Timber-based economies adjust in the face of green concerns

The story by William Yardley in today's New York Times is headlined, "Loggers Try to Adapt to Greener Economy," and the dateline is Lowell, Oregon, population 857. The lede notes the rural implications:

Booming timber towns with three-shift lumber mills are a distant memory in the densely forested Northwest. Now, with the housing market and the economy in crisis, some rural areas have never been more raw.

Mills have closed, and unemployment approaches 20% in some counties. But, as Yardley notes, there is optimism--optimism based on a shift to green opportunities.

Some people who have long fought to clear-cut the region’s verdant slopes are trying to reposition themselves for a more environmentally friendly economy, motivated by changing political interests, the federal stimulus package and sheer desperation.

Read more here, and view the accompanying slide show here.