2. How does our present supply of timber compare with 
that of the past? 
It has been said that almost as much usable timber is still 
standing in the United States as has been cut for lumber since 
the birth of the Nation. Such a statement is misleading. 
The significant fact is the uninterrupted trend of forest 
depletion which has impaired the base for permanent forest 
indus:ries in community after community. 
The amount of wood removed from American forests for 
lumber is only a fraction of the total taken. Even greater 
amounts have been removed for nonlumber products such as 
fuel wood, pulpwood, posts, poles, piling, hewn cross ties, 
mine props, and building logs. In addition, enormous quan- 
tities of timber in earlier years were simply felled and burned 
in clearing land for cultivation, or were and are still being 
destroyed by fire and storms, and by tree diseases and insects. 
Another important consideration is that the quality of the 
second-growth timber is generally much inferior to that of 
the old growth. Most of the available high-quality old- 
growth timber is confined to relatively small parts of the 
Pacific Coast States, and can be supplied to consuming 
centers elsewhere only by long-haul, high-cost transportation. 
Furthermore, much of the remaining old-growth timber is 
in remote, rugged mountain areas where it can be harvested 
only at a very high cost. 
