The estimated recreational value of US national forests has been cut by 90% in a government re-assessment.
The US Forest Service report puts the value at US$11bn, down from the US$111bn calculated in 1995 during the Clinton era.
The Clinton administration originally predicted some 800 million annual visits to national forests by 2000. But the present government says there were actually only slightly more than 200 million visits by 2002.
Government officials also say the national forest system’s contribution to the gross domestic product is about 59%, compared with 85% estimated by the Clinton administration.
Environmental groups believe the new figures could be used to justify increased logging.
However, the Forest Service‘s California region has rejected the claims, saying cutting is only undertaken in the state’s 18 national forests as part of its forest fire prevention measures.
