ers hold three-quarters of the privately owned non- 
industrial forest land base. 
Although the data have not been prepared by 
size of ownership, most of the economic opportuni- 
ties to increase timber supplies in the South are on 
the larger nonindustrial ownerships. | would esti- 
mate that at least 60 percent of the total economic 
opportunities in the South are on these larger nonin- 
dustrial holdings. 
This does not mean we should ignore owners 
with less than 100 acres--we need to provide serv- 
ices to them according to their needs and opportu- 
nities. But we need also to understand the timber- 
land ownership profile in the South to be most 
effective in marshaling and deploying our institu- 
tional resources. Such information is essential to 
better understand the opportunities and respond in 
ways that put our limited resources to best use. 
The larger ownerships represent the better eco- 
nomic opportunities. Their properties have lower 
logging costs, so loggers naturally seek out these 
landowners. These owners also have a stronger 
economic interest in management and are more 
receptive to information on opportunities to improve 
management. This situation exists whether we do 
anything or not. The data suggest that these larger 
parcels have been and will be logged. In fact, our 
data indicate that nationwide about 85 percent of 
the logging on nonindustrial lands occurs on owner- 
ships greater than 100 acres. 
How are we doing in terms of forest manage- 
ment on these nonindustrial lands? Not too well, by 
almost any measure. 
We know that large numbers of private owners 
in the South are not getting professional assistance. 
Nearly two-thirds of the land in these ownerships is 
harvested without any professional help--either be- 
fore or after harvest. We see what this has meant in 
terms of lack of efforts to get successful pine regen- 
eration. This fact holds the key to capturing eco- 
nomic opportunities on these critical ownerships. 
Whether we like it or not, on nonindustrial lands, 
most forest management decisions out on the 
ground are not being made by professionals, not by 
consulting foresters, industry foresters, or public 
foresters. They are not even being made by the 
landowners themselves in most cases. They are 
being made by loggers. And they are being made 
from a logger's perspective--keep logging costs 
down and cut the biggest and best and most valu- 
able trees first. The need for successful regenera- 
tion after harvest is not seen as a priority by most 
loggers. 
16 
We do know that professional assistance can 
be very effective in increasing the income of timber 
owners and increasing timber supplies. It is also 
efficient in terms of the cost and benefits. A recent 
study in the Georgia Piedmont done by Fred Cub- 
bage showed large differences in earnings and fu- 
ture forest productivity between professionally as- 
sisted landowners as compared to those receiving 
no assistance. Professionally assisted owners re- 
ceived prices for their timber that averaged 50 per- 
cent higher per thousand board feet than prices 
received by unassisted owners. The assisted own- 
ers also had less pine timber removed, more pine 
volume left after harvest, and more pine seedlings 
for another crop. The greater immediate financial 
returns to the owners receiving assistance created 
large benefit-cost ratios for the assistance. All in all, 
landowners are foolish not to get professional 
forestry assistance. 
People who would not think of going to a plumb- 
er to get root-canal work done will accept advice 
from a logger on the proper way to manage their 
forest property. As long as this continues, we will 
have problems getting needed investments made. 
Decades ago, programs of fire protection and 
prevention were the key to the regeneration of the 
cutover timberlands in the South. These were low- 
cost and very effective ways to increase timber sup- 
plies. 
Information and education are most likely the 
next lowest cost and most effective ways to increase 
timber growth. Nonindustrial timberland owners 
need to know how to market, harvest, regenerate, 
and manage timber and timber stands. Most of the- 
se owners simply don't know how to do these 
things. Most importantly, they need to understand 
the value of obtaining professional forestry assis- 
tance, before harvest operations begin. So today, 
perhaps professional assistance is similar to fire 
protection and prevention at an earlier time--it may 
be the best and lowest cost way we have to get 
nonindustrial private owners to take advantage of 
existing economic opportunities. 
Opportunities on Other Ownerships 
Significant opportunities also exist for improv- 
ing timber outputs from industrial and Federal own- 
erships. Nearly a third of the timberland in industrial 
ownerships, or 13 million acres, offers economic 
opportunities to increase timber supplies. There are 
