Since the total sawtimber stand is shown by Appraisal 

 figures to have declined 6 per cent in the last 8 years, 

 we might base our allowable cut for the next 10 years on 

 the premise that the deficiency be restored. 



The rate of sawtimber growth is now about the same 

 as it has been for the past 10 years. The rate, 2.3 billion 

 board feet annually, seems to have over-cut pine by about 

 12 per cent in the last 10 years. For the next 10 years an 

 under-cut of 12 per cent would build back the pine grow- 

 ing stock. Following these assumptions, the annual cut of 

 sawtimber material would be 2.0 billion board feet. 



Hardwood cutting could go on as before. It is the pine 

 that needs to be replenished. 



The calculations are believed to be on the conservative 

 side, inasmuch as under-sawlog-size volume is increasing. 



CONCLUSION 



1. The major problem confronting foresters in North 

 Carolina is the successful reproduction of pine on lands 

 that are better suited for growing pine than hardwood. 

 Hardwood succession is a natural condition being hastened 

 by present systems of cutting. As pine will produce ap- 

 proximately three times the volume of hardwood under 

 average conditions, something must be done to insure the 

 reproduction of pine if the state is to maintain its high 

 production of lumber. Decrease in pine volumes will become 

 serious following the maturing of present under-sawlog- 

 size trees. Although there is a fair percentage of pine in 

 the sawtimber and under-sawlog-size at present, only 27 

 per cent of the reproduction is pine. Pine volumes have re- 

 mained high in the past due to fire and land clearing and 

 abandonment. Complete exclusion of fire and a land-stabili- 

 zed agriculture will mean a serious reduction of pine 

 volumes. The Mountain region is excluded from the above 

 discussion as this area is predominantly hardwood forest. 



2. The fire problem in eastern North Carolina must be 

 met by the State as a whole. It is felt that state-wide fire 

 protection is a necessity and that fire control measures 

 cannot be adequately provided under the present system 

 of voluntary county cooperation. Provision for establishing 



and financing a state-wide system must be left to the 

 General Assembly. 



3. The accumulations of hardwood cull trees and brush 

 are forming an ever-increasing barrier to the development 

 of good timber trees. These accumulations are the cause 

 of the non-stocked condition of approximately 2 million 

 acres of forest land in North Carolina. Development of 

 new bulk wood-using industries will be necessary before 

 the present volume of 41 million cords of usable cull trees 

 can be decreased. 



4. Thousands of acres of good pine growing lands are 

 non-stocked because of the complete removal of pine seed 

 sources. A provision should be made to retain a source of 

 pine seed. 



5. The forestry educational program should be expand- 

 ed so that more of the 200 thousand landowners might 

 benefit through a knowledge of good forestry practices. 



6. State-owned forests should be established in the va- 

 rious regions of the state. State ownership would develop 

 prestige, give training facilities for personnel, provide 

 proving grounds for techniques, demonstration and re- 

 search, and demonstrate financial returns. Enabling 

 statutes already exist, as part of the legal framework of 

 the N. C. Dept. of Conservation and Development. 



7. The total sawtimber stand has declined approximately 

 6 per cent in the last eight years. If possible, this deficit 

 should be made up by slightly reducing the cut of pine, 

 as the pine volumes have been reduced about 12 per cent. 

 Hardwood cutting could go on as before. 



8. No definite conclusions have been reached concerning 

 the public regulation of cutting on private lands. Public 

 opinion was divided between federal or state regulation, 

 and no regulation at all. It is felt that no regulations are 

 necessary for hardwood timber, but that some means 

 should be employed to save a source of pine seed. 



9. Research is very definitely needed to determine the 

 benefits or detriments of prescribed burning to re-establish 

 pine on certain lands in this state. Burning techniques 

 have been developed in other states so it is reasonable to 

 suppose that techniques could be determined here. 



(42) 



