How Goal Can Be Reached 



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Major Facts Slioii')i h\ Survey 



BEFORE attempting to decide \\hat steps -^vill 

 be essential to reach the proposed goal, it 

 may be well to revie^v briefly the significant 

 facts which have been established. 



1. Forests are not now filling local requirements. 

 Lake States forests ciuTently supply less than half 

 of the saw-timber products consimied in the region, 

 and only about two-thirds of the total cubic volume 

 of wood tised. Shortages are most critical in soft- 

 wood saw-timber prodticts ^vhere the local forest 

 lands supply less than one-fotnth of the quantity 

 used. Significant shortages appear also in conifer- 

 ous pulpwood, and high-grade veneer tiinber. 



Timber requirements 50 years hence have been 

 estimated one-third greater than at present. 



2. Heavy cutting has created a poorly balanced 

 growing stock. Heavy ctitting in the past has 

 created a poor distribtuion of stand classes— too 

 little merchantable timber and far too much sap- 

 ling, seedling, and deforested area. Until rectified, 

 this unbalanced condition will result in irregular 

 timber yields. 



Cutting and burning also have converted large 

 acreages of pine, spruce, and northern hardwood 

 forests to aspen. 



Since past logging was concentrated in the most 

 accessible stands and frequently was confined to 

 select species, the remaining mature timber is for 

 the most part relatively inferior in species composi- 

 tion, timber quality, and logability. 



3. Growth is tmsatisfactory. Current annual 

 growth is relatively low and half the potential 

 growth is lost in mortality caused by mismanage- 

 ment and natural enemies. 



Forest fires, although much less severe than a lew 

 decades ago, still kill many young seedlings antl 

 saplings, inchiding some in plantations, and of 

 cotnse have a bad effect on future gro\\ th. 



Insects, disease, storms, etc.. destroy a large vol- 

 lune of timber annually, and occasionally a se\ere 

 epidemic or a wind of tornado force causes near- 

 catastrophic damage. 



Livestock on farms destroy many seedlings and 

 in places wild game is very destructive to young 

 gro\vth. 



Many of these losses could be prevented by better 

 cutting practices and better utilization. 



4. Current drain is too heavy in accessible areas. 

 Over the region as a whole current annual drain, 

 including all species and all kinds of material, is 

 less than the current annual growth of all timber. 

 Drain is also less than the recommended allowable 

 cut of 720 million cubic feet: i.e.. cut which Lake 

 States will sustain luider a ]3lan of gradually in- 

 creasing production. In accessible areas, ho^vever, 

 drain usually exceeds growth and often serves to 

 reduce gro\vth imduly by removing thrifty, rapidly 

 growing trees. In poorly accessible areas, on the 

 other hand, drain is insufficient and a considerable 

 vokune of potential gro^vth is lost because it occurs 

 on trees which, under present conditions, ^\'ill not be 

 utilized before they die from natinal causes. 



Drain on soft^vood species is larger than the 

 growth or allowable cut, even including gro^vth in 

 poorly accessible stands. In contrast, drain on » 

 aspen and certain other hard^\•oods is less than 

 ^\'oidd be desirable. Similarly, the utilization of 

 ciUl trees and suppressed trees is very incomplete. 



5. Rapid liquidation of timber jeopardizes many; 

 existing forest operations. Cutting out of nearby 

 timber stands of soft\voods and preferred hard^voods 

 has forced many large sa^vmills to close in recent 

 years and continuation of the practice unquestion- 

 ably will force finther closines. Heavy, and in 

 some cases premature, cutting of spruce ami pine 

 pole-timber stands has been a factor in causing 

 pulp-mill operators to look to Canada and Montan;! 

 [oi an increasing share of their ivood. E\en A\iih 



48 



Forest licsoiircc Report No. I, U. S. Deparlinoit of .Ij^ric jill lire 



