Regional Economic Contributions of the Four Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) in Northern Arizona in 2023

Abstract

A regional economic contribution analysis of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) was conducted for Calendar Year 2023, illustrating regional employment and output from 4FRI in five northern Arizona counties. Forest restoration in communities with high wildfire risk is done primarily through thinning and prescribed burning. The US Forest Service (USFS) works with regional contractors to conduct forest restoration thinning for the 4FRI and implements most of the prescribed burns. These activities, along with subsequent wood utilization of thinned material, provide well paid employment opportunities in rural forested communities and indirectly generate additional output in the form of goods and services needed to log and produce wood products.