creasing concern about how resources are used 

 and how the environment is to be modified. 



Therefore, objectives for use of individual 

 resources are increasingly in conflict. It is now 

 necessary to work with an intricate combina- 

 tion of resources within the total environment 

 that must produce a complex of beneficial 

 products. 



In these analytical procedures a rationale is 

 developed which visualizes the optimization of 

 benefits as the goal while emphasizing the pro- 

 tection of the environment. 



Optimization of resource use is casually and 

 commonly recommended, but it is rarely at- 

 tained nor are the means by which it can be 

 attained fully tested in the real world. The 

 system developed in this study and discussed 

 here does not achieve optimization. It does pro- 

 vide a practical first step. The measure of 

 demands is an integral part of such a system 

 and represents the introduction of social values 

 into the land management decision-making 

 process. "In the past, having had so little under- 

 standing of what (our) options might be, most 

 decisions have gone by default in this negative 

 fashion. The great power of social data is to 

 inform us as to what possibilities may exist." 

 (National Goals Research Staff, 1970.) 



New tools and techniques are needed that 

 will make it easier to understand the complex 

 of options. An analytical system capable of 

 handling the large volume of relevant data and 

 management alternatives must include the con- 

 sideration of environmental quality and social 

 values as future outputs of the forest-range 

 resource. This report and system is a response 

 to such need. 



This concept suggests that because of re- 

 source substitution, analysis must be in terms 

 of demand for goods and services from range- 

 lands as one of several alternatives available 

 for satisfying the total of social wants (fig. 40) . 



USE OF PROJECTED DEMANDS 



Projections of demand enable planners to 

 understand the magnitude, direction, and con- 

 sequences of future trends in the production of 

 commodities. In this study these projections 

 relate such demands to forest-range outputs. 

 Reasonable values are assigned to targets for a 

 particular purpose. Statements of what will be 

 or must be produced are avoided. Future mar- 

 kets are estimated using given assumptions 

 along with extrapolations from historical data. 

 Within the constraints of national need, the 

 Forest-Range Environmental Study has esti- 

 mated the livestock grazing in each of the 

 forest-range ecosystems. The comparative ad- 

 vantage offered by each resource unit provides 

 the basis for the study. 



Two cautions are essential: (1) the projected 

 output cannot exceed the grazing potential of 



the forest-range, and (2) the assumption that 

 forest-range will maintain a constant share of 

 the Nation's output of animal unit months from 

 grazing needs to be examined critically. Since 

 the projected increase in meat requirements 

 may be met in several ways, economic forces 

 will determine how and where the new produc- 

 tion will take place. 



Complete analysis of a recommended action 

 requires the study, development and descrip- 

 tion of appropriate alternatives for which un- 

 resolved conflicts exist. Alternative actions 

 must be studied and evaluated in order to 

 avoid some or all of the adverse environmental 

 effects. Sufficient analysis of such alternatives, 

 their costs, and their impact on the environ- 

 ment should accompany a proposed action while 

 decisions are being made in order not to over- 

 look options that may be less detrimental. 



Costs were a factor in the planning process, 

 and included range management costs and as- 

 sociated direct management and maintenance 

 costs. These expenditures are investments in 

 the land itself. Other costs associated with pro- 

 duction were not included in the analysis except 

 as external variables reflected in the institu- 

 tional constraints. 



An implicit assumption of using only invest- 

 ment costs is that the production costs directly 

 associated with livestock management, when 

 compared and averaged among the ecosystems 

 will not be significantly different. Basically, this 

 is a reasonable assumption in the long run. The 

 analysis, therefore, keys on the cost of using a 

 grazing resource that has a wide and diverse 

 set of physical characteristics. This is reflected 

 in the major differences in rainfall and tem- 

 perature. 



The study objectives to which this methodol- 

 ogy is applied are described as (1) a general 

 appraisal of the forest-range resource of the 

 United States and (2) the development of po- 

 tentials. In economic terms, the objective is to 

 analyze the allocation of resources to alterna- 

 tive and competitive uses while maximizing the 

 utility of resources to achieve specific output 

 levels. The resources of principal concern are 

 land and water as they relate to the efficient 

 fulfillment of production requirements, con- 

 sistent with national policies and goals for food 

 and fiber. The effects of assumptions and the 

 output levels need to be continually reconsid- 

 ered. 



Clearly, economics is important in the effort 

 to attain a high quality environment. Intelli- 

 gent economic decisions and the wise allocation 

 of resources are essential to achieving environ- 

 mental goals. While pure dollar efficiency of 

 investment is not an end in itself, the capital 

 available can be a limiting factor. Therefore, 

 efficient allocation of investment makes it pos- 

 sible to more effectively manage additional 



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