Forest Resources of the Pacific Northwest 



11 



reasonably improved forest jjrotection, it is estimated 

 that the forests of the Region liavc the capacity to pro- 

 duce continuously in the future about 16 billion feet of 

 timber yearly. 



The national forests and the Inilian forests are by 

 declared policy managed on a sustained-yield basis. ^ 

 The other forest land in the Region, both public and 

 private, with rare exceptions, is not managed on a sus- 

 tained-yield basis, but usually on the basis of nnirket- 

 ing the merchantable timber as rapidly as practicable. 



It should be noted that the 000 billion feet of timber 

 in the Region is not all equally available for manufac- 

 ture. Some of it is located in the National parks and 

 in State parks where there is to be no cutting. Proba- 

 bly about one-half is so remotely located or is of such 

 low quality as to be economically inaccessible at the 

 present or even at the reasonably good predepression 

 market prices. However, it is anticipated that future 

 transportation and economic changes will eventually 

 make available much, but not nearly all, of this cur- 

 rently inaccessible timber. 



A large proportion of the most accessible timber is in 

 private owTiership, and consequently most of the pres- 

 ent timber cutting is on private forest land; for ex- 

 ample, about 90 percent of the 1929 cut came from 

 private forests. Since the future productivity of for- 

 ests will be greatly affected by the manner in which 

 logging operations are carried on, the manner of logging 

 private timber is, at present, far more important than 

 the manner of logging public timber. 



lender the lumber code, a conference of experts, some 

 representing public agencies and some representing 

 j)rivate timber owners and operators, recommended a 

 program of action for private operators with the object 

 of securing better and reasonably good forest practice 

 in logging operations. This conference also recom- 

 mended a program of public action to remove unreason- 

 able economic obstacles and to create more favorable 

 economic conditions for the practice of forestry on 

 private lands. At the same time this conference defi- 

 nitely recognized and emphasized that the public pro- 

 gram must move hand in hand with the program of 

 industrial action in order that really satisfactory results 

 might be attained. The industry has made, both dur- 

 ing and since the code, moderately good progress in 

 applying its program, but the public program has made 

 relatively far less progress, even though the dual pro- 

 gram is of far greater importance to the public than 

 to the industry. Public fire protection contributions 



* Latterly the ('oiifiress has declared a policy of sustained-yield management for 

 the revested lands of the Oregon and California Railroad and reconveyed Coos Bay 

 Wagon Road grant lands in the Stale of Oregon. 



through Civilian Conservation Corps, etc., have been 

 substantial, but far more is needed. Federal legislative 

 programs have been slow; State programs, on the whole, 

 have been somewhat better. 



Within the Region the thousands of private owners 

 have about $700,000,000 invested in timber. Much of 

 this timl)er is held b}' nonoperating owners. Probably 

 more than half of the private tunber has not changed 

 ownershii) within the past 25 years. In addition to the 

 timber, the forest industries, all private!}- owned, have 

 about $.500,000,000 invested in logging railways and 

 equipment, sawmills, pulp and paper mills, and other 

 woodworking plants. This heavy investment, with 

 relatively small return or none at all, is pressuig strongly 

 for liquidation and for larger volume of annual output. 



On the standing timber alone the annual tax bill to 

 the many thousand private forest owners is roughly 

 $10,000,000. This bill is so heavy that it tends to force 

 premature cutting, and in many instances has, together 

 with other causes, forced tax delinquency. Tax de- 

 linquent forest land which has passed into the owner- 

 ship of the counties is a serious and rapidly expanduig 

 problem. The forest tax problem is highly complicated 

 and difficult, being involved with the tax problem as a 

 whole. 



Forest fire protection is costing the private forest 

 owners about $1,000,000 per j'ear. Actual losses 

 through fire and insects are a heavy burden. Potential 

 but unknown future losses of this character are a still 

 heavier psychological burden upon the private owners. 



Debt on nonoperating tunber properties as well as on 

 operating forest industry enterprises is substantial. 



Competition among the many hundred lumber manu- 

 facturers in the Region is intense and often is destructive 

 to a reasonable price level. 



Operating returns in predepression yeai's were very 

 moderate relative to the investment. Depression losses 

 have been extremely heavy. 



The burden of unproductive investment, taxes, inter- 

 est on debt, i)rotection costs, tire and financial losses, 

 have for years exerted great pressure for tiuil)er liqui- 

 dation. This pressure has resulted in excessive lumber 

 production, which in turn, coupled with intense com- 

 petition, has depressed prices obtainable for the juod- 

 uct. Depressed lumber prices have led to the leavifig 

 in the woods of much material which woukl have been 

 marketable if prices had been higher — thus bringing 

 about unnecessary waste of the natural resources. 

 Since lumber is the chief product which is exported 

 from the region, depressed prices have meant that the 

 people of the region are less able to buy goods imported 

 into the region. Depressed prices have resulted in 



