24 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



But availability is far more important than amount, and almost 

 half the total is economically unavailable because of inaccessibility 

 and other factors, on the basis of 1925-29 operating conditions and 

 lumber prices. What the ultimately available amount will be depends 

 upon such factors as demand, prices, changes in logging methods, and 

 the competition of other materials. 



Of timber of all sizes we still have left 487 billion cubic feet, 56 

 percent of which is in the West. 



The problem of balancing our timber budget is complicated by the 

 deficiency of the growing stock in all parts of the East, and par- 



ANNUAL SAW-TIMBER DRAIN 



ANNUAL SAW-TIMBER GROWTH 



10 



20 30 40 



BILLION BOARD FEET 



50 



60 



ANNUAL DRAIN (ALLTIMBER) 



ANNUAL GROWTH (ALLTIMBER) 



10 

 BILLION CUBIC FEET 



15 



20 



FIGURE 13. The growing of the large saw- timber sizes is the critical factor in balancing the national timber 

 budget. The saw-timber drain on our forests is 70 percent of the total drain and is about five times 

 saw-timber growth. 



ticularly in the South, which has by far the largest potential growing 

 capacity of any region of the country. 



MAKING UP THE DEFICIENCY IN GROWING STOCK 



A regulated growing stock for the country as a whole, with saw 

 timber equal to present volume, would make possible a sustained 

 yield cut of only 46 % billion board feet, or with saw- timber volume 

 equal to that having positive utilization value, only 26 K. These 

 amounts must be compared with a drain of 59 K, and estimated normal 

 requirements of 55. 



The magnitude of the problem of increasing the forest capital 

 in the entire East by the necessary two and one half times will be 

 apparent when it is made clear that this must be done in the face 

 of a 1925-29 drain which exceeds current growth by nearly 29 



