244 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



The North Shares in Major Problem 



Condition of recently cut lands in the North, on 

 the average, falls between the West and the South, 

 but by ownership class this is true only on national 

 forests and other Federal lands. The other classes 

 deviate from, this pattern (table 139). 



Both the medium, and the large private holdings 

 show smaller proportions of recently cut lands in 

 the upper productivity class than was found for 

 these ownerships in the South and West. This is 

 especially marked in the large ownerships, and, as 

 will be shown later, is due primarily to the rela- 

 tively low proportion of recently cut area in the 

 upper productivity class on large private proper- 

 ties in New England and the Central States. 

 State and local public ownerships rate substan- 

 tially higher in the North than in either the South 

 or West. 



The small private holdings also rate higher in 

 the North, but they are still much below the 

 national average and constitute a problem here as 

 elsewhere. Although less intensified, the situation 

 is similar to that of small owners in the South. 

 Small owners of the North control one-third of all 

 private commercial forest land in all regions, and 

 the individual ownerships average smaller than in 

 other sections so there are proportionately more 

 owners involved. 



Strong and Weak Spots Identified 

 BY Region and Ownership 



Regional differences help to identify important 

 exceptions to the general condition which are 

 glossed over in broad sectional averages. Also 

 comparisons will be made between the proportion 

 of recently cut lands meeting the standards of the 

 upper productivity class for the Nation as a whole 

 and this proportion for ownership classes, geo- 

 graphical locations, or combination of these two. 

 Such comparisons help to show the relative con- 

 tribution to the national growth level of each 

 segment of forest area, such as an ownership 

 class, locality, or combination thereof. 



Segments with proportions of recently cut lands 

 in the upper class lower than the national average 

 tend to hold down the national level of growth. 

 The latter have been termed "weak spots" for 

 pui'poscs of discussion. Conversely, segments with 

 proportions higher than the national average tend 

 to raise the national growth level. These are the 

 strong spots. First, the proportion of recently cut 

 lands in the upper productivity class for each 

 region will be compared with the national average. 

 Second, similar comparisons will be made by types 

 of ownership within each region. 



As has been previously pointed out, recently 

 cut lands of the West are in better overall condition 

 than those of the North or South. Most regions 

 of the West exceed the national average (tabic 140). 



A notable exception is the Northern Rocky 

 Mountain Region, where the proportion of recent!}' 

 cut lands in the upper productivity class falls 

 slightly below the national average. Recently cut 

 lands in the Pacific Northwest appear to be in 

 somewhat better condition than those of the other 

 western regions, but differences are small. 



The fact that recently cut lands in the South 

 are in poorer condition than those of North or 

 West is traceable to both the Southeastern and 

 West Gulf Regions. The West Gulf is especially 

 low with only 46 percent of recently cut lands in 

 the upper productivity class. In the South 

 Atlantic Region, condition of recently cut areas 

 approximates the national average. 



In the North, the Lake States Region shows 

 conditions considerably better than those of any 

 other region. Poorest conditions are in the Central 

 and Plains Regions, although the latter is of minor 

 significance in the broad forestry picture. 



The following tabulation summarized from 

 table 140 shows for each region how the propor- 

 tion of recently cut lands in the upper productivity 

 class compares with the national average: 



Over 70 percent {exceeds 

 national average) 



Lake States 

 Pacific Northwest 

 California 

 Southern Rocky 



Mountain 

 Coastal Alaska 



60 to 70 percent {apprcximatea 

 national average) 



New England 

 Middle Atlantic 

 South Atlantic 

 Northern Rocky 

 Mountain 



Less than 60 



percent (below 



national average) 



Central 

 Plains 

 Southeast 

 West Gulf 



Table 141 expands the comparison made above 

 to include consideration of type of ow^nership. 

 Those ownership classes by region which fall below 

 the national average comprise the weak spots 

 where the condition of recently cut lands is 

 limiting growth most seriously. Conversely, the 

 ownership types by regions with recentty cut lands 

 which rate above the national average are those 

 which tend to increase the national growth level. 

 The relative national importance of weak and 

 strong spots can best be judged by the acreage of 

 each in relation to the total area of commercial 

 forest land in the country. Table 142 summarizes 

 this relation for the weak areas. The area within 

 a type of ownership characterized b}^ recently cut 

 lands with productivity below the national aver- 

 age in relation to the total area in the ownership 

 type measm'es the relative weakness of the 

 ownership type. Table 143 presents these rela- 

 tions. Statistics from these two tables provide 

 the basis for further identification of subaverage 

 localities and types of ownership. 



Major Weak Areas on Farms and 

 Other Private Forests 



Productivity of recently cut land on farms fell 

 below the national average in all regions but two 

 (table 141). In no region did the productivity of 



