24 



THE OUTLOOK FOR TIMBER IN THE UNITED STATE'S 



Table 14. — Roundwood harvests, by product and section, 1970 

 [Million cubic feet] 



Species group and product 



Total 



North 



South 



Rocky- 

 Mountain 



Pacific 

 Coast 



Softwoods: 



Saw logs 



Veneer logs 



Pulpwood 



Miscellaneous industrial. 

 Fuelwood 



Total 



Hardwoods: 



Saw logs 



Veneer logs 



Pulpwood 



Miscellaneous industrial 

 Fuelwood 



Total 



All species : 



Saw logs 



Veneer logs 



Pulpwood 



Miscellaneous industriaL 

 Fuelwood 



Total 



4,872 



1,001 



2,772 



229 



107 



198 

 2 



350 



26 



3 



1,330 

 257 



1,992 



107 



59 



710 

 73 

 29 

 21 

 20 



2,634 



668 



401 



76 



25 



8,981 



579 



3, 745 



853 



3,805 



1,355 

 126 



1,066 

 195 

 431 



670 



31 



436 



125 



148 



642 

 93 



597 

 69 



267 



neg. 

 neg. 



42 



2 



33 



neg. 



3, 173 



1,410 



1,668 



10 



85 



6, 227 



1, 127 



3, 838 



424 



538 



868 

 33 

 786 

 151 

 151 



1,972 

 350 



2,589 

 176 

 326 



711 

 73 

 29 

 21 



28 



2,676 



670 



435 



76 



33 



12, 154 



1,989 



5,413 



863 



3,890 



Note: Data may not add to totals because of rounding. 



stock, substantial volumes of rough and rotten 

 trees, dead trees, limbs, and material under 4 

 inches in diameter are typically left on the 

 ground after logging. Recent studies in old- 

 growth stands on the Pacific Coast indicated that 

 residues from such nongrowing stock sources 

 above 4 inches in diameter approximately equaled 

 residues from growing stock trees. In hardwood 

 stands of the East, hardwood limbs and rough or 

 rotten trees similarly account for substantial 

 volumes of unutilized wood fiber. 



Since 1952, estimated volumes of logging resi- 

 dues from growing stock as a percent of total re- 

 movals have declined only moderately. Rapid 

 growth of the pulp industry has led to closer 

 utilization of the softwood timber cut, espe- 

 cially in the South. On the other hand, a major 

 decline in use of fuelwood has greatly reduoed 

 post-logging use of low-grade material. Also, 

 increased use of mechanized harvesting systems 

 may have tended to raise volumes of logging 

 residues in some areas. 



Logging residues in the East especially are 

 widely scattered and occur in relatively small 

 quantities. Many residues are remote from 

 manufacturing plants. Since most logging resi- 

 dues are of a size and form to make cutting into 

 solid wood products uneconomic, potential uses 

 are primarily for pulp and particleboard. 



Environmental impacts of logging residues have 

 become an important public issue in some areas, 

 and public concern may supplement economic 

 pressures to reduce residues. Recent action 

 taken on National Forests, for example, to im- 

 prove timber utilization includes modification 

 of timber sale contracts to provide greater incen- 

 tives for removal of low-value material. 



Other Removals 



Other removals largely include timber removed 

 from growing stock inventories by land clearing 

 for nontimber uses, or reservation of forests for 

 parks, wilderness areas, or other purposes. These 

 amounted to an estimated 1.3 billion cubic feet 

 in 1970 — or 9 percent of all removals (table 15). 

 These are trend figures designed to show an aver- 

 age situation for recent years. 



Some portion of the timber on cleared areas is 

 often utilized and such material is shown as part 

 of roundwood production. However, in most land 

 clearing for home building or agricultural use, for 

 example, timber is typically piled and burned. 



Most of the other removals in 1970 consisted of 

 hardwoods, main y removed in land clearing 

 operations in the South and in other land-use 

 changes in the North. A major part of other 

 removals for softwoods also occurred in the 

 South. In the West most of the loss of timber 



