THE IMPACT OF FORESTRY-RELATED ORDINANCES ON TIMBER HARVESTING IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH, LOUISIANA

I. INTRODUCTION A growing trend of concern to many in the forestry community is the proliferation of state and local government regulations of forestry practices on private land (Granskog et al., 2002; Hickman, 1993; Jackson et al., 2003). Several studies have documented that the number of forestry-related ordinances is growing and that additional increases are likely, particularly, in the southern United States (Cubbage and Raney, 1987; Granskog et al., 2002; Greene and Siegel, 1994; Martus, 1992; Martus, Haney, and Sigel, 1995). Granskog et al. (2002) updated previous work by Martus (1992) and found that the total number of local ordinances had more than doubled across 13 southern states from a total of 141 in 1992 to 346 in 2000. Granskog et al. (2002) concluded that this pattern of growth in ordinances has continued since 1970 with the number of ordinances doubling every 5 yr. Forestry-related ordinances are typically used to regulate harvesting activity, minimize damage to public roads, and to preserve environmental and aesthetic quality. However, ordinances passed at the local government level are of particular concern since these are often developed independently with little information as to how well suited they are to address the problems they seek to solve or without a full understanding of possible economic consequences (Greene and Haines, 1994; Jackson et al., 2003; Mortimer et al., 2006). Additionally, such forestry-related ordinances often have unpredictable impacts on local forestry operations and the unintended consequence of reducing long-term timber supply when landowners accelerate harvest to avoid new regulation they consider burdensome (Cubbage, 1991; Greene and Siegel, 1994). A major factor in the increase of ordinances is a shift in population from urban areas to more rural settings. Former urban dwellers generally have fewer economic and personal ties to rural agriculture and forest economies and are therefore less likely to see a rationale for timber harvesting activities (Hickman, 1993). Granskog et al. (2002) linked the growth of local government ordinances to social conflicts resulting not only from the growth of urban areas (urbanization) but also to exurbanization, the migration of urban residents to rural areas. The new rural residents typically are unfamiliar with the historical importance of forestry to a local economy and react adversely to the unpleasant appearance of harvested areas by organizing community movements and lobbying local government to pass ordinances that are restrictive to forestry practices, often without considering the effectiveness of the ordinance itself or the economic impact on the local economy. A number of studies have surveyed the existence of forestry-related ordinances across the south and have grouped them into one of five categories that included public property ordinances, timber harvesting ordinances, tree protection ordinances, environmental protection ordinances, and special feature or habitat protection ordinances (Granskog et al., 2002; Greene and Siegel, 1994; Hickman, 1993; Hickman and Martus, 1991; Spink, Haney, and Greene, 2001). Public property ordinances are intended to protect public roads and bridges from damage resulting from timber harvesting activity as well as to ensure public safety. Timber harvesting ordinances are adopted to restrict certain types of forestry or silvicultural operations and generally require adherence to best management practices and require harvest permits. Tree protection ordinances are intended to preserve trees as land is developed. Environmental protection ordinances seek to protect environmental and aesthetic values by retaining forested tracts. Special feature or habitat protection ordinances are designed to protect scenic or environmentally valuable areas by requiring the use of aesthetic management zones. Of the five types of ordinances discussed in the literature, Hickman (1993) indicated that the most popular regulatory ordinances in the south are those directed at the protection of public property. …