Our Public Lands: A Priceless Treasure A virgin forest managed by nature is worth more than a clearcut, even from an accountant's point of view. Our national forests and parks, wildlife refuges and BLM lands offer trillions of dollars worth of services and assets. Yet our government continues to subsidize their destruction at a net economic loss. If they were running a business, they'd be bankrupt! Indirect subsidies, skewed accounting and incomplete economic assessment of assets has allowed corporate America to take trillions of dollars from the American people and justify the theft with a fraction of that value in jobs and products. An accurate and fully-costed accounting of what's happening on our public lands reveals an economic travesty. American citizens aren't always billed for the benefits public lands provide, so they are often ignored (at least until they're gone!). Public lands produce clean air, purify water and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. We enjoy camping, fishing and hunting in these pristine areas. Local communities enjoy erosion and pest control, unicipal water supplies and higher property values. Cities blessed with nearby forests are finding that the quality of life they offer attracts new residents - and new industry. We don't often associate forests with the pharmaceutical industry, but 40 percent of the prescriptions written today were derived from compounds found in nature - genetic treasures that have created a $40 billion-per-year pharmaceutical industry. And scientists continue to discover medical wonders in our forests. These aren't merely pleasant amenities; pristine public lands mean billions of dollars worth of benefits for our communities. Unspoiled public lands mean clean air, water and soil. Recreation, hunting and fishing are not just ancillary benefits. One Forest Service report estimated that these activities currently contribute 31.4 times more to the nation's economy and create 38.1 times the number of jobs than the timber sales program. And the recreation industry is expected to continue to grow at a constant rate.