The Impact of Unfunded Environmental Mandates When Environmental Quality and Timber are Produced Jointly

A number of different aspects of environmental quality are produced jointly with timber. Unfunded environmental mandates whose costs are borne strictly by the private landowner lead to reduced production of both timber and environmental quality relative to the quantity of both that would be produced in the absence of such policies. That is, acting without regard to environmental consequences, private landowners produce more environmental quality (as a byproduct of producing timber) than they do when unfunded policy mandates result in de facto partial takings for which they are not compensated.