PASSING OF THE LAST RESOURCE FRONTIERS 29 



feet, in contrast to the 38 billion feet reached during an average of 

 pre-depression years. 



Heretofore, lumber production has largely been of virgin timber. 

 Within recent years, however, under improved methods of fire protec- 

 tion and cutting practices, our second-growth forests are renewing 

 themselves splendidly. For example, the South, up to 1935, still re- 

 tained its position as the leading center of lumber production in the 

 country. In the four North Carolina pine states, Virginia to Georgia 

 inclusive, the peak of lumber production was not during a period of 

 the removal of the best virgin stands but in 1926, at least a quarter 

 of a century after removal of practically all the virgin timber. It is 

 apparent that the forests are growing up more rapidly than had been 

 anticipated. The fear of a timber famine is no longer felt. The 

 nomadic lumber industry has changed rapidly within recent years. 

 Small mills have replaced the large lumber-production units. Prob- 

 ably 80% of all the lumber produced east of the Rocky Mountains 

 comes from the small portable and stationary mills. This is an im- 

 portant contribution to the stability of employment, location, and 

 output. "Ghost cities" that quickly rose with the installation of 

 large logging and sawmill operations, and then as quickly disappeared 

 with the removal of the virgin stands, are being replaced by small, 

 permanent communities which are utilizing the products of the forest 

 at nearby sawmills and at various woodworking plants. This is indeed 

 the very essence of good forest management. 



3. PASSING OF THE LAST RESOURCE FRONTIERS 



During recent years the last resource frontiers have been crossed. 

 We have discovered and determined the location of the best mineral, 

 oil, soil, water, and forest resources. The westward expansion and 

 settlement have slowed down. There has been a sharp decrease in 

 immigration and a steady increase in population of about 10% per 

 decade. There has been a rapid shift from agrarian to industrial 

 occupations, which has resulted in a vast increase in our great urban 

 centers and a decrease of our rural population. Concentration and 

 consolidation of population have replaced the former periods of pio- 

 neering and of developing our frontiers. This stabilization in industry, 

 the internal development, the population growth, and the concentra- 

 tion of agricultural efforts on our best soils have directly influenced 

 our forest policies. Thus, per capita consumption of lumber and 

 other wood products has dwindled to about one-half that of 25 years 

 ago, owing to the inroads of substitute materials for wood, the in- 



