Why Forests Are Important To New Hampshire 



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NEW HAMPSHIRE is one of the most exten- 

 sively forested States of the Union. Of its 

 total land area, 84 percent is covered with 

 forests. The economy of the State leans heavily on 

 this forest resource. And New Hampshire forests 

 make a strong contribution to the economy of New 

 England. 



But this is not all. Everywhere, growing popula- 

 tions, with rising standards of living, will make increas- 

 ing demands upon natural resources. For example, 

 shortage of softwoods is already worldwide. A State 

 endowed, like New Hampshire, with an abundance of 

 forest land can look forward to supplying the needs 

 of people far beyond her borders — and profiting by it. 



Employment 



New Hampshire has a labor force of about 200,000 

 persons, according to the 1950 census {13) } One out 

 of every five of them depends, either directly or in- 

 directly, on the forest resource for his job. 



The 1950 census showed that 10,000 persons work 

 in manufacturing lumber and furniture and other 

 wood products. Manufacture of paper and allied 

 products is estimated to provide jobs for another 

 7,000 (8). Besides these, a fairly large number of 

 farmers and persons in other occupations work part 

 time in harvesting timber — probably at least 3,000 of 

 them ( fig. 1 ) . Thus the basic wood-using industries 

 of New Hampshire provide jobs directly for at least 

 20,000 persons. 



It is generally true that for every one person em- 

 ployed in commodity-producing industries, one is also 

 employed in the service industries: transportation, 

 utilities, personal and business services, and the like. 

 Thus another 20,000 persons depend indirectly on the 

 forest resource for their jobs. 



^ Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited, 

 p. 28. 



Income 



The stumpage value of the annual timber harvest 

 in New Hampshire — income that flows to the owners 

 of forest land — is estimated at more than $5 million. 

 About 80 percent of this comes as a return from sawlog 

 stumpage. The rest is the stumpage value of stand- 

 ing timber that is harvested for veneer logs, cooperage 

 and turning bolts, pulpwood, posts, poles, fuelwood, 

 and other timber products. 



But most of the income attributable to the forest 

 resource comes after the timber has been cut. The 

 income of the persons employed in the basic wood- 

 using industries was about $45 million in 1949. This 

 was estimated from employers' reports [14) on pay- 

 rolls taxable under the Federal Insurance Contribu- 

 tions Act, adjusted to account for earnings that were 

 not taxable. 



This figure does not include the incomes of self- 

 employed persons or the profits of corporate businesses. 

 Accurate data on these are not available; they were 

 estimated at $5 million. At least another $45 million 

 income in the trade and service industries can be 

 attributed indirectly to wood-using industries.- Thus 

 in 1949 a total of about $100 million was generated 

 by New Hampshire's forest resource. 



Inasmuch as 1949 income payments to individuals 

 were about $600 million {4), one may fairly conclude 

 that $1 out of every $6 that go into the pockets of 

 New Hampshire's people can be traced, either directly 

 or indirectly, to the utilization of the forest resource. 



Other Forest Values 



Although the forest survey was concerned primarily 

 with the timber resource, other forest values may be 

 of equal — or greater — importance to the economy of 



"The 1947 Census of Manufactures (//) found that in 

 New Hampshire's timber-based industries the value added by 

 manufacture totaled $60 million. 



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