384 Forestry Quarterly. 



of Washington and Oregon are capable of yielding an annual 

 revenue of $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 as soon as they can be 

 brought to their cutting limit. This revenue will of course 

 rapidly increase as stumpage prices increase. If this revenue 

 had to be obtained at the expense of the future, as would be the 

 case if the cutting had to take place in immature stands, or if the 

 storage of mature stands could be taken advantage of without 

 over-cutting in the future, there might be some reason for with- 

 holding cutting, or failing to encourage it. Since this is not the 

 case, every effort should be made to increase cutting to its proper 

 limit. 



It is a fact that this increase in the amount of cutting will in- 

 crease the cost of administration, which the Forest Service can 

 ill afford with its present appropriations. However, there is no 

 doubt that as the revenue increases. Congress will recognize the 

 need of larger appropriations. As the cost of administering 

 timber sales in this region need not exceed 10 cents per thousand 

 feet, while timber will sell at the rate of $1.50 to $3.50 per thou- 

 sand feet, it is evident that the cost of administration of the sales 

 constitute not more than 5% to 10% of the revenue received 

 from them. 



The problem of whether over mature Forests should be stored 

 up on acres to be devoted permanently to forest management is 

 entirely separate and distinct from that of whether stumpage on 

 lands not to be used permanently for forest production, or to be 

 sold land and all sooner or later, should be held a long or short 

 time. In the former case, the young stand to follow cutting has 

 to be considered. In the latter case, no such consideration ap- 

 pears. The problem of when to cut a single small tract, even if 

 it is to be used permanently for forest production, is also distinct 

 from that of tracts large enough to make a sustained annual 

 yield management most profitable. With a small tract to be 

 handled as a permanent forest producer, storage is proper as long 

 as increase in stumpage prices is rapid enough. In the large tract 

 the storage cannot be taken advantage of except by over-cutting 

 later. Persons who maintain that lack of cutting on the National 

 Forests is not undesirable are, it seems, looking at their manage- 

 ment from the small tract standpoint. 



