The Forest Stewardship Program, funded with federal dollars, has encouraged forest management planning on private forestlands for years. This program is intended to support sustainable forestry practices on private lands.
Maintaining a long-term employee base is more likely to result in those employees feeling secure in their positions, having a trained staff network, and supporting relationships with stakeholders. Permanent employees in the Forest Service will probably know the place they are responsible for and may develop trusting relationships with stakeholders.
Migration patterns are the movement of people into or out of an area (e.g., a county). Metrics for this indicator include:
a. In-Migration by County- The number of people moving into a county or region from some other area.
b. Out-Migration by County- The number of people moving from a county or region into other areas.
c. Net migration - in-migration minus out-migration
Standardized testing administered by the state can be used to determine whether an individual student is performing above or below expectations for her/his grade. The percent of students performing below grade level is indicative of both school performance and the socio-economic conditions that can contribute to students' ability to learn.
Population characteristics can be indicators of social change. This indicator describes in general terms who is now living in rural California. The indicator covers a broad range of demographic characteristics, including gender, race, age, education, and home ownership. Changes in rural areas’ number of inhabitants, population age structure (distribution), ethnic diversity and educational levels can signal whether in the near-term they are likely to do well (or at least hold their own) in the face of these challenging economic times, or if difficulties ahead seem more likely for these communities.
Population pyramids are commonly used to describe a population’s basic structure. They require data on gender and age. Data are organized into 5-year age cohorts; male and female. Each population pyramid provides a snapshot of the distribution of age groups and gender. This measure provides evidence of community sustainability by indicating key characteristics of social organization as they relate to providing social and economic services within a community. A population pyramid that varies little from the youngest to the oldest cohorts is considered to be sustainable.
Poverty can be measured in a number of ways. The most common and less accurate is to just look at per capita income, however, this can miss the relationship between income and household expenses. Two ways of measuring poverty are:
a. Official (US) Poverty Measure- the Census Bureau uses a set of income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to detect who is poor. If the total income for a family or an unrelated individual falls below the relevant poverty threshold, then the family or an unrelated individual is classified as being "below the poverty level."
b. California Poverty Measure- tracks the full range of necessary expenditures, adjusts for geographic differences in housing costs, and includes food stamps and other non-cash benefits as resources available to poor families. This measure is an Average of the 33rd - 36th percentile of national expenditures on food, clothing, shelter, and utilities, based on five most recent years of the Consumer Expenditure survey, multiplied by 120% to account for other “key” spending. Thresholds are also adjusted for the regional cost of living.
This indicator measures the proportion of children (age 17 or younger) who live in households determined to be at or below the poverty threshold. Children in poverty can be a more specific indicator of community resilience because it may portend future capacity. Communities with high rates of poverty appear to have a legacy of poverty over time.
general poverty rate is a gross measure of social stratification that indicates the extent of poverty within a county or local area (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). The greater the concentration of poverty (e.g., a higher percentage of a given population in poverty) the less likely it is that the population has the resources necessary to adapt to ecological and socioeconomic changes. Such increased social stratification, then, is related to a reduced ability to sustain counties. A lower capacity to adapt to changes implies a lower level of sustainability.
The presence of private sector non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is considered to be an indicator of professional administrative capacity for conceiving, implementing, and managing community projects relating to rangeland sustainability or restoration that otherwise would be unsupported by government agencies. It is also an indicator of how strongly such groups feel about the importance of natural resources in an area.
