Non-Timber Forest Products in Local Economies

Summary

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been a vital part of the local economies of Mason County, Washington since the first peoples came there over 9,000 years ago. First Americans used NTFPs in every fact of their lives. The new Americans, from early Euroameri-cans to the newest Asian Americans, have used nontimber forest products to provide subsistence resources and income support. Beginning in the 1970s, increased demand for medicinals, wild mushrooms, and floral products brought Mason County's NTFP industries back into the limelight. Unfortunately, the rise in demand for NTFPs has increased social conflict in Mason County. Indeed, disputes over harvesting practices and the tension between floral greens and wild mushroom business over across to NTFP leaves have made Mason County the floral point of recent efforts to expand government regulation of the NTFP industry in Washington. However, NTFPs may also provide opportunities for decreasing the political conflict over timber management in the region by creating financial incentives for landowners to maintain longer timber rotations.

Key Words:

• Native Americans
• medicinals
• mushrooms
• floral greens
• wild edibles
• forest management