TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA S FUTURE 



was such that to postpone appraising the national 

 picture for a considerable additional period was 

 deemed inadvisable. (2) Changes, both currently 

 and prospectively, with respect to our national 

 economic setting in terms of such overall criteria 

 as trends in population and gross national product. 

 These and related factors placed complete^ new 

 orientation on prospective needs for timber 

 products. (3) The post-World War 11 period 

 appeared to mark a rapid acceleration in American 

 forestry. Thousands of private forest owners 

 showed heightened interest in timber growing. 

 There was fuller utilization of the timber harvest. 

 New gains were achieved in forest protection. 

 The impact of these and other changes in the 

 national forestry effort pointed toward a new look 

 at the timber situation. (4) The international 

 situation indicated that United States resources, 

 particularly^ in softwoods, needed to be considered 

 in relation to those of the free world rather than 

 the entire world. 



At the outset it is well to clarify the scope of the 

 Timber Resource Review with respect to exclu- 

 sions as well as inclusions. The report is in 11 

 main parts, the first of which is an overall sum- 

 mary, and the last of which is a series of ap- 

 pendices. The summary does not attempt to 

 cover the entire array of statistical information 

 assembled in this report. It is more in the natiu-e 

 of an analytical appraisal of the major findings 

 which, in the course of their presentation, require 

 summarization of a significant amount of factual 

 material. 



In the appendix, where the basic statistics are 

 presented in greater detail than in any other 

 section, there is more information available on a 

 State basis than was possible to present in the 

 more generalized discussion. The presentation of 

 new data by States is one of the unique features 

 of the Timber Resource Review that distinguishes 

 it from its predecessors. Another is the degree of 

 collaboration in both the planning and execution 

 with States and forest industries. 



Not all information in the Timber Resource 

 Review is of equal reliability. The adequacy of 

 of the different kinds of data is discussed in detail 

 in the appendix. 



The Timber Resource Review is an appraisal of 

 the timber situation as distinguished from the 

 forest situation. In other words, the orientation 

 of this stud}' has been with respect to timber 

 supplies and needs in the Nation's economy. Not 

 considered in this report is the utility of our forest 

 resources for watershed management, grazing of 

 domestic livestock, recreation, wildlife, or other 

 purposes. The multiple-use values of forest stands, 

 which in numerous instances transcend the util- 

 itarian timber values, have not been appraised. 



The Timber Resource Review is not a duplica- 

 tion of the appraisal made by the Forest Service 

 and the American Forestrv Association in 1945. 



It differs in scope, definitions, utilization stand- 

 ards, methodology, and other ways. Coastal 

 Alaska is included as an integral part of the 

 United States. At the outset there arose the 

 question whether to duplicate the 1945 appraisal 

 and thus obtain more direct comparisons and 

 better trends, or whether to change procedures, 

 definitions, and other details in order to provide 

 a better survey and thus sacrifice some compara- 

 bility. The latter was the course chosen. 



The Timber Resource Review does not offer 

 recommendations nor a program for American 

 forestry. It does provide the base for program 

 formation and an opportunity to both public and 

 private groups to reconsider certain basic forestry 

 policies and programs. The Forest Service be- 

 Ueves that any program for American forestry 

 which might evolve from the Timber Resource 

 Review, by either the legislative or executive 

 branches of the Federal Government, State 

 groups, or private groups, will be more soundly 

 conceived if it is predicated on review and dis- 

 cussion of the results of this study by all interested 

 citizens. 



Procedures and Collaboration 



Procedures 



Completion of the Timber Resource Review has 

 involved five principal phases: (a) Planning, (b) 

 field surveys and assembly of data, (c) data com- 

 pilation and interpretation, (d) preparation of pre- 

 liminary report, and (e) review and revision of 

 preliminary report. 



The planning phase, particularly, was character- 

 ized by a great deal of group and individual con- 

 sultation. An informal national advisory group 

 consisting of the following organizations was 

 established: 



American Farm Bureau Federation 



American Federation of Labor 



American Forestry Association 



American Paper & Pulp Association 



American Pulpwood Association 



Association of State Foresters 



Congress of Industrial Organizations 



Council of Forestry School Executives 



Farmers Union of America 



National Grange 



National Lumber Manufacturers Association 



Natural Resources Council of America 



Society of American Foresters 



Some of these agencies participated much more 

 actively than others in the three advisory group 

 meetings which were held in April 1952, flanuary 

 1953, and April 1956. In addition, representa- 

 tives of the Departments of the Interior and 

 Commerce participated in one or more of these 

 meetings and were most helpful. 



