Abstract
State agencies are often tasked with managing natural resources on state-owned forests, including timber. In New York State, approximately 780,000 acres of State Forests are dedicated to growth and harvesting of timber, but no formal analysis of past timber sales has occurred and little is known about the potential variables and contexts that constitute the sales environment. In light of this, the driving question for the proposed work is: what factors primarily influence the sale of timber on public lands, and what are the implications for managing state lands? This study examines the role of competition, physical characteristics, and other attributes of sales through a hedonic analysis of 280 timber sales. The results of the study provide a useful baseline for future policy analysis.