| Abstract: | Forest planners face a dilemma. On the one hand, they desire more detail than they currently have in their planning optimization models, and on the other hand, these models are already extremely large and complex. This sort of problem is common in other natural resource management situations as well. This paper investigates an iterative multilevel approach that would allow districts within the forest to have models approaching the size and complexity of current forest models, but still approximate a forest-level optimum. A specific procedure based on equating shadow prices across districts is developed and tested with a case example where a global optimum is determinable as a standard of comparison. The procedure shows promise, but difficulties in recognizing optimality are indicated. |
