16 MISC. PUBLICATION 11, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTTJEE 



development of the transportation system and how does this affect 

 the order of cutting or the sale policy? 



3. Are large or small sales or both to be sought? Long-term or 

 short-term contracts ? What number of operations is desired ? 



4. What should be the policy as to the use of small material, 

 inferior species, and by-products? How far should the manage- 

 ment go in forcing better utilization? Should concessions or adjust- 

 ments in price for the better species be made for this purpose ? 



5. What attitude is to be taken toward the development of new 

 business, new markets, and local industries ? 



6. Wliat measures are necessary to maintain or develop competi- 

 tion between purchasers? What particular recognition should be 

 given established operators? 



7. To what extent should recreational and scenic considerations be 

 taken into account in making sales ? 



8. W^hat is the policy regarding sales at cost and free use of tim- 

 ber? Is a reserve for local use necessary? 



THE ALLOCATION OF THE CUT AND CUTTING BUDGET 



The cutting budget is the decision that follows the appraisal of 

 the situation and the statement of objectives and policies. It is the 

 summation of the plan and is a direct call for action. As written 

 in the report, the cutting budget is a list of compartments, subcom- 

 partments, or chances to be cut under the provisions of the manage- 

 ment plan during a certain period of years, in national forest 

 practice usually 5 or 10 years. The areas to be cut are listed in the 

 order of cutting decided upon after full consideration of the silvi- 

 cultural condition of the various stands or tracts of timber on the one 

 hand, and of utilization and policy considerations on the other. 



In the management plans now being made in the national forests 

 an attempt to list the areas to be cut each year during the budget 

 period is seldom made, nor is it usual to provide for a certain volume 

 of cut for each year in the period. It is the common practice to lump 

 the cut, allocated to specific areas, for the budget period, with the 

 understanding that the cut will be fed as uniformly as possible year 

 by year. It is seldom that market and other conditions remain so 

 fixed that the forester can dispose of his timber in an even flow year 

 after year during any extended period. 



THE BUDGET PERIOD 



A definite commitment to a program of cutting involving both 

 the time and the place of operations should be made for only as 

 many years ahead as the forester can, with reasonable confidence, 

 foresee the situation. It is better to lay out a five-year program 

 based upon careful diagnosis of a known set of circumstances than 

 to draw up a more pretentious budget covering a much longer period 

 where the wish is father to the thought and a vivid imagination is 

 the main dependence. The length of the budget period may be 

 greater, obviously, in areas where the timber is sold in fairly large 

 bodies and under long-term contracts than where the reverse is true. 

 In the western national forests the cutting program is usually made 

 for a 10-year period; in the eastern district 5 years is the usual 

 budget period. 



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