CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction 1 



Purpose and scope 1 



Procedures and collaboration 2 



Procedures 2 



Collaboration 4 



Earlier reviews of the timber situation 5 



Geographic groupings 6 



A favorable national setting 7 



General assumptions 7 



Projections of population and gross national 



product 7 



Timber in the national economy 9 



Outlook for forestrj? 10 



Demand for wood is increasing 12 



Timber products consumption 12 



Timber demand 15 



Meaning of projected timber demand 15 



Three levels of demand developed 15 



Summary of timber demand projections 16 



Projected demand converted to timber cut 21 



United States in relation to world timber resources, 22 



Interior Alaska 22 



Canada , 23 



Mexico 24 



North American resources compared to those of 



the Free World 24 



World resources 24 



Present timber situation and implications for the 



future 20 



Forest land 27 



One-fourth of Nation's land is commercial 



forest 27 



Three-fourths of commercial forest land is in 



the East 28 



Softwood and hardwood types about equal in 



area 29 



Three-fourths of the commercial forest area is 



privately owned 30 



Sawtimber and poletimber stands about equal 



in area 32 



One-fourth of commercial forest area is poorly 



stocked or nonstocked 34 



via 



Page 

 Present timber situation and implications for the 

 future — Continued 

 Forest land — Continued 



There is no excess of commercial forest land.- 36 

 Noncommercial forest land has important 



values 36 



Timber volumes 37 



Over two-thirds of sawtimber volume is in the 



West 37 



Four-fifths of sawtimber volume is softwood-. 39 

 Five species groups comprise two-thirds of the 



sawtimber volume 39 



Sawtimber equally divided between public and 



private ownerships 41 



Timber volume trends 42 



Supplementary sources of timber volumes are 



not significant in foreseeable future 44 



Timber growth and utilization 45 



Growth is increasing 46 



Cut is mainly softwood sawtimber 49 



One-fourth of timber cut not utilized but utili- 

 zation is improving 52 



Growth-cut and volume relations summarized. 54 



Timber quality 58 



Low-quality wood predominates in hardwood 



stands 59 



Small trees lack quality 60 



Quality species are diminishing 60 



Trend in wood properties indicates quality de- 

 cline 60 



Quality will continue to be needed 60 



Protection against destructive agents 61 



Growth impact — a concept for estimating total 



losses 61 



Destructive agents take extraordinary toll 62 



Insects cause the greatest mortality 64 



Disease causes the greatest growth impact 66 



Fire is potentially the greatest enemy 66 



Reduction in losses expected 67 



Catastrophic losses take additional toll 68 



Forest tree planting 68 



Fifty-two million acres need planting 69 



Ninety percent of the planting job lies ahead.. 69 



Planting trend is upward 69 



