Forest restoration positively affects rural economies by facilitating employment and income generation with logging, wood utilization, and other restoration activities. To investigate economic effects and modeling of forest restoration, a regional contribution analysis of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) in Arizona was conducted. With over 12,000 acres mechanically thinned in 2017, 4FRI treatments led to the processing of 400,000 green tons of sawlogs and biomass. Restoration activities spurred more than 900 full-time equivalent jobs in the region, $50 million in regional labor income, and affected over 140 different industry sectors in the region. When compared to the US Forest Service Treatments for Restoration Economic Analysis Tool model estimates for 4FRI economic contributions, we found that using primary data from 4FRI contractors provided more conservative results. Primary considerations for modeling forest restoration contributions include contractor surveys, appropriate investigation of the regional context, methodological transparency in bridging restoration expenditures to input-output models, and consideration of how to enhance restoration contributions.

中文翻译：

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森林恢复的区域经济贡献建模：四个森林恢复倡议的案例研究

森林恢复通过伐木、木材利用和其他恢复活动促进就业和创收，对农村经济产生积极影响。为了研究森林恢复的经济效应和建模，对亚利桑那州的四森林恢复倡议 (4FRI) 进行了区域贡献分析。2017 年机械减薄了 12,000 多英亩土地，4FRI 处理导致加工了 400,000 绿吨锯木和生物质。恢复活动在该地区创造了 900 多个等效全职工作岗位，为该地区创造了 5000 万美元的劳动收入，并影响了该地区 140 多个不同的行业部门。与美国林务局恢复经济分析工具模型估计的 4FRI 经济贡献相比，我们发现使用来自 4FRI 承包商的原始数据提供了更保守的结果。模拟森林恢复贡献的主要考虑因素包括承包商调查、对区域背景的适当调查、将恢复支出与投入产出模型联系起来的方法透明度，以及考虑如何提高恢复贡献。