an additional 7 million acres on public forest lands 
with such economic opportunities. 
Clearly, we have large, capturable opportunities 
in all ownerships. If we are to make use of these 
opportunities, our existing institutions must work to- 
gether. The evidence suggests they are generally 
not doing so now. Otherwise, why does the perfor- 
mance on nonindustrial lands leave so much to be 
desired? The need is for leadership to focus the 
efforts of all forestry interests. 
USDA Efforts 
USDA intends to do its part in this effort. In the 
Department, the Natural Resources and Environ- 
ment Committee coordinates natural resource poli- 
cies. Within that Committee, we have recently estab- 
lished a State and Private Forestry Issues Working 
Group of nine Departmental agencies cochaired by 
the Forest Service and the Extension Service. This 
committee is designed to coordinate policy, identify 
responsibilities, and increase the visibility of State 
and private forestry issues among the agencies of 
USDA. The working group has been charged with 
identifying and eliminating duplication of effort 
among the agencies. It will thoroughly review poli- 
cies and interagency agreements and recommend 
changes as necessary to improve our efficiency in 
forestry matters. 
State and Local Efforts 
There is a need for State and county-level orga- 
nizations to help mobilize and target efforts to own- 
ers who have recently made, or who are likely in the 
near future to make, harvest decisions. We do have 
an example of how this might be done. 
In the early 1970's, the State of Virginia recog- 
nized it was facing a softwood timber supply prob- 
lem. With support from the forest industries and the 
Virginia Forestry Association, the Virginia legislature 
enacted severance taxes to be used for regenerat- 
ing pine timber. The severance tax receipts are 
matched by appropriated State funds and supple- 
mented by funds available from Federal sources. 
Another important part of the Virginia system is 
the public or area foresters who provide information 
on financial and technical assistance, including the 
availability of private forestry consultants and ven- 
dors. 
Significant success has been the result of this 
program. Virginia's cooperative effort has worked 
and is working. The State is regenerating about 
three-quarters of its pine after harvest--as opposed 
to the Southwide average of only 30 to 40 percent. 
The Virginia system serves only as an example. 
There are undoubtedly other ways to achieve the 
same result. The point is that with cooperation and 
coordination, we have demonstrated proof that it is 
possible to effectively use State, industry, and local 
organizations to increase timber investments. 
All Interests Need To Work Together 
To Get the Job Done, 
and We Need Performance Goals. 
Capturing the large opportunities we have to 
increase southern timber supplies requires that all 
the forestry interests work effectively together and 
develop cooperative arrangements. Our experience 
indicates that this is much easier said than done. 
But we have learned that it works best when the 
integration effort has the direct interest and support 
of a State's policy leadership, the governors, and 
State legislatures. 
The measure of success must not be the estab- 
lishment of programs or cooperative arrangements 
but investments out on the ground. States should 
have quantified goals to track their performance 
over time. 
Summary and Conclusion 
The Forest Service projects that timber de- 
mands will grow faster than southern timber inven- 
tories and growth in the next several decades, as- 
suming current management trends continue. The 
South can capture the economic growth opportu- 
nity offered by this outlook if it can increase timber 
growth and inventories to satisfy growing demands. 
| would like to Summarize a number of signifi- 
cant pieces of information that | believe are relevant 
to capturing these opportunities: 
e First, three-quarters of the potential opportuni- 
ties in the South are on nonindustrial private 
forest lands. These lands are absolutely key to 
the forestry future of the South. 
ie 
