Foreword 
The Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974 (RPA) 
gives the Forest Service an 
opportunity to assess the 
future of the Nation’s natural 
resources. 
This 1989 Assessment is the 
third done since 1974. Its 
findings are straightforward 
and not surprising when 
viewed against the backdrop 
of the past 5 decades. During 
this time, the U.S. population 
increased over 90 percent, 
and the gross national 
product more than tripled. 
Although the economy was 
affected by World War Il, 
recession, and inflation, the 
long-term trend was 
continued growth. The U.S. 
population and economy will 
continue to grow in the future. 
This in turn will increase 
demands for renewable 
natural resources, creating 
investment opportunities on 
both private and public lands. 
A significant feature of the 
renewable resource base in 
the United States has been 
its resilience to use and 
responsiveness to 
management. Today, 
America’s renewable 
resource base is meeting the 
demands of over 100 million 
more people than it supplied 
just 5 decades ago. More 
intensive use of the 
renewable resource base in 
the future will require 
continued management for 
multiple uses. But all 
projections suggest that the 
opportunitites for increased 
productivity with balanced 
attention to all resources will 
continue to be available. 
All of us would like to make 
the quality of life in the United 
States even better than it is 
today. Our renewable 
resources are the building 
blocks for the quality of life in 
America. We can maintain 
and increase the productivity 
and quality of the renewable 
resource base. 
This Assessment document 
identifies opportunities but 
does not choose among 
them. It provides the factual 
basis to formulate possible 
renewable resource 
management programs for 
the future, including the 1990 
RPA Recommended 
Program. 
Fob li 
F. Dale Robertson 
Chief 
