26 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA S FUTURE 



wood timber volumes on forests under exploita- 

 tion (table 13). Free Asia, Latin America, and 

 Africa are responsible for the fact that the great 

 bulk of the world's hardwood timber resources are 

 in the Free World group of nations. 



The United States is intermediate among other 

 nations with respect to softwood resources per 

 capita. Whereas the United States' inventory 

 shows about 10,000 board-feet of softwoods per 

 capita, Canada has over 55,000 and the U. S. S. R. 



Table 13. — Distribution of world forest resources, 1953 



Country or region 



Forested area 



Timber volume - 





All types 



Softwood 



Hardwood 



All species 



Softwood 



Hardwood 



North America: 



United States and Alaska 



Canada ' _ 



Percent 

 8 

 10 



1 



Percent 

 14 

 23 



Percent \ Percent 

 5 ; 15 

 4 7 



Percent 

 19 

 10 



1 



Percent 



10 

 3 



Mexico 



1 



{') 



{*) 



Total 



Rest of Free World . . ... _ . _ 



19 

 59 

 22 



37 

 11 

 52 



10 



82 

 8 



22 

 42 

 36 



30 

 12 

 58 



13 



77 



Soviet Bloc . _ ^ _ - - 



10 







The world 



100 



100 



100 



100 



100 



100 



' Source: World Forest Resources, Food and Agriculture 

 Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1955. Data 

 for North America revised to agree with statistics given 

 in other parts of this report. 



2 Of forests under exploitation. About 31 percent of the 



over 30,000. In contrast, France has only a 

 little over 1,000 and the United Kingdom about 

 100 board-feet of softwoods per capita (table 14). 



Table 14. — Per capita forest land area and saw- 

 timber inventory in selected countries 





Forest 

 land 



Sawtimber ' 



Country 



Soft- 

 wood 



Hard- 

 wood 



Canada 



U.S. S. R 



Japan 



Sweden 



United States _ . _ 



Acres 

 66. 

 7. 7 

 0. 7 

 7. 9 

 4. 2 

 0.7 

 0. 1 

 3. 6 



Thou- 

 sand 

 bd.-ft. 

 55. 6 

 31. 

 2. 4 

 54. 

 10. 5 

 1. 1 

 0. 1 

 5.2 



Thou- 

 sand 

 bd.-ft. 



8. 7 

 6. 6 

 2. 4 



9. 6 

 2. 6 



France 



0. 8 



United Kingdom 



The world . 



0. 2 



4. 4 







' In forests under exploitation only. 



In summary, it is evident that the United States 

 is reasonably well endowed with timber resources 

 in relation to those of other nations of the world, 

 if its forests are effectively managed. Proximity 

 to Canada, the extent of Canadian resources, the 

 Canadian potential for increased timber growth, 

 and existing export of timber products from 

 Canada to the United States are all favorable 



world's forests are being exploited, 39 percent in North 

 America, 22 percent rest of Free World, and 47 percent 

 in Soviet Bloc. 



2 Excludes Labrador. 



* Less than 0.5 percent. 



factors. The United States is dependent on 

 Canada for substantial timber imports, and 

 Canada's timber resources appear to be such that 

 we may continue to depend on Canada for equal 

 or greater imports in the futm-e. The United 

 States will continue to be a net importing nation 

 in timber products. 



The resources of Coastal Alaska are considered 

 an integral segment of continental United States' 

 timber resources. 



There are important timber resources in In- 

 terior Alaska which, in terms of forest area and 

 timber volumes, exceed those of Coastal Alaska 

 or Mexico. Accessibility is the present handicap 

 to development of Interior Alaska's forests, but 

 ultimately they can be expected to add to the 

 United States' timber supply. They are not suf- 

 ficiently large, however, to afi"ect the world timber 

 picture significantly. 



PRESENT TIMBER SITUATION AND 

 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE 



The first part of this summary, after outlining 

 necessary assumptions relating to the national 

 economy, dealt with (a) projected future demand 

 for timber products, and (b) United States tim- 

 ber resources in relation to those of the world. It 

 was made clear that the United States will have to 

 rely largely on domestic resources for future tim- 

 ber supplies. Estimates of projected demand 

 substantially larger than current consumption 



mm 



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■'W* 



