ing our consumption of wood, providing we take 

 the necessary steps to produce it in abundance. 



6. What shortages in forest products are there 

 today, and why? 



Wood has become a critical war material, with cur- 

 rent production falling below essential war and civilian 

 requirements. Labor shortage is probably the most im- 

 mediate cause of lagging production, and equipment 

 shortages, adverse weather conditions, and other factors 

 have contributed. Yet back of all these current difficul- 

 ties is the fact that our Nation has allowed much of its 

 forest to deteriorate. We no longer have abundant saw 

 timber supplies accessible throughout the country. We 

 now have to search out isolated remnants of timber for 

 specialty uses. For timber of high quality we have to 

 depend too largely on the remaining virgin stands of 

 the Pacific Coast. All this means further complication 

 of labor problems, and increased burdens on transporta- 

 tion facilities. 



Noteworthy is the shortage of large, high-quality, 

 standing timber in yellow birch, yellow poplar, and 

 Port Orford cedar. High-quality Sitka spruce for 

 airplane lumber has become so scarce in Oregon and 

 Washington that we had to tow logs in rafts 900 miles 

 from Alaska to help meet demands. County-wide and 



STANDING SAW TIMBER 



* 



2,826 BILLION 1,764 BILLION 



BOARD FEET BOARD FEET 



1909 1938 



REDUCED 40 PERCENT IN 30 YEARS 

 8 



