NORTHERN IDAHO FOREST RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES 



An Action Program 



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THE picture that has been drawn thus tar can hardly 

 be called satisfactory. It portrays a lopsided tim- 

 ber industry and forest economy under which 

 western white pine serves as the major prop despite the 

 fact that there is a vast resource ot other timber. And 

 all the time this prop is being whittled away at a very 

 disturbing rate. Tomorrow's economic security ior the 

 region is being sacrificed to today's demands. 



Overcutting ot western white pine and undercutting ot 

 other species is but the more immediate aspect ot the 

 situation. Much of the commercial forest land in northern 

 Idaho is now privately owned, but, as the saw-timber 

 resource is dwindling, the field tor private torest enterprise 

 is shrinking also. Permanent private forest operations 

 may be possible on some of the area not \n tarms, but for 

 the greater acreage the outlook tor private industrial 

 torestry is discouraging. 



Northern Idaho has a torest-fire problem which is no 

 less than appalling, a situation which threatens watershed 

 and recreational as well as industrial values. It is faced 

 with a blister rust menace which, unless adequate Control 

 efforts are continued, promises eventually to exterminate 

 the western white pine industry. To combat fire and 

 blister rust effectively is a costly task, and to keep these 

 activities in proportion to the values involved is a problem 

 in itself. 



The unbalanced drain upon the forests, the economic 

 burtlens oppressing the private owner, the size and cost 

 ot the protection job — these are three formidable problems. 

 They must be successtullv solveil one wav or another it 

 the torest industry is to l)e stabilized at the highest possible 

 level. Contusion is adiied to the .scetie by tiie fact that the 

 public, as represented by local State, aiul federal (Jovern- 

 ments, has not come to an agreement witii itselt concerning 

 the problem, the approach, and tlie ilivisioi\ of respon- 

 sibility. 



Ihat the timber supply ot tomorrow will be reduced 

 unless proper measures are taken is not the most important 

 element ot the situation. \\ hat counts more heavilv is 

 that a reilucetl industry means less employment, a lower 

 standarii ot living, and more liiscontent a termite attack 

 on the uiulori''ninings ot our deinocracv. 



Kconomic coiuiitions winch form tlie settinii for the 

 forest problem will certainly be different in \0, 20, or M) 



years. Unfortunately, these developments cannot be 

 anticipated. It is possible that the changes may be 

 sufficient to alter the outlook completely. This imme- 

 diately leads to the hope — and it is only a hope — that the 

 markets may eventually absorb the secondary species, 

 enabling a utilization up to the full productive capacity 

 of the forest. Since the ultimate goal is community 

 stabilization, and since a western white pine industry will 

 support a much smaller community than an all-species 

 industry, common sense dictates that the action program 

 be directed along two broad lines: The house must first 

 be set in order on the basis of present conditions; that is, 

 bring the western white pine drain into line with pro- 

 ductive capacity and thereafter maintain a western white 

 pine industry at the highest sustainable level. Then 

 strive for a larger permanent total industrv by seeking to 

 increase the use ot the secondary species. With an ap- 

 proach along these lines, hope will not usurp the place of 

 reason. 



There is no shortage ot solutions. Ihe problem is to 

 select the one which least disrupts the existing scheme of 

 things and which, therefore, invites the public support 

 necessary to transform it into an action program. Also 

 it is necessary to recognize that the course which is liest 

 from a purely local standpoint may not serve best the 

 national interest. Therefore, any l-'ederai participation 

 in the program should be conditioned by the national 

 viewpoint 



///(• Ih/sc's for Action 



The possibilities tor increasing the markets tor secondary 

 species have already been pointed out. Private industrv 

 and the public agencies need to expand their efforts to 

 find new markets tor old products and new prt-kiucts for 

 old markets. In the South, for example, the entire 

 torest economy has been transformed by the development 

 of a paper industry dependent \\\o\\ the southern pines. 



There is need also to reexamine the empirical freieht- 

 rate structure from the angle of national cxpe^licncv, to 

 determine its effect in treczing the uneven utilization ot 

 i\ational resources aiul to see what adjustment is possible 

 that would increase the markets for northern Id.ih.' 

 pro<.iucts. 



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