J. For. 116(5):412–419 doi: 10.1093/jofore/fvy033 Copyright © 2018 Society of American Foresters 412 Journal of Forestry • September 2018 Affiliations: Chelsea P. McIver (cpmciver@uidaho.edu), Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana; Policy Analysis Group, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Dr. MS 1134, Moscow, Idaho 83844. Alexander L. Metcalf (Alex.metcalf@umontana.edu), W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812. Erik C. Berg (Erik.berg@business.umt.edu), Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana, Gallagher Business Building, Suite 231, Missoula, MT 59812. RESEARCH ARTICLE policy Procurement Contracting and Forest Communities: Factors Affecting Local Business Utilization in the Inland Northwest Chelsea P. McIver, Alexander L. Metcalf, and Erik C. Berg Economic conditions in rural communities adjacent to large tracts of public land are disproportionately affected by federal land-use decisions. Policy interventions such as the Northwest Forest Plan have served as natural experi- ments for testing how management decisions impact communities in the Pacific Northwest. Less is known about how these decisions affect communities in other parts of the West. Using the lens of job opportunities, we analyzed national forest procurement contracts in Montana to identify characteristics associated with the utilization of local versus distant contractors. Results demonstrated that some federal small business assistance programs and work types substantially diminished local business utilization, while others served to keep dollars more local, albeit to a lesser degree. To enhance local business utilization, policy makers may consider strengthening local preference authorities, increasing accessibility by bolstering agency contract management capacity, or adjusting small business assistance programs to work in concert with local benefit goals. Keywords: USDA Forest Service, Montana, procurement contracting, forest communities R ural communities in the Western United States have been dispro- portionately impacted by restruc- turing in the forest industry (Haynes et al. 2017) and changes to federal land policy (Charnley et al. 2008). Additionally, rural communities across the United States have been slower to recover from the recent economic downturn than urban areas, with higher poverty rates even among those who work (Tiede et al. 2016). For rural communities adjacent to large tracts of public land, economic conditions can be highly dependent on federal land-use management and policy (Chen and Weber 2012). Economic benefts to rural commu- nities from nearby federal lands have been mixed, with evidence suggesting both pos- itive and negative impacts (Charnley et al. 2008, Rasker et al. 2013). To promote increased benefts to rural communities, Congress has enacted a number of policies historically focused on providing a con- sistent fow of timber from federal lands (Haynes and Grinspoon 2006). More recently, eforts included increasing timber and service contract opportunities for local contractors (e.g., National Fire Plan and the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program). Some programs provided fund- ing and technical assistance to help diversify rural economies (e.g., Rural Community Assistance/Economic Action Program) or support research and monitoring (e.g., Northwest Forest Plan). Areas afected by these policy inter- ventions, primarily the Pacifc Northwest (PNW), provided laboratories for evaluating the degree to which rural forest–dependent communities benefted from predictable supplies of federal timber, jobs in the woods programs, and other eforts (Charnley 2006, Haynes and Grinspoon 2006, Moseley 2006, Chen and Weber 2012). However, less is known about these dynamics in other parts of the Western United States. We conducted this study to explore the extent to which local communities in northwest Montana beneft economically from forest management on USDA Forest Service (here- after “Forest Service”) lands. We compare our results to those from studies conducted elsewhere in the PNW and discuss implica- tions for federal policy aimed at supporting rural community well-being. Received January 30, 2018; accepted June 18, 2018; published online August 29, 2018 Acknowledgments: Te authors would like to acknowledge the support of the USDA Forest Service, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, and the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Tey thank Elizabeth Dodson, Christiane Von Reichert, and Cory Davis for their professional guidance. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jof/article/116/5/412/5086580 by guest on 26 May 2022