Anywhere from 1.12 to 1.61 hectares are harvested for every one hectare preserved. The range depends on estimates of timber stocking levels on the replacement hectares. The harvested area ratio increases to a range of 1.59 to 1.91 if Siberia were to expand its timber harvest levels. Over the longer term, these impacts are exacerbated as higher productive forest lands in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia are replaced by less fertile forest lands. In addition, these high-cost producers are likely to have limitations in their processing infrastructure, leading to additional waste both in the mill operation and at the forest harvest level.
Consumers are the major losers.
Gains by southern mills are only 20 percent of the losses to mill operators in the west. These impacts are reduced substantially if Siberia expands its timber harvest levels. Concerns over wetlands, other species preservation. Additional supply constraints will magnify the impacts with more wood demand shifting to non-wood substitutes. Environmental tradeoffs may be counterproductive through increased harvest acreage.