Quality control in sawmilling, lumber drying, and 

 remanufacturing offers immediate opportunities for 

 increased product supply. Studies have shown that 

 many sawmills can improve yield by as much as 10 

 percent through increased attention to equipment 

 maintenance and machine settings. Careful applica- 

 tion of existing technology for drying can greatly 

 reduce lumber degrade and net costs. Techniques for 

 calculating least-cost lumber grades for furniture 

 parts and other manufactured items can reduce costs 

 and the demands for high-grade lumber. 



Technology for manufacturing panel products — 

 such as particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, 

 and composite veneer-particle panels — has ex- 

 panded greatly in recent years. Such technology 

 offers large possibilities for use of residues, low qual- 

 ity trees, and small logs. Both hardwood and soft- 

 wood species may be used in many panel products. 

 Primary obstacles to increased industrial develop- 

 ment are high capital and adhesives costs. Panel prod- 

 ucts for roof sheathing and subflooring typically must 

 be made with phenolic resins derived from high-cost 

 petrochemicals. Thus, techniques for reducing the 

 amount of phenolic resin required per ton of product 

 or for making lower-cost adhesives would enhance 

 the potential of these resource-efficient materials. 



In the pulp and paper industry, there are many 

 opportunities for expanding the resource base and for 

 increasing product yields. Continued development of 

 techniques for harvesting and pulping whole-tree 

 chips could greatly increase per-acre harvest and 

 reduce logging residue problems. Improvements in 

 paper-making techniques would allow increased use 

 of pulp from high-yield processes and from hard- 

 woods. Recycling of waste paper and paperboard is 

 much more prevalent in Japan and some European 

 nations than in the United States. Chief impediments 

 to recycling are problems with contaminants, such as 

 glue, and losses in strength during reprocessing. 



Reduction of fuels and power costs in forest indus- 

 tries would lower per-unit manufacturing costs and 

 thus increase economic supply of products. Possibili- 

 ties include development of energy-efficient process- 

 ing methods and expanded use of wood and bark 

 fuels. Many mills have turned to fuels from manufac- 

 turing residuals, and a few are harvesting low-grade 

 roundwood specifically for energy. Improvement in 

 techniques for harvesting, processing, and storing 

 fuelwood could help expand such use. Another pos- 

 sibility, now applied in a few areas, is distribution of 

 surplus stream and electricity from forest products 

 mills through local utilities. This arrangement can 

 reduce the net cost of energy to the mills. 



Improved engineering and construction practices 

 could conserve wood materials in houses and other 

 structures. It has been estimated that such improve- 

 ments could save 10 to 20 percent of the dimension 

 lumber required in a conventional house without loss 

 in performance. Proper use of preservative-treated 

 products, insecticides to control termites, and careful 

 application of water-repellants could greatly extend 

 the useful life of most wood products and reduce 

 demand on timber resources. Major deterrents to the 

 conservation of wood in building construction and 

 maintenance are: the inadequacy of engineering per- 

 formance criteria for products and structures, the 

 fragmented nature of the building industry, and insti- 

 tutional problems involving the many national. State, 

 and local authorities that govern building codes. 



Reduction of Demand for Timber Products 



Beyond the opportunities to increase and extend 

 timber supplies, there is another set of opportunities 

 — those which will reduce demand for timber prod- 

 ucts. Although there are numerous opportunities to 

 reduce demand, nearly all the possibilities, short of 

 rationing or other authoritarian controls, seem to 

 involve the use of substitute materials or increases in 

 imports. Such shifts would have the same undesirable 

 economic, social, and environmental effects as those 

 resulting from rising relative prices described above. 

 However, there does seem to be one way or oppor- 

 tunity to reduce demand which would have no 

 adverse impacts — the proper maintenance and reno- 

 vation of existing structures. This possibility, if prac- 

 ticed on a more extensive scale, could significantly 

 lower demands for timber, and other materials as 

 well, below the volumes needed for new replacement 

 structures. 



The General Role of Research 



The above discussion has been concerned in part 

 with the role of research in increasing and extending 

 timber supplies. Through research, it may also be 

 possible to develop ways of integrating and balancing 

 multiple-uses of forest land and reducing the conflicts 

 which are likely to result from the rapidly expanding 

 demands for timber, wildlife, grazing, outdoor recre- 

 ation, water, and other forest-related goods and 

 services. 



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