Trees, Timber, and Trade was two-quarter program designed to introduce students to the interrelationships between the ecology and economy of specific locations with the global market and environmental issues. By examining the products and services forests provide and how humans value and use these services, students gained an appreciation of how humans and societies shape the ecology of specific locales. Students were introduced to elements of forest ecology, forestry, botany, fieldwork, micro- and macroeconomics, trade policies, and the global economy through lectures, workshops and a number of field trips.

During the two quarters of TTT, we surveyed key concepts in environmental and natural resource economics, placing them within the context of national and international political economy and applying them to issues surrounding forests and their human uses.  The main text was Economics of the Environment by Eban Goodstein. Topics covered in the fall included: economic efficiency vs. rights-based approaches, externality theory and the Coase Theorem, cost-benefit analysis, the valuation of externalities and ecological services, and the problem of promoting clean production.  In the winter we studied the political economy of regulation and the structure of the US environmental regulatory system, the theory of employment determination (based on effective demand), international trade and finance, the concept of sustainable development, and the political economy of international agreements.  Supplemental fall readings on the theory of renewable resources (the basic stock-flow model of sustainable yield) and optimal harvest models of forestry were taken from Environmental and Natural Resource Economics by Tietenberg, consumer preferences versus citizen values in cost-benefit analysis from Sagoff (Economy of the Earth), and economic versus ecological approaches to sustainability from Common (Economics and Sustainability).  Additional readings during the winter consisted of "Jobs and the Environment" (Goodstein) and chapters on international trade and finance by Salvatore (International Economics).

A series of lectures over the two quarters expanded on the issues raised by the readings and filled in some of the gaps, particularly in basic microeconomic theory, game theory, international finance, and techniques for assigning monetary values to non-market goods and services. We also had five workshops, on interpreting geometric representations of logical relationships, assigning monetary values to human life, applying the principles of cost-benefit analysis to Evergreen's forest resources, understanding the difference between balanced and unbalanced trade on national environmental policies, and formulating carbon emission and sequestration options for Indonesia. During the winter quarter more emphasis was placed on applied problem-solving, and we used economic theory to shed light on such issues as salmon restoration in the Elwha River, global warming, and the effectiveness of certification programs for sustainably produced timber products. Students earning full credit in economics have a background in introductory microeconomics and environmental and natural resources economics sufficient to permit advanced and applied work in these fields, as well as an initial exposure to global economic analysis.

The forest ecology of the program used Forest Ecosystems by Perry, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Pojar and Mackinnon, and The World of Northern Evergreens by E.C. Pielou as texts. During fall quarter, we covered the following topics using lectures, workshops, and field trips. The ecology of northern evergreens, tree and shrub identification, the role of forests in global ecosystems, the structure of local ecosystems, patterns and mechanisms of succession, biodiversity, the role of disturbances in forests, salmon and regional nutrient cycles, and the geologic history of the Olympics. There were several field trips: one to the Olympic Peninsula where we looked at forests of various ages and successional stages, as well as the fungi and plants within the forests; a trip to an local old-growth stand; a trip to a local salmon stream during peak spawning; and two field trips to local forests practicing sustainable forestry.

Winter quarter, we continued to explore forest ecology in more detail. Topics covered included: an introduction to tree physiology and wood anatomy, forest soils and the soil ecosystem, biogeochemical cycling of nutrients (nitrogen and carbon) on both a global and forest level, the role of forests in global warming, and sustainable forestry. Students worked through applied quantitative problems in nutrient cycling. We took three field trips—a high-tech sawmill and the neighboring pulp mill, Weyerhauser’s tree farm, and a local plywood mill, followed by a visit to a two-person sawmill/milling operation.

Students completed weekly study questions in both topics throughout the program and reviewed these in small groups in class. Throughout the two quarters, student progress was assessed through regular homework assignments as well as midterm and final exams.

During fall quarter, two films were shown and discussed: The Wilderness Idea- John Muir and Gifford Pinchot and the First Great Battle of Wilderness and Butterfly: a documentary about a tree sitter. Students also completed weekly seminar readings and wrote one-page reaction papers which were posted on the course web site. Readings for seminar included: The Living: A Novel by Annie Dillard, Salmon Without Rivers: A History of the Pacific Salmon Crisis. by Jim Lichatowich, a chapter from Nature’s Metropolis by William Cronon, The Last Stand: The War Between Wall Street and Main Street over California's Ancient Redwoods by David Harris, and Sharing the World: Sustainable Living and Global Equity in the 21st Century by Michael Carley, Philippe Spapens. During winter quarter, a film on removal of the Elwha dam was viewed and discussed. Other seminar readings were The Final Forest: The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest by William Dietrich , Green Spirit : Trees Are the Answer by Patrick Moore, the Cost/Benefit Analysis of the Elwha Dam Removal, an article on the economics of global warming, and several articles on forest certification.

Students researched and wrote a paper in fall quarter that was to serve as a basis for a more in-depth paper winter quarter. The papers addressed a question or situation where students could apply the skills and concepts they gained in other parts of the program to a real-world situation. During winter quarter, researching their topics and writing these papers was a focus. Students completed workshops in: researching topics in abstracting databases, organizing and structuring a paper, and editing a paper. The book, The Fine Art of Technical Writing by Carol Rosenblum Perry, served as a reference for this part of the program. Students completed a 15­20 page paper on a selected topic that included both ecological and economic aspects and then gave a twenty-minute presentation to the class.