic change. Between

1989 and 1994, the economy of the Pacific Northwest outperformed the economy of the United States by a wide

margin. But when economic indicators for specific counties were examined, it was apparent that the economic

growth of the larger urban areas had not extended to many of the more rural, resource-based counties. Growing

economic opportunity may ultimately lead to increased in-migration and population growth, but there are many

exceptions. Some locations possess lifestyle amenities that attract migrants whether or not the economy is providing new employment opportunities, and some in-migrants, such as retirees and specialized consultants, are

not dependent on local employment opportunities. Conversely, some regions with abundant economic opportunities, but a less attractive environment, may not attract enough new workers to fill vacant jobs. It is likely that

some people are moving to various parts of the Pacific Northwest because of perceived economic opportunities

and other people are moving for noneconomic reasons and then finding or creating economic activity when they

get there.

In the 1960s, urbanization occurred throughout the United States, and the 1970s saw rapid population growth in

the country’s nonmetropolitan areas. The deep recession of the early 1980s and subsequent economic restructuring led to a population retrenchment back to the cities. Nationwide, the early 1990s was a time of renewed

population growth for nonmetropolitan areas in general (Fuguitt and Beale 1996). The reasons for this most

recent turnaround are not well understood. People’s dissatisfaction with urban life, increased opportunities for

telecommuting, and a lack of attractive opportunities in metropolitan areas (especially during the California

recession of the early 1990s) are all possible factors, but little is known about the relative importance of these

and other factors in determining the current trend. At the same time, this region experienced job losses in extractive and primary processing industries, which are concentrated in rural areas. So, have rural areas experienced

the national trend of population growth and retention? or were population losses due to local structural economic

change? Probably both, but map 15 shows that the net result for most counties was population gain. 

The entire west coast, including the Pacific Northwest, has grown faster in population than the United States 

as a whole since 1980. The population growth persisted even through the economic downturn in California. Only

one county (map 15) had fewer people in 1995 than in 1990 (and it is not a county with significant timber

resources). Contrast this to the 1980s when there were job losses in extractive and primary processing industries and when, nationwide, nonmetropolitan areas were experiencing out-migration and population declines

and the Pacific Northwest suffered economic declines. This is an indication that different forces have been at

work in the 1990s, because although we have seen job losses akin to those of the early 1980s in one of the

region’s largest industries, similar losses in population have not occurred. Both the early 1980s and early 1990s

had declining timber jobs, but the general economic conditions were worse in the 1980s, as reflected by the

decline in population for 14 counties (nine in Oregon) between 1980 and 1985. Because of the similarities of 

the two periods, 1980 to 1985 was used for a comparison period for population loss.

That is not to say that population has grown at a high rate uniformly across the region, or that people have not

left the region. Many western counties, considered to be high-amenity counties, are experiencing high migration

turnover, namely where there is high in-migration and high out-migration (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1996;

see map 17 below). The colors in map 15 correspond to the percentage of change in county population between

1990 and 1995 (i.e., [1995-1990]/1990). Northern California counties tended to exhibit slow to medium growth

during this period. In Washington, the Puget Sound area, Tri-Cities area, and northern Cascade counties exhibited fast growth. In Oregon, the metropolitan areas and the Crook-Deschutes-Jefferson area had the fastest

growth. As compared to the regional population growth, the U.S. population grew by 5.6 percent between 1990

and 1995. Thus, 59 of the 72 counties grew faster than the Nation as a whole. Thirteen counties in the region

experienced population growth rates three times or greater than the population growth rate for the United States. 

County data may not show, however, what is happening in the more rural parts of counties, especially in geographically large, heterogeneous counties. Some communities could be growing very slowly, possibly even

declining, while others in the same county are growing fast enough to more than compensate for slower growing

places. Population growth rates of incorporated places by size class (table 5) show that, in Oregon, growth was

nearly uniform across the different size classes: small places on the whole did not decline as larger places grew.

For Washington, the table shows that the smaller size classes grew faster than the larger size classes (northern

California has too few incorporated places to be representative of growth by size.) This is not to say that all small

incorporated places grew at these rates, but on the whole, smaller places grew as fast or faster than large places

during the early 1990s in Oregon and Washington (24 of 460 incorporated places lost population between 1990

and 1995; in most of these, the population loss was low). Many people in the Pacific Northwest live in unincorporated areas, though. What happened to the unincorporated population during this period? We explore this

issue next.

Table 5—Population growth rates of incorporated places, 

by state and size, Pacific Northwest, 1990 to 1995 

Size class and state Population change

Percent

Oregon:

Under 2,500 14.7

2,500 to 9,999 15.2

10,000 to 49,999 14.8

50,000 to 99,999 14.3

100,000 to 499,999 12.2

500,000 and over NA

Washington:

Under 2,500 16.5

2,500 to 9,999 22.1

10,000 to 49,999 10.5

50,000 to 99,999 12.9

100,000 to 499,999 5.5

500,000 and over 3.2

NA = not applicable. 

38

Change in County Population 
39
One approach for looking at rural and urban population changes is to compare how the unincorporated and

incorporated portions of a county’s population are changing. This is only a rural-urban proxy, because many

smaller incorporated places are rural in character and some unincorporated areas are, for all practical purposes,

economically and socially integrated with a nearby urban center. This data set nevertheless offers an inclusive

way to examine within-county population changes between decennial censuses, whereas the incorporated place

data alone (see table 6) exclude many people. Many of the counties in the NWFP region experienced fairly rapid

population growth in the early 1990s, and we can examine whether the unincorporated portions experienced the

same growth rates as the incorporated areas. 

Even a small change in a small population can be a large percentage change. In some areas, most people live

in unincorporated areas, while in other places few live outside incorporated areas. For the Washington counties

in the NWFP region, about 46 percent of the population lives in unincorporated places; in the Oregon counties,

36 percent; and in the northern California counties, 41 percent. In one county, Trinity in California, all the residents live in unincorporated areas. Table 6 shows the percentage of the population living in unincorporated

areas for all counties.

Map 16 displays the relative population change of the incorporated and unincorporated populations of each

county between 1990 and 1995. The purpose of this map is to show differences in the unincorporated and

incorpo-rated growth rates, especially for the relatively faster growing counties. Counties are color-coded by

whether their unincorporated and incorporated populations grew more or less than 8 percent during the 5-year

period. This comes out to roughly 1.5 percent per year—a modestly high rate of growth in comparison to the

U.S. growth rate of just over 1 percent per year during this period. Places with growth rates of less than 8 percent may not be declining or growing extremely slowly; they just are not growing faster than 1.5 percent per

year. Also, annexation is one factor that explains shifts from rural to urban growth.

Two categories may indicate slower growing rural areas. One category shows areas where the incorporated

population grew by more than 8 percent while the unincorporated population did not. There were 22 counties in

the map area in this category. These are counties possibly experiencing uneven growth and that perhaps have

rural areas not participating in the growth; however, in several of these counties, the incorporated population

grew in large part from annexations. Further investigation thus would be required to determine the spatial growth

pattern of each county. There also were 13 counties where neither the unincorporated nor incorporated population grew by more than 8 percent. Most of the counties in these two categories were in Oregon and northern

California.

In 23 counties, growth appeared to be widespread, and in 13 counties the rate of growth of unincorporated areas

actually exceeded that for the incorporated population. Many of these counties are in Washington or near the

greater Portland area in Oregon. Thus, there are places where rural areas appear to be participating in growth,

yet others where they are not. Most likely there is a diversity of conditions within the unincorporated and incorporated portions of individual counties that this aggregated display cannot account for. Unfortunately, we did not

have a good way to measure and display these changes for unincorporated areas between the decennial 

censuses.

40

Change in Unincorporated and

Incorporated Population 

Table 6—Percentage of population living in unincorporated 

areas in 1990, Pacific Northwest

and northern California

County and state Percent

Colusa, CA 56

Del Norte, CA 82

Glenn, CA 56

Humboldt, CA 53

Lake, CA 68

Lassen, CA 74

Marin, CA 28

Mendocino, CA 68

Modoc, CA 67

Napa, CA 33

Shasta, CA 50

Siskiyou, CA 53

Sonoma, CA 42

Sutter, CA 51

Tehama, CA 63

Trinity, CA 100

Yolo, CA 16

Benton, OR 31

Clackamas, OR 57

Clatsop, OR 37

Columbia, OR 54

Coos, OR 41

Crook, OR 62

Curry, OR 64

Deschutes, OR 62

Douglas, OR 58

Hood River, OR 67

Jackson, OR 41

Jefferson, OR 67

Josephine, OR 70

Klamath, OR 65

Lane, OR 35

Lincoln, OR 45

Linn, OR 39

Marion, OR 32

Multnomah, OR 11

Polk, OR 31

Sherman, OR 42

Tillamook, OR 63

Wasco, OR 43

Washington, OR 48

Yamhill, OR 33

Adams, WA 48

Benton, WA 25

Chelan, WA 44

Clallam, WA 57

Clark, WA 73

Cowlitz, WA 40

Douglas, WA 76

Franklin, WA 39

Grant, WA 48

Grays Harbor, WA 39

Island, WA 68

Jefferson, WA 65

King, WA 40

Kitsap, WA 73

Kittitas, WA 39

Klickitat, WA 65

Lewis, WA 60

Mason, WA 81

Okanogan, WA 58

Pacific, WA 66

Pierce, WA 58

San Juan, WA 85

Skagit, WA 48

Skamania, WA 81

Snohomish, WA 56

Thurston, WA 58

Wahkiakum, WA 85

Walla Walla, WA 30

Whatcom, WA 46

Yakima, WA 47
41
The migration trend in this region from 1990 to 1994 has been compared to the “rural turnaround” of the 1970s

where nonmetropolitan growth predominated. It is likely that the shift to nonmetropolitan net in-migration from

1990 to 1994 came as much from reduced outflow of people to the metropolitan areas as it did from an increased

inflow of newcomers (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1996). Map 17 shows high and low levels of in-migration

and out-migration. The data are relative to the region, whereby one county may be categorized as having low

in-migration, it still may have a higher in-migration rate than other regions of the country. An average annual

inmigration rate of 6.6 percent divides counties into high and low inmigration categories, with about 50 percent

in-migrants in each category. A 5.6 percent average annual outmigration rate divides counties into high and low

out-migration with 50 percent of out-migrants in each category. The migration data used in map 17 were compiled by the Internal Revenue Service and were calculated by comparing the county of residence given on tax

returns in the current and previous year. If the county of residence was different in the previous year, members

of that family were considered migrants. Although they should be considered estimates, the data cover an estimated 85 to 87 percent of the migrating population and thus offer a window into detailed annual population

dynamics not available elsewhere (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1996). Because most people file tax returns 

in early to mid-April, it should be noted that the period of map 17 is April 1990 to April 1994. 

Of the 36 counties with high in-migration, 27 also had high out-migration relative to the rest of the counties in 

the region. One explanation for this pattern was the rapidly expanding labor markets generating a good deal of

employment turnover. Increasing employment opportunity encourages in-migration but also encourages upward

mobility, including the search for better jobs outside the area. In addition, migrants tend to be more prone than

others to migrate again; thus areas of high in-migration have a more footloose population. Higher migration turnover contributes to economic and social problems often associated with rapid population growth, such as difficulties projecting school enrollments and higher crime rates (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1996). On a national

level, counties categorized as retirement-destination counties (though the majority of in-migrants are not necessarily retired people) and counties comprised mostly of Federal lands have the highest in-migration rates among

county types. Federal lands counties also have the highest out-migration rates as well, reflecting high turnover

and instability commonly associated with fast-growing, recreation- and tourism-based economies (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1996).

Net migration is an estimate of the difference between the number of people moving into an area (in-migration)

and the number of people moving out (out-migration). In addition to net migration, natural change (the difference

between births and deaths) and, to a lesser extent, international immigration affect population dynamics. As map

15 displays, population in the region is growing, with only one county (Sherman, Oregon) showing a population

decline. Including Sherman, only seven counties experienced net out-migration from April 1990 to April 1994.

Hood River was the only county in Oregon with net out-migration; the other five counties with net out-migration

were Glenn, Mendocino, Marin, Colusa, and Yolo in California. 

Across the Nation, from 1990 to 1995, increase in population in nonmetropolitan areas has depended primarily

on migration, while most metropolitan growth has come from the surplus of births over deaths (U.S. Department

of Agriculture 1996). In the NWFP region, 16 of the 26 metropolitan counties showed that the majority of the

population growth was attributed to natural increase, most notably Yolo and Marin Counties in California, which

simultaneously experienced net out-migration (see table 7).

The northern Oregon coast was a region where some natural decrease (more deaths than births) occurred.

Natural decrease of a population may occur when people of childbearing age move away or retired people move

in. The latter is probably the case for three of the four counties experiencing natural decrease: Clatsop, Lincoln,

and Tillamook. Relative to the state, a larger proportion of the residents of these counties was 50 years and

older (McGinnis and others 1996).

Table 7 shows how net in-migration and natural increase contributed to population growth in the region during

this period. With the exception of 11 counties, all the counties experienced both net in-migration and natural increases, meaning more people were moving in than leaving and more people were being born than dying. The

percentage associated with each county refers to the percentage of population growth attributable to net inmigration. To derive the percentage of population growth attributable to natural increase, simply subtract the 

percentage in table 7 from 100. For instance, 78.5 percent of the population growth occurring in Del Norte,

California, can be attributed to natural increase (100 - 21.5 = 78.5). Thus, counties with less than 50 percent of

their population growth attributable to net in-migration had the majority of their population growth attributed to

natural increase. Keep in mind that these are estimates and they use 1990 census data for the base population

and IRS income tax data to denote migrants. 

42

Migration Status and Trends

Table 7—Net in-migration and

natural increase effects on population growth, Pacific Northwest

and northern California, 1990 to

1994a

County Population

and state growth

Percent

Colusa, CA *

Del Norte, CA 21.5

Glenn, CA *

Humboldt, CA 6.6

Lake, CA 56.1

Lassen, CA 9.4

Marin, CA *

Mendocino, CA *

Modoc, CA 11.5

Napa, CA 14.1

Shasta, CA 43.7

Siskiyou, CA 18.2

Sonoma, CA 15.5

Sutter, CA 31.5

Tehama, CA 27.9

Trinity, CA 39.6

Yolo, CA *

Benton, OR 30.3

Clackamas, OR 63.4

Clatsop, OR **

Columbia, OR **

Coos, OR 72.1

Crook, OR 76.1

Curry, OR 50.9

Deschutes, OR 80.4

Douglas, OR 59.1

Hood River, OR *

Jackson, OR 74.1

Jefferson, OR 26.0

Josephine, OR 96.9

Klamath, OR 38.6

Lane, OR 43.0

Lincoln, OR **

Linn, OR 71.5

Marion, OR 48.0

Multnomah, OR 8.2

Polk, OR 69.1

Sherman, OR ***

Tillamook, OR **

Wasco, OR 62.7

Washington, OR 47.4

Yamhill, OR 52.8

Adams, WA 51.7

Benton, WA 62.4

Chelan, WA 39.5

Clallam, WA 65.0

Clark, WA 60.0

Cowlitz, WA 48.3

Douglas, WA 53.0

Franklin, WA 20.6

Grant, WA 49.9

Grays Harbor, WA 48.5

Island, WA 49.7

Jefferson, WA 69.6

King, WA .7

Kitsap, WA 64.0

Kittitas, WA 64.6

Klickitat, WA 55.1

Lewis, WA 77.1

Mason, WA 89.2

Okanogan, WA 43.1

Pacific, WA 85.5

Pierce, WA 29.2

San Juan, WA 51.7

Skagit, WA 67.1

Skamania, WA 32.1

Snohomish, WA 44.4

Thurston, WA 63.2

Wahkiakum, WA 75.5

Walla Walla, WA 46.7

Whatcom, WA 54.5

Yakima, WA 33.3

* Counties experiencing out-migration during this period. 

Population growth attributed to natural increase.

** Population is growing, but counties are experiencing 

natural decreases during the period (i.e., more deaths 

than births); in-migration offsets this.

*** Population is declining; natural increase is not high 

enough to offset net out-migration.

a Percentage of population growth attributed to natural 

increase equals 100 minus the percentage attributable to net 

in-migration, unless otherwise indicated.
43
Ethnicity is an indicator of population diversity. Ethnic composition will affect the identity of a community and is

a significant characteristic of the human “ecosystem.” The diversity in human populations in states, counties,

and communities has implications for forest management as well as school systems, health providers, and

other public services. Diversity also has significant implications in terms of social and economic well-being. 

For instance, minorities, with the exception of many Asian groups, are disadvantaged in labor markets, Native

American men have high rates of joblessness, and black men face pay discrimination (Swanson 1996). 

Natural resource managers need to be aware of who their customers are and how their culture might affect the

use of natural resources. Recent Asian migrants, for example, have a cultural history of extensive use of nontimber forest products. Natural resources are a major force in Native Americans culture as well. Other cultures also

have culture-specific ways of using and relating to natural resources.

These data are from the decennial censuses for 1980 and 1990 and are subject to self-reporting error and 

processing errors associated with census estimates.3 Minority populations are (1) black; (2) American Indian,

Eskimo, and Aleut; (3) Asian and Pacific islander; and (4) other.4 The “other” category includes a number of 

people with write-in entries such as multiracial, multiethnic, and Spanish-Hispanic origin group names such as

Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and others. 

Hispanic origin is not a subset of race. A person of Hispanic origin can be of any race. Hispanics may be Hispanic

Asian, Hispanic American Indian, and so forth. Few persons remain in the “other” category when persons of

Hispanic origin are placed in a separate category. 

Asian or Pacific islanders showed the largest percentage of increase between 1980 and 1990 in the major metropolitan areas of Oregon, Washington, and northern California. This includes the Puget Sound region, PortlandVancouver area, and the San Francisco area. The “other” category was dominant among minorities in eastern

Washington. 

Refer to map 18 for the county interpretation. The percentage of change in specific minority populations was

small and ranged from no change to 18 percent (Adams, Washington). Only three counties had double-digit

change (Colusa, California, Douglas, Oregon, and Adams, Washington). The remainder of the counties increased

from less than 1 percent to 9.7 percent, and the majority of counties had increases in minority populations from

0.2 to 3 percent. In addition to the Asian or Pacific islander change as noted above, Native Americans increased

in several counties, many on the coast of Oregon and Washington. Lane, Benton, and Linn, Oregon, showed an

Asian or Pacific islander increase. Two universities and state government offices reside in this area. 

In Washington, blacks increased from 2.5 to 3.0 percent of the total population from 1980 to 1990. American

Indian population grew from 1.5 to 1.6 percent. The Asian population produced the largest increase: from 2.6 to

4.2 percent of the state’s population. Persons of Hispanic origin grew from 2.9 and 4.4 percent (Cook and Jordan

1994a).

In table 8, we display the names of counties and the percentage of change for Hispanic populations. The values

are ranked from a high of 14.7-percent change to a low of -0.1-percent change. 

For a listing of specific values for each county, refer to McGinnis and others (1996, 1997). Also see a selected

set of publications by Cook and Jordan (1994a, 1994b, 1995a, 1995b, 1995c, 1995d). These documents

assess county change in Washington by subregions. 

Figure 7 shows a projection from the 1990 census and the dominant minority in the West to be Hispanic; in the

South, Midwest and Northeast it is black. Table 9 displays the projections for numbers of people and projected

changes by 2010. Projections show relatively large increases in minority and Hispanic origin populations in the

United States and the region. White populations are projected to remain relatively stable. 

44

Change in Ethnicity

Table 8—Percentage of change

of Hispanic origin, Pacific Northwest and northern California

county populations, 1980 to 1990

County Population

and state growth

Percent

Franklin, WA 14.7

Colusa, CA 13.8

Adams, WA 10.5

Hood River, OR 9.7

Yakima, WA 9.1

Glenn, CA 8.1

Douglas, WA 7.5

Okanogan, WA 6.3

Chelan, WA 6.2

Grant, WA 5.9

Napa, CA 5.7

Tehama, CA 4.8

Mendocino, CA 4.8

Del Norte, CA 4.7

Sutter, CA 4.7

Walla Walla, WA 4.3

Jefferson, OR 4.3

Lassen, CA 3.9

Marin, CA 3.7

Sonoma, CA 3.7

Benton, WA 3.5

Marion, OR 3.3

Modoc, CA 3.1

Yamhill, OR 3.0

Yolo, CA 2.9

Wasco, OR 2.7

Klickitat, WA 2.6

Skagit, WA 2.3

Polk, OR 2.2

Klamath, OR 2.2

Washington, OR 2.0

Lake, OR 2.0

Pacific, WA 1.3

Kittitas, WA 1.3

Crook, OR 1.3

Skamania, WA 1.1

Lewis, WA 1.1

Siskiyou, OR 1.1

Jackson, OR 1.1

Clackamas, OR 1.1

Multnomah, OR 1.1

Whatcom, WA 1.0

Mason, WA . 9

Clark, WA .9

Thurston, WA .9

King, WA .8

Pierce, WA .8

Shasta, OR .8

Humboldt, CA .8

Josephine, OR .8

Clallam, WA .7

Cowlitz, WA .7

Benton, OR .7

Snohomish, WA .7

Tillamook, OR .7

Kitsap, WA .7

Island, WA .7

San Juan, WA .6

Linn, OR .6

Trinity, CA .6

Clatsop, OR .5

Curry, OR .5

Grays Harbor, WA .5

Douglas, OR .5

Coos, OR .4

Lincoln, OR .4

Lane, OR .4

Deschutes, OR .3

Columbia, OR .3

Sherman, OR .1

Wahkiakum, WA .1

Jefferson, WA -.1

Table 9—Population projections, by the Nation and states, 2000-2010

American Indian,

Hispanic origin White Black Eskimo, Aleut Asian, Pacific Islander

Entity 2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010

Thousands of people

United States 31,366 41,138 197,062 202,390 33,569 37,466 2,055 2,321 10,585 14,402

Washington 360 519 4,881 5,346 179 203 95 112 342 477

Oregon 195 278 2,990 3,253 59 71 45 53 110 147

California 10,657 14,214 15,562 15,394 2,138 2,268 170 165 4,006 5,603

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census 1997a.

Figure 7—Dominant minority populations

in the United States during 1995 (source:

Council of Economic Advisors 1998).

3 The 1980 estimates came from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (1992), and the 1990 estimates are from the

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (1991a, 1991b).

4 The Office of Management and Budget revised the standards of classifying Federal data on race and ethnicity in October 1997. The new

standards allow respondents to mark one or more race categories on Federal reporting forms. Also, the Asian and Pacific islander category

is divided into Asian and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander. The black category has been changed to black or African American. A

separate question on Hispanic origin will continue and will have two categories: “Hispanic or Latino” and “not Hispanic or Latino.”

West

South

Midwest

Northwest

0 20 40

Percent of total regional population

Black, non-Hispanic

Asian

Hispanic

American Indian
45
Educational attainment is one of the most important indicators of lifetime economic opportunities. Higher education is associated with lower unemployment and higher wages, better health for families, and higher family

income. 

Map 19 displays a snapshot of educational attainment for 1990 rather than depicting change as in most other

maps. The variable, “percent of population 25 years and older with postsecondary degrees for 1990,” was

selected for display because it reflects a measure of community investments in education and the capability for

more technologically advanced workforce participation.

For comparisons of states to national levels, refer to figure 8, which displays educational attainment for 1990.

Nationally, individuals without a high school diploma accounted for 25 percent of the total population in 1990 that

was 25 years and older. The three states in the region fell below the national figure, with California at 24 percent, Oregon at 19 percent, and Washington at 16 percent (see table 10 for county level data). The percentage

of individuals in 1990 that were high school graduates or had some college was 49 percent nationally, 45 percent for California, but 53 and 54 percent, respectively, for Washington and Oregon. The percentage of individuals in 1990 with postsecondary degrees was 26 percent nationally and higher for all three states: 31 percent

each for California and Washington, and 28 percent for Oregon.

For an interpretation of the provinces, see map 19. Postsecondary degrees at the provincial level were high (30

percent or more of the population 25 years and older) in the following provinces: Western Washington Cascades

province, a portion of the Southwest Washington province, eastern Yakima province, northern Willamette province,

a portion of the southwestern Willamette and eastern Oregon Coast provinces, southern Northwest Sacramento

province, and southern California Coast province.

The values in the Puget Sound region in Washington, Benton County, Oregon, and Marin County, California,

were high with 40 to 52 percent of the population in 1990 reporting postsecondary degrees. A few counties

reported 30 to 40 percent of the population having postsecondary degrees: Yolo and Napa in California, the

Portland metropolitan counties of Oregon, and Thurston and Benton Counties, Washington. 

In summary, the higher educational attainment was found in the major metropolitan areas such as Puget Sound,

Portland, and San Francisco suburban areas. Likewise, counties with many state government workers or large

postsecondary educational institutions had high educational attainment. In contrast, the lowest educational

attainment in the region was found in counties traditionally dependent on natural resources, and that creates a

challenge for economic and community development efforts focusing on diversifying the economy.

46

Table 10—Percentage of the 

population with no high school

diploma, Pacific Northwest and

northern California, 1990

County 

and state Percent

Colusa, CA 37.1

Yakima, WA 33.9

Adams, WA 33.6

Glenn, CA 33.1

Franklin, WA 31.9

Klickitat, WA 29.6

Lake, CA 29.1

Del Norte, CA 29.1

Okanogan, WA 28.7

Hood River, OR 28.7

Grant, WA 28.4

Crook, OR 28.2

Tehama, CA 27.8

Modoc, CA 27.8

Sutter, CA 27.7

Lassen, CA 27.2

Jefferson, OR 26.1

Grays Harbor, WA 26.0

Trinity, CA 25.8

Pacific, WA 25.8

Chelan, WA 25.7

Douglas, OR 25.5

Josephine, OR 24.8

Lewis, WA 24.6

Coos, OR 24.5

Douglas, WA 24.1

Klamath, OR 23.8

Linn, OR 23.8

Tillamook, OR 23.7

Cowlitz, WA 22.7

Siskiyou, OR 22.6

Wasco, OR 22.6

Skamania, WA 22.6

Wahkiakum, WA 22.2

Columbia, OR 22.0

Curry, OR 21.9

Shasta, CA 21.6

Mendocino, CA 21.3

Marion, OR 21.3

Yamhill, OR 20.9

Yolo, CA 20.9

Walla Walla, WA 20.9

Mason, WA 20.8

Clallam, WA 20.3

Polk, OR 20.0

Jackson, OR 19.9

Lincoln, OR 19.5

Humboldt, CA 19.5

Napa, CA 19.3

Skagit, WA 19.0

Kittitas, WA 18.8

Clatsop, OR 18.2

Jefferson, WA 17.3

Multnomah, OR 17.1

Lane, OR 17.0

Sherman, OR 16.9

Whatcom, WA 16.8

Pierce, WA 16.8

Deschutes, OR 16.8

Clark, WA 16.1

Benton, WA 16.1

Sonoma, CA 15.6

Clackamas, OR 14.3

Snohomish, WA 14.3

Thurston, WA 13.5

Kitsap, WA 13.4

Washington, OR 11.8

King, WA 11.8

Island, WA 11.7

Benton, OR 10.7

San Juan, WA 8.8

Marin, CA 8.1

No high school 

diploma

Postsecondary

 degree

High school grad. 

or some college

Highest level achieved (percent)

United States California Oregon Washington

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Figure 8—Level of educational attainment, Pacific Northwest and northern California, compared

to the Nation, 1990. 

Educational Attainment
47
This page is intentionally left blank.
Section 6: 

Social Issues

Change in Income Maintenance

Change in Proverty Rate

Change in Violent Crime Rates

Change in Property Crime Rates

Alcohol-Related Incidences

49
Income maintenance is an indicator of economic stress and poverty. The number of people on Federal welfare

rolls has dropped below 10 million for the first time in almost 27 years (The New York Times 1998). Fewer than

4 percent of Americans are now on welfare; more than 30 percent of the decline has come from changes in

Federal and state welfare policies and laws. In January 1997, there were 11.4 million people on welfare, 2.8 million fewer than in January 1993. From January to August 1997, the rolls declined by about 1.4 million people.

Map 20 displays the change in dollar amounts of an income maintenance indicator that combines supplemental

security income (SSI), food stamps, aid to families with dependent children, and “other” income maintenance

(U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration 1997).

What do the categories of income maintenance mean? Supplemental security income benefits consist of payments received by the disabled, aged, and blind from both the Federal and state governments. Aid to families

with dependent children is a state-administered program that receives Federal matching funds to provide 

payments to low-income families such as single mothers with children. One social issue is the potential intergenerational permanence of welfare recipients. This category of recipients may not be affected by economic fluctuations. Food stamp benefits are issued to qualifying low-income individuals to supplement their ability to purchase

food. Eligibility is determined by the state’s interpretation of Federal regulations; the U.S. Department of Agriculture pays the cost of the stamps. The “other” income maintenance payments consist of general assistance benefits, emergency assistance benefits, foster care payments, and so forth. 

Map 20 indicates that the largest (first quartile) per capita average annual change from 1989 to 1994 occurred 

in the following provinces: Klamath and portions of Southwest Oregon, Yakima, Southwest Washington, Olympic

Peninsula, Western Washington Cascades, and Eastern Washington Cascades. This means that the annual per

capita change averaged between $17.00 and $30.00. The smallest (fourth quartile) average annual change

occurred in all provinces except Oregon Coast, Olympic Peninsula, and Western Washington Cascades. The

change averaged between $3.00 and $7.99.

The county analyses demonstrate that the largest (first quartile) per capita average annual change from 1989 

to 1994 occurred in northern California and southern Oregon, in the Puget Sound region, and counties of eastern Washington. The smallest (fourth quartile) change occurred in Jackson and Deschutes Counties, Oregon,

the San Francisco Bay area, and Shasta County, California. Douglas and Benton Counties in Washington

demonstrated a small change ($3.00-7.99).

Table 11 shows the average annual per capita income maintenance payments over 6 years. San Juan,

Washington, for example, shows an average of $101, and Lake, California, shows $713. The average per capita

income maintenance payment of $713 is controlled by state policy and is not associated with geographical differences in economic fluctuations. All qualified recipients receive the same amount of money. In Washington, the

base rate is $339. If children are added, Washington may give $100 to the first child; another state may give 

$0 while another state may give $50. California pays higher benefits than other states. Because states control

policy for income maintenance, it is less meaningful to compare among states. County data, however, do tell

a story and reflect differences in the number of children and the relative number of recipients compared to the 

total population. 

As previously mentioned, SSI goes to the aged, to the permanently disabled, and as survivors’ benefits for children whose parents have died. None of these categories is directly affected by local economic circumstances.

Immigrants may be in a vulnerable position due to social policy changes. The majority of these immigrants are

elderly or permanently disabled. The compassionate concern is how this population is to be supported given that

they cannot join the labor force. Churches, social organizations, and states are scrambling to determine what

can be done in terms of assistance. Changes in SSI policy can adversely affect an already distressed county by

creating additional burdens on local resources. It is not possible to separate the effects of social policy changes,

local economic conditions, and demographic changes on average annual per capita income maintenance 

payments. 

50

Change in Income Maintenance

Table 11—Average annual per

capita income maintenance,

Pacific Northwest and northern

California, 1989 to 1994

County 

and state Dollars

Lake, CA 713

Del Norte, CA 675

Modoc, CA 653

Humboldt, CA 634

Siskiyou, CA 631

Shasta, CA 611

Tehama, CA 585

Trinity, CA 583

Mendocino, CA 582

Glenn, CA 551

Lassen, CA 526

Yakima, WA 472

Sutter, CA 468

Klickitat, WA 451

Yolo, CA 451

Grays Harbor, WA 448

Okanogan, WA 439

Franklin, WA 429

Adams, WA 423

Colusa, CA 377

Grant, WA 357

Cowlitz, WA 357

Lewis, WA 354

Skamania, WA 351

Josephine, OR 347

Pacific, WA 347

Pierce, WA 316

Jefferson, OR 309

Coos, OR 307

Mason, WA 298

Clallam, WA 296

Walla Walla, WA 289

Multnomah, OR 285

Linn, OR 283

Sonoma, CA 281

Klamath, OR 278

Chelan, WA 275

Douglas, OR 271

Sherman, OR 264

Marion, OR 260

Clark, WA 258

Napa, CA 254

Lane, OR 253

Skagit, WA 245

Wahkiakum, WA 242

Thurston, WA 240

Jackson, OR 235

Lincoln, OR 233

Jefferson, WA 232

Wasco, OR 224

King, WA 218

Clatsop, OR 217

Curry, OR 208

Kitsap, WA 207

Whatcom, WA 204

Kittitas, WA 199

Snohomish, WA 196

Benton, WA 194

Crook, OR 192

Yamhill, OR 189

Marin, CA 184

Tillamook, OR 184

Polk, OR 172

Douglas, WA 171

Hood River, OR 165

Columbia, OR 165

Deschutes, OR 162

Benton, OR 130

Island, WA 110

Washington, OR 105

Clackamas, OR 103

San Juan, WA 101
51
The poverty rate reflects, in part, the distribution of income and is an indicator of economic distress. The poverty

thresholds are established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and are based on income for specific

family sizes, age of the household head, and the number of related children under age 18 in the household.

Poverty status is determined for families rather than individuals. Refer to the Statistical Abstract of the United

States 1997, Section 14, (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 1997c) for additional information

on money income, poverty index, and measurement. Changes in how poverty is defined and measured over time

may limit comparability.

Poverty thresholds in the United States in 1990 ranged from $6,268, for a family of one person 65 years old or

older, to $26,848 for a family of nine or more. The average household size in 1995 was 2.6 persons. The poverty

level for a unit of three persons was $12,158 (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 1997c).

When we compared state to national poverty levels in 1995, California had a higher percentage (16.7 percent) 

of persons below poverty level than the national average of 13.8 percent. Oregon at 11.2 percent and Washington

at 12.5 percent were lower than the national average. Use caution with these figures. The percentages of poverty levels for the three states are representative of entire states and not just the portion within the NWFP region.

For trends, see table 12 for persons below poverty level by state from 1990 to 1995.

Most of the provinces in California and the Southwest Washington, Yakima, and Western Washington Cascade

provinces reflected increases in poverty rates from 1989 to 1993 (see map 21). Most of western Oregon and

Washington showed increases but not to the level for the provinces listed above. Many provinces experienced

decreases in poverty rates. Those included portions of the Klamath, California Coast, and Northwest Sacramento

provinces; all of the Deschutes province; and some of the other provinces in western Oregon and Washington.

Poverty rates in California in the 1990s reflected a nationwide recession that was particularly evident in

California.

Most counties in California experienced a large increase in percentage of change in poverty except for Humboldt,

Trinity, and Yolo Counties. Two-thirds of the counties in Oregon had a modest increase in poverty rates, and

two-thirds of the counties in Washington had a modest-to-large increase. 

Table 13 (left) compares the percentage of people in poverty in each county between two periods—the 1980s

and 1989-93. The percentage of poverty in over one-half of the counties increased during both periods.

Interestingly, some counties went from an increase in poverty to an increase in poverty rate. Whatcom County,

Washington, experienced a decrease in poverty rate for both periods.

See the appendix for method of calculation used to determine changes in poverty rates.

52

Table 13—Change in percentage

of poverty, Pacific Northwest and 

northern California, increase (+)

or decrease (-) by county, 1979 to

1989 and 1989 to 1993

County 1979-89 1989-93

Colusa, CA + +

Del Norte, CA + +

Lake, CA + +

Skamania, WA + +

Modoc, CA + +

Yakima, WA + +

Tehama, CA + +

Mendocino, CA + +

Siskiyou, CA + +

Lassen, CA + +

Glenn, CA + +

Shasta, CA + +

Multnomah, OR + +

King, WA + +

Grays Harbor, WA + +

Clark, WA + +

Washington, OR + +

Curry, OR + +

Marion, OR + +

Lewis, WA + +

Pierce, WA + +

Adams, WA + +

Skagit, WA + +

Klickitat, WA + +

Josephine, OR + +

Linn, OR + +

Jackson, OR + +

Chelan, WA + +

Clackamas, OR + +

Clallam, WA + +

Yamhill, OR + +

Douglas, OR + +

Cowlitz, WA + +

Coos, OR + +

Hood River, OR + +

Klamath, OR + +

Thurston, WA + +

Mason, WA + +

Lane, OR + +

Lincoln, OR + +

Kitsap, WA + +

Sutter, CA + +

Walla Walla, WA + +

Sonoma, CA - +

Snohomish, WA - +

Napa, CA - +

Marin, CA - +

San Juan, WA - +

Sherman, OR - +

Island, WA - +

Wahkiakum, WA - +

Crook, OR + -

Wasco, OR + -

Pacific, WA + -

Humboldt, CA + -

Clatsop, OR + -

Deschutes, OR + -

Douglas, WA + -

Okanogan, WA + -

Jefferson, WA + -

Franklin, WA + -

Benton, WA + -

Yolo, CA + -

Jefferson, OR + -

Polk, OR + -

Grant, WA + -

Columbia, OR + -

Trinity, CA + -

Tillamook, OR + -

Benton, OR + -

Kittitas, WA + -

Whatcom, WA - -

Table 12—Persons below poverty level, for the Nation and by state, 1990 to 1995

Entitya 1990b 1993 1994 1995

Percent

United States 13.5 15.1 14.5 13.8

California 13.9 18.2 17.9 16.7

Oregon 9.2 11.8 11.8 11.2

Washington 8.9 12.1 11.7 12.5

a Limitations: Values reflect all of California, Oregon, and Washington rather than the western 

or northern portion of the states.

b Prior to 1990, data were based on different procedures and therefore are not comparable. 

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 1997c.

Change in Poverty Rate
53
High crime rates and increasingly violent crimes reflect social and economic distress. The Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI) collects data on eight types of crimes from state agencies, county sheriff offices, police

precincts, and other law enforcement agencies. The FBI continually updates this information, such that, even if 

a county sheriff’s office submits only 10 months of data for 1995, but a year later submits data for the missing 2

months for 1995, the FBI will update its records. Not all agencies, precincts, and other agencies file reports with

the FBI for all months. Occasionally, an agency will report data to the FBI for only 11 months, sometimes fewer.

On these occasions, fewer crime incidents will be reported than have actually occurred. We alert the reader 

to this and note that the data are suggestive only. A list of counties where this occurred, along with the years,

appears in the appendix. Also, 12 counties have one agency (sometimes two) that counts data for more than

one county, and some possibility of overcounting may exist (see appendix). Differences in violent crime rates

for different counties may be affected by different reporting practices and differences in law enforcement and

protection activities.

We divided the eight types of crime into two categories and created indices on violent crime and property crime.

The violent crime index included four crimes, as classified by the FBI: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter,

forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The property crime index combined burglary, larceny-theft, motor

vehicle theft, and arson. Specific definitions of the eight crimes are given in the appendix. 

The number of violent crimes in the United States fell by more than 9 percent in 1995, continuing a downward

trend that began in 1994. An improved economy and the aging population potentially are reasons for the reduction (Rosenthal 1996). The national violent crime rates for 1995 were 5,278 per 100,000 citizens; 6,564 for

Oregon; 6,270 for Washington, and 5,831 for California (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census

1997a). All three states exceeded the national crime rates, but the reader is cautioned that these statistics reflect

the entire state and not just the NWFP region.

The analyses of rates (per 100,000 population) of violent crime in provinces suggested that the majority of the

NWFP landscape showed no primary trend—neither an increase nor a decrease in violent crime. Pockets of

change were evident, however. Violent crime rates along certain areas of the Oregon coast suggested a “clear

downward trend,” whereas the Williamette province showed a “probable upward trend” in the southern area,

“probable downward trend” in the central area, and a “clear upward trend” in the northeastern portion of the

province, with a “probable upward trend” in the northwest area (map 22). Some “clear downward trend” was

showing on the west side of the province. 

The data suggested “probable upward trends” and “clear upward trends” in the Southwest Washington province.

Numbers were indicative of similar trends for the Olympic Peninsula province. The Northwest Sacramento

province suggested a “clear upward trend” and the California Coast province suggested a “probable upward

trend” in violent crime rates. Deschutes, Yakima, Western Washington Cascades, Klamath, and Eastern Washington Cascades provinces were suggestive of “no clear trend.”

Data for Washington basically suggested that the majority of counties had “no clear trend.” A few scattered 

counties demonstrated “clear upward trends,” “probable upward trends,” and “probable downward trends.” Table

14 gives a list of counties with upward or downward trends. Oregon numbers suggested “no clear trend” in 14

out of 25 counties; yet counties on the coast had “clear downward trends” as did Columbia, Marion, and Linn

Counties with “probably downward trends” in violent crime rates. The northern section of California suggested

“no clear trend,” yet seven of the counties indicated some form of upward trend. 

54

Change in Violent Crime Rates

Table 14—Violent crime trends, Pacific Northwest and northern California, 1995

Clear downward trend Probable downward trend Probable upward trend Clear upward trend

Coos, OR Columbia, OR Marin, CA Glenn, CA

Lincoln, OR Linn, OR Mendocino, CA Tehama, CA

Polk, OR Marion, OR Sonoma, CA Clackamas, OR

San Juan, WA Sutter, CA Jackson, OR

Yolo, CA Josephine, OR

Lane, OR Shasta, OR

Washington, OR Clark, WA

Cowlitz, WA Grant, WA

Kitsap, WA Jefferson, WA

Mason, WA
55
An increase in rates of property crime is an indicator of economic or social stress. The flip side is that a

decrease in rates may suggest several factors: a healthy economy, aging population, and increased well-being

in communities and counties. Nationally, the number of property crimes declined 5.6 percent in 1995, down 1.7

million to 29.3 million. The rate of burglaries, theft, and theft of motor vehicles was 288 per 1,000 households,

down from 308 per 1,000 in 1994 (Rosenthal 1996). Property crime rates for 1995 are displayed in table 15 for

the three states and the United States. The statistics for each state reflected the entire state and not just the

portion in the NWFP region.

The analysis of provinces showed that the property crime rates (U.S. Department of Justice 1996) from 1989 

to 1995 did not change for most of the region; however, the central and northern provinces indicated downward

trends as well as some upward trends. No clear pattern exists. 

The county analysis (see table 16) suggested downward trends for King and Franklin Counties and possibly

Snohomish, Clallam, and Yakima Counties in Washington. Curry County in Oregon and Trinity and Napa Counties in California indicated probable downward trends. 

Upward trends appeared in Skagit and Adams Counties, Washington, and Clatsop and Clackamas Counties,

Oregon. Upward trends were probable in Cowlitz County, Washington, and in Wasco, Marion, Linn, and Jackson

Counties and along the Oregon coast. In Humboldt, Tehema, and Glenn Counties, California, property crime

rates appeared to be in an upward trend.

When results of the violent crime map (map 22) are compared to those of the property crime map (map 23), the

provinces and counties in Washington with upward and downward trends in violent crimes do not always show

up on the property crime map (see table 17). King County, for instance, showed “no clear trend” in violent crime

and showed “probably downward trend” in property crime. One exception was Cowlitz County, Washington,

which showed “probably upward trend” on both maps.

Similar trends were found in California. Two counties—Tehama and Glenn—having clear upward trends in 

violent crime had probable upward trends in property crime rates. Other counties showed up on only one map.

In Oregon, Clackamas County experienced clear upward trends in both violent and property crime rates.

56

Table 16—Trends in property crime rates, Pacific Northwest and northern California 

Clear downward trend Probable downward trend Probable upward trend Clear upward trend

Franklin, WA Napa, CA Glenn, CA Clackamas, OR

King, WA Trinity, CA Humboldt, CA Clatsop, OR

Curry, OR Tehama, CA Adams, WA

Clallam, WA Jackson, OR Skagit, WA

Snohomish, WA Lincoln, OR

Yakima, WA Linn, OR

Marion, OR

Sherman, OR

Tillamook, OR

Wasco, OR

Cowlitz, WA

Table 17—Trends in both violent and property crime rates, Pacific Northwest and northern California

Probable downward trend Clear upward trend in violent 

in violent crime and probable crime and probable upward 

Probable upward trend Clear upward trend upward trend in property crime trend in property crime

Cowlitz, WA Clackamas, OR Linn, OR Glenn, CA

Marion, OR Tehama, CA

Jackson, OR

Change in Property Crime Rates

Table 15—Property crime rates, for the Nation and 

by state, 1995

Property crimes

Entity per 100,000 population

United States 4,593

Oregon 6,042

Washington 5,786

California 4,865

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 1997a.
57
Alcohol-related incidences are indicators suggesting stress in a person, family, and community. Map 24 is a onetime snapshot of alcohol-related incidences. This proxy indicator needs to be monitored over time to determine

its viability as an indicator of stress. The division between low, medium, and high counties was determined to

highlight extreme highs and lows. Thus, there is an appearance of a greater number of counties in the medium

categories. Refer to tables 18 and 19 for specifics. The reader is cautioned that the interpretation is suggestive.

Certain limitations of the data require comment. The method of collecting data was different between Washington

and Oregon; consequently, comparison is not possible. The Oregon data indicate adult arrests for driving under

the influence of intoxicants at a rate per 1,000 population for 1993. The Washington data indicate a different

dimension—the percentage of alcohol-related collisions out of the total number of collisions in 1993. We were

unable to obtain data for California.

Most of the region resulted in a medium rate: 6 to 10 people per 1,000 population experienced alcohol-related

arrests in Oregon; between 10 and 15 percent of the total collisions in 1993 were alcohol-related in Washington.

The provincial interpretation suggested relatively high rates of arrests and percentages of alcohol-related collisions in the coastal provinces. Most of the provinces, however, were in the medium range; some provinces, 

in particular the Western Washington Cascades, Eastern Washington Cascades, Yakima, and Willamette

provinces, were comparatively low.

Some Washington counties exhibited a high percentage of alcohol-related collisions in 1993 (Washington State

Police 1993). It is recognized that this is subjective and suggestive, however. Waikiakum, Pacific, Mason, and

Okanogan Counties in Washington appear to be high; that is, they apparently had 15 to 25 percent of the total

number of collisions labeled as alcohol related.

In interpreting the rates of arrests for driving under the influence of intoxicants in 1993 in Oregon counties, the

data suggested that some of the coastal counties were high along with Columbia, Hood River, Sherman, and

Jefferson Counties. 

Local differences may reflect variations in enforcement activities as well as absolute differences in the rate of

incidences. The lower rates in the largest metropolitan areas may be related to several factors including the

availability of alternative transportation, the prevalence of nonalcohol drug problems, and the close proximity of

alcohol sources in urban areas. In the coastal counties, one possible factor is the relatively large number of

tourists (San Juan and Pacific, Washington; Clatsop, Lincoln, Coos, and Curry, Oregon). Hood River, Oregon, 

is also a recreation and tourist county and was high in incidences. 

58

Alcohol-Related Incidences

Table 19—Rate of adult arrests

for driving under the influence of

intoxicants (DUII), Oregon, 1993 

Rate per 

1,000

County Populationa populationb

Benton 73,300 6.59

Clackamas 302,000 6.75

Clatsop 33,700 16.62

Columbia 38,800 13.87

Coos 62,500 10.27

Crook 15,300 7.78

Curry 21,300 12.49

Deschutes 86,800 9.57

Douglas 96,400 9.40

Hood River 17,900 21.01

Jackson 157,000 9.39

Jefferson 14,900 18.52

Josephine 66,600 9.98

Klamath 60,300 6.35

Lane 298,000 7.26

Lincoln 40,000 16.18

Linn 96,100 7.46

Marion 247,400 8.25

Multnomah 615,000 5.45

Polk 53,600 7.31

Sherman 1,850 14.05

Tillamook 22,900 7.77

Wasco 22,500 8.93

Washington 351,000 4.97

Yamhill 70,900 8.11

a Source: McGinnis and others 1996.

b Source: Oregon Department of

Transportation 1993.

Table 18—Percentage of 

alcohol-related incidences out 

of total number of collisions,

Washington, 1993

Number Alcohol

County of collisions related

Percent

Adams 396 12.9

Benton 2,621 8.9

Chelan 1,407 10.9

Clallam 1,125 11.6

Clark 5,165 11.1

Cowlitz 2,126 11.7

Douglas 467 14.6

Franklin 861 13.6

Grant 1,215 13.3

Grays Harbor 1,517 14.4

Island 826 12.1

Jefferson 478 10.7

King 43,785 7.7

Kitsap 4,035 13.8

Kittitas 1,256 8.4

Klickitat 365 14.5

Lewis 1,658 12.0

Mason 970 17.9

Okanogan 686 15.5

Pacific 413 19.4

Pierce 15,247 11.1

San Juan 164 23.2

Skagit 2,067 14.5

Skamania 255 12.9

Snohomish 10,795 11.9

Thurston 4,068 10.2

Wahkiakum 74 20.3

Walla Walla 999 10.1

Whatcom 2,923 12.6

Yakima 4,627 13.2

Source: Washington State Police 1993.
59
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Section 7: 

Federal Assistance 

Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative

61
Changing social values, subsequent legal gridlock, and natural resource management policies have had a profound impact on the forest products industry in rural timber-based communities in the Pacific Northwest. The

NWFP is an innovative approach to ecosystem management, economic development, and agency coordination.

The Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative (NWEAI) is one part of the NWFP intended to support the region’s

people and communities during the economic transition and ensure that Federal, state, and local agencies work

together to assist the most affected parts of the region. The NWEAI, through innovative policy and “adaptive management,” allocated $1.2 billion over 5 years, beginning in fiscal year 1994. Sixteen Federal programs

helped to finance community and economic development.

The NWEAI provided assistance to a variety of recipients, as indicated by the four categories of assistance,

namely workers and families, business and industry, communities and infrastructure, and ecosystem investments (see table 20). Projects included rural infrastructure projects, such as waste water and drinking water

grants and loans, business and industry loan guarantees, Jobs in the Woods programs,5 and others. With few

exceptions, the proportion of NWEAI funding provided by each department or agency has been relatively consistent over the period of the initiative shown in map 25 (table 21).

One of the innovative aspects of the NWEAI is the coordinating structure and responsibilities of the Federal and

non-Federal partners in the NWEAI. From Washington, DC, the multiagency command has policy oversight responsibilities and works to resolve barriers and remove red tape that cannot be overcome in the region. The

Regional Community Economic Revitalization Team (RCERT) is composed of Federal representatives from the

participating agencies and non-Federal representatives of the three State Community Economic Revitalization

Teams (SCERTs). The RCERT is responsible for ensuring an equitable distribution of funds within the region, for

identifying and addressing barriers and red tape, and for sharing information and innovative approaches across

the region. The three SCERTs are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the initiative within

their states.

Table 20—NWEAI funding, by category of assistance

Fiscal year

Category of assistance 1994 1995 1996

Percent

Workers and families 7 9 6

Business and industry 31 23 29

Community and infrastructure 37 53 50

Ecosystem investment 25 15 15

Total 100 100 100

Source: Tuchmann and others 1996.

Table 21—NWEAI Federal funding, by department, 1994 through 1996

Fiscal year

Department or agency 1994 1995 1996

Percent

Department of Agriculture:

Forest Service 28.4 12.1 12.7

Rural Development 45.6 58.3 60.1

Subtotal, USDA 74.0 70.4 72.8

Department of Housing and Urban Development 1.5 9.3 8.2

Department of Labor 6.6 8.8 6.0

Department of Commerce 8.5 1.6 4.6

Department of the Interior 5.5 7.9 5.9

Environmental Protection Agency 3.9 2.0 2.5

Total, all departments and agencies 100 100 100

Source: Tuchmann and others 1996.

Not all counties eligible for assistance under the NWFP are depicted in map 25, because they fall outside the

range of the northern spotted owl (e.g., Columbia, Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens, Washington; Crook, Oregon;

and Lake, California). Some counties within the range of the northern spotted owl have experienced relatively

minor impacts from timber harvest reductions because they are largely urban or suburban and therefore excluded from assistance (e.g., King, Kitsap, and Thurston, Washington; Multnomah and Washington, Oregon). Other

counties (such as Yakima, Washington) were eligible in one year but not in others. Compatible data were not

available for California, thus the NWEAI’s Federal assistance to counties in California is not depicted in map 25.

The NWEAI funding was related not only to changes in timber harvest and loss in wood products employment

but also to other factors, such as opportunities for community and rural economic development. Map 25 shows a

general pattern in the counties that received NWEAI funding and also had relatively high losses in wood products employment. 

5 Jobs in the Woods is a federally funded program intended to achieve ecosystem management goals and provide employment 

for displaced timber workers.

62

Northwest Economic Adjustment

Initiative
63
Elizabeth Ellis and Judy Mikowski, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Seattle,

Washington, and Portland, Oregon, respectively, are recognized for their contributions to this volume.

Rick Jones, Shannon Savage, and Bridget O’Connell, Pacific Meredian Resources, Portland, Oregon, are

recognized for their efforts on the GIS maps and CD-ROM.

Bray, Martha; Lee, Robert G. 1991. Federal forest revenue sharing with local governments in Washington, 

Oregon, and California. The Northwest Environmental Journal. 7(1): 35-70.

Cook, Annabel Kirschner; Jordan, Mary W. 1994a. Assessing county change: the implications of social and 

demographic change in south central Washington. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, Assessing

County Change Project.

Cook, Annabel Kirschner; Jordan, Mary W. 1994b. Assessing county change: the implications of social and 

demographic change on the Olympic Peninsula. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, Assessing

County Change Project.

Cook, Annabel Kirschner; Jordan, Mary W. 1995a. Assessing county change: the implications of social and 

demographic change in north central Washington. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, Assessing

County Change Project.

Cook, Annabel Kirschner; Jordan, Mary W. 1995b. Assessing county change: the implications of social and 

demographic change in northeastern Washington. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, Assessing

County Change Project.

Cook, Annabel Kirschner; Jordan, Mary W. 1995c. Assessing county change: the implications of social and 

demographic change in southwest Washington. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, Assessing

County Change Project.

Cook, Annabel Kirschner; Jordan, Mary W. 1995d. Assessing county change: the implications of social and 

demographic change in the Puget Sound area of Washington. Pullman, WA: Washington State University,

Assessing County Change Project.

Council of Economic Advisors. 1991. Economic report of the President. Washington, DC: U.S. Government 

Printing Office. 411 p. 

Council of Economic Advisers. 1998. Changing America, indicators of social and economic well-being by race

and hispanic origin. President’s Initiative on Race. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 74 p.

Fuguitt, Glenn V.; Beale, Calvin L. 1996. Recent trends in nonmetropolitan migration: toward a new turnaround? Growth and Change. 27(Spring): 156-174.

Marple’s Business Newsletter. June 18, 1997. No. 1232. Seattle, WA: Newsletter Publishing Corp. 4 p.

McGinnis, Wendy J.; Phillips, Richard H.; Connaughton, Kent P. 1996. County portraits of Oregon and 

northern California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-377. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 315 p.

McGinnis, Wendy J.; Phillips, Richard H.; Raettig, Terry L.; Connaughton, Kent P. 1997. County portraits 

of Washington State. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-400. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 262 p.

Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. 1997. IMPLAN system (1993 data and software). Stillwater, MN: Minnesota 

Implan Group, Inc., 1940 South Greely Street, Suite 101, Stillwater, MN 55082. www.implan.com. 

The New York Times. 1998. Welfare rolls below 10 million—lowest since 1971. January 21; [section 

unknown]: [page unknown].

Oregon Department of Transportation. 1993. Performance measures for Oregon counties, 1984-1993. [Place 

of publication unknown].

Raettig, Terry L.; McGinnis, Wendy J. 1996. Wood products employment in the Pacific Northwest: emerging 

trends. In: Proceedings of the 30th annual Pacific Northwest regional economic conference; 1996 May 2-4;

Portland, OR. Portland, OR: Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference and Center for Urban

Studies, Portland State University: 45-50.

Rosenthal, Harry F. 1996. Violent crimes ebb for 2nd year. The Oregonian. September 18: [section unknown]: 

[page unknown]. Portland, OR.

Schuster, Ervin G. 1995. PILT: its purpose and management. Journal of Forestry. 93(8): 31-35.

Swanson, Linda L., ed. 1996. Racial/ethnic minorities in rural areas: progress and stagnation, 1980-90. Agric. 

Econ. Rep. 731. [Place of publication unknown]: Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture. 

Tuchmann, E. Thomas; Connaughton, Kent P.; Freedman, Lisa E.; Moriwaki, Clarence. 1996. The

Northwest forest plan: a report to the President and Congress. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Forest Service, Office of Forestry and Economic Assistance; Pacific Northwest Research Station. 253 p.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 1996. Rural conditions and trends. 

Washington, DC. Vol. 7(3).

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1991a. Census of population and housing, 1990: 

summary tape file 1 on CD-ROM technical documentation. Washington, DC.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1991b. Census of population and housing, 1990: 

summary tape file 1A on CD-ROM (Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho). Washington, DC. [Machine

readable data files].

64

Acknowledgments

References
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1992. USA counties on CD-ROM. Washington, DC. 

[Machine readable data files].

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1994. USA counties. CD-ROM disk. Washington DC. 

[Machine readable data files and technical documentation files prepared by the Bureau of the Census,

Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce].

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1997a. Crime rates, by state, 1993 to 1995, and by 

type, 1995. In: Statistical abstract of the United States 117th ed. [Washington, DC]. (p. 202, table 315).

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1997b. 1992 census of government, finances of 

county governments. Washington DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. 205 p. Vol. 4:3.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1997c. Persons below poverty level, by state: 1980 

to 1995. In: Statistical abstract of the United States. 117th ed. [Washington, DC]. (p. 477, table 741).

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1997d. Population projections, by Hispanic origin 

statues-states: 2000 to 2010. In: Statistical abstract of the United States. 117th ed. [Washington, DC]. 

(p. 38, table 38).

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1997e. Weighted average poverty thresholds: 1980 

to 1995. In: Statistical abstract of the United States. 117th ed. [Washington, DC]. (p. 476, table 738).

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 1998. Regional economic information system

CD-ROM disk. Washington DC. [Machine readable data files and technical documentation files prepared by

the Regional Economic Measurement Division (BE55), Bureau of Economic Analysis, Economics and

Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce].

U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

1997. Personal income and employment estimates for all counties and metropolitan areas in the United

States, 1969-95 on CD-ROM disk. Regional Economic Information System (REIS). Washington, DC.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census. 1993.

USA counties statistical abstracts. Available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe93.html. Accessed

May 1994.

U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1996. [Title unknown]. Clarksburg, WV: U.S. 

Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services Division.

U.S. Laws, Statues, etc.; Public Law 93-205. The Endangered Species Act of 1973. Act of December 28, 

1973. 87 Stat. 884, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 1531-1536,1538-1540.

Washington State Police. 1993. Data summary and highway safety problem analysis. [Place of publication 

unknown]. (p. 29, tables 2-13).

Unincorporated communities are not included in map 2.

1. Poverty rate and method of calculation:

Percentage of change in persons living below poverty level divided by the number of persons for whom

poverty status has been determined: 

A (PV02079) ÷ B (PV01079) C (PV 02089) ÷ D (PV01089)

where:

A ÷ B AND C ÷ D 

= Poverty rate 1979 Rate change in 1979

= Poverty rate 1989 Rate change in 1989

= the difference between 1979 and 1989

where:

PV01079D = B: represents persons for whom poverty status has been determined in 1979.

PV01089D = D: represents persons for whom poverty status has been determined in 1989.

PV02079D = A: represents persons below poverty level in 1979.

PV02089D = C: represents persons below poverty level in 1989.

Calculation is similar to determine the difference between 1989 and 1993.

The data source used in this analysis for 1979 and 1989 was as follows: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau

of the Census 1994. 

65

Appendix

Population Distribution: 1990 

Census Places

Change in Poverty Rate
1. Source of data for map 22 is U.S. Department of Justice 1996.

2. Definitions for the crimes are taken from the Uniform Crime Reports (FBI), though not all jurisdictions reporting incidents of crime to the FBI use the same definitions. Uniform Crime Report definitions are as follows:

(1) murder and nonnegligent manslaughter is the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another

(as determined by police investigation, not the courts, medical examiner, a jury, etc.); (2) forcible rape is the

carnal knowledge of a female (or male for some states) forcibly and against her/his will—attempts to commit

rape by force or threat also included; (3) robbery is the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the

care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the

victim in fear; (4) aggravated assault is an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of

inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury, usually accompanied by the use of a weapon; (5) burglary is the

unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft; (6) larceny-theft is the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another; (7) motor vehicle is

the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle; and (8) arson is defined as any willful or malicious burning or

attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft,

personal property of another, etc. Not all states define these crimes in the same way, and the data reflect

only how the agencies, states, etc., report the crime incidents. Some states, for instance, do not count a

crime of rape against a male victim as part of their rape crime data. 

3. Counties with one agency (on rare occasion, two) that report data to more than one county:

Oregon Washington

Clackamas Clark

Marion Cowlitz

Multnomah Douglas

Polk King

Yamhill Okanogan

Pierce

San Juan

4. Table 22 shows the counties with one agency (sometimes, but rarely, two to four agencies) reporting less than

12 months of crime data for specified number of years. Some counties have only 6 agencies reporting crime

data and other counties have over 20. The number of agencies reporting for each county is not included. 

Table 22—Counties with 1 to 4 agencies reporting less than 12 months of crime data for a specified

number of years between 1989 and 1995

1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 Years 6 Years 7 Years

Humboldt, CA Benton, OR Coos, OR Jefferson, OR Marion, OR Jackson, OR Yamhill, OR

Lassen, CA Clackamas, OR Douglas, OR Polk, OR Snohomish, WA Washington, OR

Mendocino, CA Clatsop, OR Multnomah, OR Okanogan, WA

Napa, CA Klamath, OR Grays Harbor, WA

Shasta, CA Lane, OR King, WA

Sonoma, CA Linn, OR Lewis, WA

Sutter, CA Clark, WA

Yolo, CA Cowlitz, WA

Curry, OR Thurston, WA

Josephine, OR Whatcom, WA

Lincoln, OR Yakima, WA

Tillamook, OR

Benton, WA 

Pacific, WA

San Juan, WA

Skagit, WA

66

Change in Violent Crime Rates
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The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of multiple use management of the Nation’s forest

resources for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and

recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the States

and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests

and National Grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to

provide increasingly greater service to a growing Nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means

for communication of program information (Braille, large print,

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202)

720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, 

Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call

(202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity

provider and employer.

Pacific Northwest Research Station

333 S.W. First Avenue

P.O. Box 3890

Portland, Oregon 97208-3890