Chapter III 



DEMAND FOR OUTPUTS OF THE FOREST-RANGE 



ENVIRONMENT 



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This chapter focuses on the demand for out- 

 puts of the forest-range environment. In addi- 

 tion to the demand for forest-range grazing, 

 estimates of demand for many other forest- 

 range outputs are considered. The attempt has 

 been made to foresee the trends in both the 

 economic and political demands America will 

 put on her lands by 1980 and 2000 and the 

 resultant implications for the forest-range en- 

 vironment. 



The demand situation presented here should 

 be considered in relation to the information on 

 production in Chapter II, Resource Situa- 

 tion — 1970. In addition, the 1970 resource 

 information served as the basis for deriving 

 reasonable production targets that are used in 

 structuring the alternatives discussed in Chap- 

 ter V, Analysis of Alternative Mixtures of 

 Resource Use. 



DEMAND CONCEPTS 



Outputs of the forest-range environment 

 vary considerably. Some are amenity consid- 

 erations, while others are economic goods and 

 services. Some are bought and sold in organized 

 markets while others are nonmarket goods and 

 services. This heterogeneity precludes simple 

 calculation or computation of demands, but 

 provides a framework for considering a spec- 

 trum of consequences of alternative policies. 



Emphasis in this study has been given to the 

 outputs for which there is economic demand. 

 These are animal unit months of livestock graz- 

 ing, wood growth, and water. 



However, it was considered that manage- 

 ment of the forest-range should be directed 

 toward meeting society's needs for the many 

 other resources offered by forest-range. Some 

 outputs for which there is presently not a 

 demand in the economic sense, but which have 

 high environmental or social values, also are 

 included. Among these are beauty, cultural 

 heritage, rare and endangered animal species, 

 and non-game birds. In their entirety, the 22 

 outputs used in this study represent a spectrum 

 of economic, environmental, and social values. 



Meeting society's needs for forest-range 

 outputs will be a challenge to the Nation's 

 resource managers and research scientists. In- 

 creasing population, a shorter work week with 

 more leisure time, plus indications of more 

 concern by the people for the natural environ- 

 ment, intensify the problem. The capability of 

 the forest-range environment to produce many 

 of these outputs is discussed in later chapters. 

 How levels of range management affect the 

 mixture of outputs will be shown. Each man- 

 agement system, production technique, or prac- 

 tice applied to the resource modifies the quan- 

 tity and quality of the individual outputs. 



Choice of management practices must be 

 based on some knowledge of the demand of 

 individuals, groups, corporations, government, 

 or the general public for the possible outputs. 

 In the short term, many demands are obvious 

 and the resource manager can implement prac- 

 tices toward meeting the demand. Long-term 



39 



