Forestry Technical Assistance Programs: Research, 
Education, and Technology Transfer 
Frederick W. Cubbage (1) 
Introduction 
The southern timber study was performed to 
determine the current status and prospective trends 
in the southern forest timber base and industry. The 
study used historical and current forest inventory 
information and industrial production data to project 
future trends in the forestry sector to 2030, including 
those for timber growth and removals, land area 
changes, and industrial production of forest com- 
modities. Projections were made using the econo- 
metric softwood Timber Assessment Market Model 
(TAMM), which is an equilibrium supply/demand 
model of the forestry sector. TAMM was used to 
determine the South's future regional timber growth, 
removals, and inventory levels, in conjunction with 
the Timber Resource Inventory Model (TRIM). 
Southwide trends were then divided among States 
via the use of a State Allocation of Regional Invento- 
ry Model (SARIM). Additionally, the southern timber 
study has identified the timber types and areas that 
are capable of producing designated rates of return 
given various levels of management intensity. 
All of the above models were used to project the 
trends in the forest base, which was in turn used to 
determine industrial roundwood consumption, as 
well as employment and earnings in the forestry 
sector. These timberland area and volume projec- 
tions are only base-level estimates, however, given 
the current status of macroeconomic conditions, 
returns vis-a-vis other investments, and public poli- 
cies. 
A principal reason for performing the southern 
study was not just to determine the trends in the 
resource base but rather to determine the possible 
public policy alternatives to change the trends, if so 
desired. This paper presents possible policy and 
program options in the areas of research, educa- 
tion, and technology transfer that can be used to 
improve the base-level projections made by the 
southern timber study. It will outline possible policy 
(1) Frederick W. Cubbage is an associate professor in the 
School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia, 
Athens. 
alternatives and review the literature regarding their 
effectiveness in forestry so that policymakers can 
discuss possibilities for continuing, modifying, or 
extending current programs. 
Research 
Programs 
Forestry research and education programs 
have expanded in the United States since the early 
1900's. Research in forest management concerns 
was formally initiated at the Federal level when the 
USDA Forest Service established its Branch of Re- 
search in 1915. 
In 1928, the McSweeney-McNary Act conferred 
legal status on regional experiment stations and 
reaffirmed a policy of cooperation between the re- 
search units and their various clients. It also en- 
larged the responsibilities of Forest Service re- 
search and called for a nationwide forest survey to 
inventory all ownerships. In addition, the 1928 act 
directed the forest experiment stations to determine 
(1) methods of reforestation and timber growing, 
managing, and utilizing timber, forage, and other 
forest products; (2) methods of maintaining quality 
water flow from forested areas; and (3) methods of 
protecting forests from fire, insects, and diseases. 
Research programs were also to address economic 
considerations necessary for establishing sound 
forest policies. 
Forest Service experiment stations have since 
grown to represent all regions of the United States 
and perform research on a wide variety of topics of 
interest to all forest landowners, including forest 
management, pest management, utilization, eco- 
nomics, and inventory. The South is served by the 
Southeastern Forest Experiment Station and the 
Southern Forest Experiment Station. Currently, the 
annual budgets of the two southern stations total 
approximately $28 million. 
In the 1950's, most forestry schools also began 
to develop active programs in forest research, in 
addition to their traditional teaching responsibilities. 
Since that time, most southern schools have had 
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