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Creating Jobs and Wealth in Distressed Michigan Communities
Digitizing and Analyzing Timber Lease Financial Records for Economic Development
Summary
Luce County, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, holds a unique timber lease agreement with the State of Michigan for the purpose of operating a forest management demonstration program. The revenue generated from this program is used to support local economic development initiatives, including a revolving loan fund managed in partnership with the Luce County Economic Development Corporation(EDC). As the county prepares for future lease renewals and long-term planning, there is a need to digitize and analyze historical financial records to better understand the economic impact of the program. The goal is to generate summary reports and visualizations that help the county understand how timber lease revenue has been allocated—particularly what percentage has been reinvested into loans and other economic development activities.
Author Information
Justin Gambrell
Assistant Professor
Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, College of Engineering