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| ber last just as long as possible. 
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1944 1960 1980 2000 2020 
~ Pacific Northwest 
1944 1960 1980 2000 2020 
BILLION BOARD FEET 
(eo) 
1944 1960 1980 2000 2020 
| Ficure 13.—Theoretical course of saw-timber drain in various parts of the United States under a comprehensive forestry pro- 
diately ahead. 
_ Western development could help bridge the 
_ gap.—Obviously the West, which has 65 percent of 
the present saw-timber stand but accounts for only 
,27 percent of the drain, must supply a larger 
_ part of our national needs during the next few 
decades. But it should be recognized that the 
special values inherent in the high-quality virgin 
timber will never be replaced. The need to 
Maintain output should be balanced against the 
_ desirability of making this high-quality virgin tim- 
Dependent west- 
ern communities should also be protected from 
excessive timber depletion that would rob them 
_ of the means of existence. 
Fortunately a large part of the timber still 
awaiting access to market is on the national forests 
| Forests and National Prosperity 
gram designed to achieve 72-billion-board-foot growth in 75 years with minimum reduction of output in the years imme- 
and other public land. With private timber play- 
ing out, the public forests are becoming more im- 
portant in the current timber supply. For 
example, saw timber in public ownership in the 
Pacific Northwest rose from 54 percent of the 
total during the middle thirties to 63 percent in 
1945. The increasing importance of public tim- 
ber in the West places a new responsibility on 
public forest managers. 
Between World Wars I and II the lumber indus- 
try was often in difficulty because its plant capacity 
exceeded the market for its products. With pri- 
vate timber under pressure to be cut and the 
industry in a generally shaky position, the sale of 
national-forest timber and the opening up of new 
units proceeded slowly. Furthermore, among pri- 
43 
