Owing to the success of timber people in spreading their peculiar gospel, almost all of their land is underassessed. Almost all state yield taxes, imposed in lieu of property taxes on standing timber, are too low to be revenue-neutral. Many costs of managing and carrying this capital asset are expensable - certainly interest and property taxes are. The net result is that timberland contributes very little to public revenues at any level. Residents of timber counties are typically scattered, and poorly organized.
Timber companies are huge, rich, few, and tightly organized.
Timber firms influence state forestry schools, hiring professors as consultants. It will continue to do so until voters in the timber counties wake up and organize to control state timber tax laws.