The method is being applied on many critical watershed areas of the 

 "West. Experiments to determine the effects of fire and herbicides on 

 various individual species and plant communities are making it pos- 

 sible to control sagebrush, chaparral, woodland brush, mesquite, and 

 other low-value plants on vast range areas and to replace them with 

 desirable species. 



Achievements in forest fire control, based on research, are widely 

 recognized. Methods of measuring and rating forest fire danger are 

 now used by all protection agencies to gage the level of forces and 

 distribution of equipment needed to meet fluctuating fire weather 

 conditions. Much greater efficiency in control of fire results. Re- 

 search has produced new fire retardants, equipment, and methods of 

 aerial attack, now widely used. 



Insect and disease research has contributed to the prevention of 

 losses caused by forest pests with the saving of huge volumes of 

 timber. In the ponclerosa pine region of the West, methods of iden- 

 tifying high insect-risk trees to be removed have been widely adopted 

 *-and are effective in reducing losses to residual healthy pines. Research 

 established the relation between nematode injury to the roots of tree 

 seedlings in nurseries and subsequent disease losses. A system of soil 

 fumigation was developed that returned several forest nurseries to 

 production and greatly increased production of healthy, high-quality 

 trees for planting programs. 



Research on forest products has stimulated utilization and im- 

 proved the efficiency — hence the profitability — of closer utilization of 

 wood. The development of the semichemical and cold-soda pulping 

 processes has made practical the use of low-grade hardwood as a raw 

 material. Sixty mills now use these processes in producing more 

 than 2.5 million tons of pulp annually. Basic research on wood- 

 moisture relations led to the development of a basic type of dry kiln 

 for seasoning lumber, 12,000 of which are now being used by the lum- 

 ber industry. Studies of the feasibility of salvaging woods and mill 

 residues for the production of woodpulp in the South have stimu- 

 lated fuller utilization of this material, and the quantity used has 

 jumped from 0.1 million cords in 1953 to 3.8 million cords in 1962. 

 The nationwide Forest Survey has provided basic information on 

 timber supplies and demands for timber products required for the 

 evaluation of forestry problems and the determination of needed 

 forestry programs. Research in the economics of timber production 

 has provided a measure of the profitability of forestry investments 

 under varying forest conditions. 



These examples clearly show the importance of forestry research. 

 They could be multiplied many times in a complete review of past 

 accomplishments. Yet, productive as past forestry research has been, 

 it has not probed deeply enough into the more complex problems of 

 forestry. Substantial gaps in knowledge exist. Unless these gaps are 

 plugged, they will prevent orderly positive progress toward the inten- 

 sive forestry practices that future resource development and utiliza- 

 tion demand. 



Research as an Element in Future Progress 



As indicated above, the complex nature of producing, protecting, 

 and utilizing the Nation's five basic forest resources — wood, water, 



5 



