Surveys of Use of Forest 

 and Range Land Products 



As indicated above, there has been some progress 

 in obtaining data on timber products use in various 

 markets. However, this is limited in relation to the 

 need. Thus, there is still some urgency in expanding 

 and accelerating the ongoing survey work to obtain 

 current data on timber products consumption in all 

 important end uses. In view of the rapid changes 

 in population, economic activity, technologies, and 

 prices of substitute products and energy, it is also 

 necessary to repeat the surveys at intervals short 

 enough to insure that all significant changes in use can 

 be identified, analyzed, and evaluated. 



Progress has been limited in collecting additional 

 data on outdoor recreation, including the various 

 activities based on the wildlife and fish resources. 

 There is a need to collect such information on a 

 continuing basis, utilizing a standardized reporting 

 system that permits the aggregation of the data to any 

 desirable geographic level. 



With regard to wildlife, the first need is to ensure 

 that what is known about wildlife and fish is compiled, 

 validated, and made available in a usable form 

 to land and water managers. This summary includes 

 information on the consequences to wildlife and fish 

 species of alternative actions, the possible tradeoffs 

 between fauna and other resources, and the economic 

 and social implications to people of the alternatives. 



Further work that leads to a fuller understanding of 

 the determinants of population levels is also necessary. 

 Because no direct quantitative inventory of wildlife 

 or fish habitats exists for any substantial part of the 

 Nation, it is important to determine how data that 

 have already been collected in timber, range, and 

 water inventories can be used as surrogate measures 

 of habitats. For the more distant future, expanding 

 such inventories to directly measure critical elements 

 of habitats is necessary. 



Techniques of Collecting Data 

 for Management Purposes 



The major challenge in developing techniques to 

 improve the collection of data for management pur- 

 poses continues to be, as it was in 1975, in developing 

 statistically reliable sampling techniques for estimat- 

 ing nontimber resources and in linking these estimates 

 to comprehensive land classification systems. Sam- 

 pling procedures for multiresource inventories done 

 source surveys, but not in surveying other resources. 

 In addition, little is known about the kinds of sam- 

 pling procedures for multiresources inventories done 

 simultaneously across resources sytems, either for 

 local or for national use. 



Progress has been limited since 1975 in improving 

 techniques for inventorying nontimber resources. An 

 increased effort in this area is still needed. A timber 

 inventory technique that maintains continuity and 

 reliability of inventories over time exploits the rela- 

 tionship between successive surveys through a tech- 

 nique termed "sampling with partial replacement." 

 Additional research is needed to develop this or 

 alternative techniques for the other resource systems, 

 and to determine the time interval and the sample 

 replacement policy that would be best for simul- 

 taneous sampling of all resources. 



Other Data Needs 



Limited progress has been made in several other 

 areas of need identified in the 1975 Assessment. Better 

 information is still needed on the cost of various 

 management practices, both for such commodity 

 resources as timber and forage and for such non- 

 commodity resources as wildlife habitat. At the same 

 time, better information is needed on the prices of 

 forest and range land outputs that do have established 

 markets and on values of other resources. 



About a dozen States now publish periodic reports 

 (quarterly, semiannual or annual) on prices of stump- 

 age (standing timber) and important primary prod- 

 ucts such as sawlogs, veneer logs, pulpwood, and 

 posts. Data on the average stumpage prices of 

 standing timber sold from the National Forests by 

 major species and region are published on a quarterly 

 basis by the Forest Service. However, because of 

 limited geographic coverage and deficiencies in fre- 

 quency and accuracy, the published data are generally 

 not adequate for timber owners and forest land 

 managers. 



The value of timber and forage resources can at 

 least be estimated on the basis of some market 

 evidence. But relating such values to the values of 

 other resources of forest and range lands has always 

 been difficult. Research is still needed to develop 

 better ways to measure the output of the recreation 

 and wilderness resource systems and to provide 

 reasonable estimates of the value of these resources. 



Methods for projecting supplies of forest, range, 

 and inland water products are primitive. For some 

 products — such as outdoor recreation, hunting, and 

 fishing — there is little information on current supplies 

 and no operational techniques for assessing either 

 shortrun or longrun supply trends. More work is 

 required on methods and techniques for projecting 

 supplies and the response to alternate levels of 

 management, particularly for such major products as 

 timber. 



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