938 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



DESIRABLE CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT POLICY 



As in other regions, the policy of hasty liquidation is causing heavy 

 losses hi lumbering operations. In the application of this policy there 

 has been much overbuilding of manufactuirng plants, so that further 

 heavy losses will undoubtedly result from inability to recover plant 

 investments through operation. The full extent of such losses does 

 not appear until the end of the operating period. These losses may be 

 much reduced through prolonging the timber cut and consequently 

 the useful life of the dependent manufacturing plants. 



Intensive logging and milling studies have shown that in the Rocky 

 Mountain region, as in others, a large proportion of the trees cut in 

 current practice are logged and milled at a loss. Figure 11 (22) shows 



DOLLARS 

 PER M FT B.M 

 34 



20 22 24 26 28 30 32 



DIAMETER BREAST HIGH (INCHES) 



36 



FIGURE 11. Production costs versus selling value of Ponderosa pine, 1931. 



that in a typical ponderosa pine operation in 1931, all trees less than 

 20 inches in diameter cost more to log and manufacture than sales 

 of lumber returned. In practice it is unwise to cut under 24 inches 

 except to remove smaller trees undesirable for the future stand. If 

 that limit is observed the stand remaining will contain sufficient 

 growing stock to add a considerable volume before the next cut, 15 

 to 30 years later. Deferred cutting of the trees that can yield no 

 profit now would result in more orderly delivery of the timber from 

 these forests to the market, give more time for local consumers to 

 absorb a large portion (especially of the cheaper grades), allow the 

 national market to be cleared of the surpluses now arising from 

 liquidating privately owned forests, and permit the residual stands 

 to gam in volume and quality and thus in stumpage price. It is 

 readily understandable that in some cases financial and other factors 

 place considerable difficulties in the way of the adoption of these 

 changes in policy. 



