The CFLA report states that the significance of an allowable annual cut reduction is minimized in the Socio-Economic Analysis because:
• the employment and income impacts of a harvest-level reduction are under-estimated, in part because the public sector is included in the basic sector of the economy. This reduces the significance of any single industry, including forestry, to the local economy. It is noted that this issue is recognized in the Socio-Economic Analysis
• potential harvest reductions are assessed against recent harvest levels rather than the current allowable annual cut
• background information on the size of the forestry sector is not presented in the same units as the impact estimates
The report further asserts that the environmental impacts are not assessed adequately because the conclusions drawn do not reflect the pros and cons presented. Instead, they rely upon the assumption that the lowest harvest rate would produce the lowest environmental impacts.
The report concludes that short-term departures from long-term preferred actions can sometimes be made rationally, if done in the best social and economic interests, and only when choices are limited.
