HIGHLIGHTS 



and all residues about 1 billion cubic feet (12.4 

 million cords). With prospective trends in timber 

 prices and utilization practices, it has been as- 

 sumed that most chippable residues and much of 

 the fines will be utilized for pulp or particleboard 

 within the next decade or so. 



Large additional quantities of wood fiber, largely 

 suitable for pulping, also are left in the woods 

 each year as logging residues because of high costs 

 of recovery and problems such as bark removal on 

 limbs and fragmented material. In 1970, these 

 residues included some 1.6 billion cubic feet of 

 material from sound trees, plus at least this much 

 material from other sources such as limbs, rough 

 and rotten trees, and dead trees (a total of roughly 

 40 million cords). Environmental requirements and 

 rising timber values can be expected to lead to 

 better clean up and utilization of timber on har- 

 vested areas. But accelerated efforts to improve 

 utilization on logging areas — along with expanded 

 efforts to grow more timber — appear essential if 

 rising pulpwood demands in future decades are to 

 be met. 



More of the timber killed by insects, fire, and 

 other destructive agents, although widely scat- 

 tered for the most part, also might be salvaged 

 with higher prices and improved forest access. 

 Such losses in 1970 included 11 billion board feet 

 of softwood sawtimber. 



Improving efficiency of wood utilization in 

 manufacturing plants also would help extend 

 timber supplies. It has been assumed on the basis 

 of past trends that modernization of sawmills, for 

 example, through better production methods and 

 installation of newly available equipment such as 

 high-strain, thin-kerf saws will result in increased 

 lumber recovery from available logs of possibly 2 

 to 4 percent per decade. But much larger increases 

 in recovery rates should be possible with rising 

 timber values and faster application of improved 

 technology. 



Better sorting of logs to help insure use for the 

 most valuable end product — lumber, plywood, or 

 pulp — similarly could stretch available supplies 

 of sawtimber for lumber and plywood. 



Development and use of improved structural 

 particleboards and some substitution of hardwoods 

 for softwoods could further extend softwood saw- 

 timber supplies. Wood products also could be 

 used more efficiently in construction by better 

 design and construction methods. 



13. Intensified forest management offers an im- 

 portant means oj increasing timber supplies in 

 the long run, while maintaining an acceptable 

 forest environment. 



Sizable increases in timber growth and future 

 harvests could be achieved in U.S. forests by 

 increased investments to expand tree planting, 

 stand improvement, protection, and other for- 

 estry practices. Most forest areas are not fully 



stocked with desirable timber and are growing at a 

 much lower rate than is possible under intensified 

 management. Fire, insects, and other destructive 

 agents also cause losses that in effect nullify about 

 one-fifth of total timber growth. 



Opportunities for increasing future timber 

 supplies by intensified management exist in all 

 sections of the country and all classes of owner- 

 ship. In the South, for example, timber growth 

 currently averages about 45 cubic feet per acre 

 annually, including only 104 board feet of saw- 

 timber sized material. Large areas of plantations 

 are yielding more than double this amount of 

 growth. And there are millions of other acres 

 where conversion from poor hardwood stands to 

 pine stands, especially with use of genetically 

 improved planting stock, would in time greatly 

 increase available supplies of timber. 



Similarly on the West Coast and other parts of 

 the country there are large additional areas in 

 Federal, State, industrial, and other private 

 ownerships where timber supplies could be greatly 

 increased by reforestation and by other practices 

 such as precommercial thinnings and intermediate 

 cutting in older age classes. 



On nonindustrial private ownerships held by 

 farmers and a wide variety of miscellaneous 

 owners, timber growing efforts other than fire 

 protection have been limited. Yet several million 

 of these owners hold 59 percent of the timberlands 

 in the United States that are considered suitable 

 and available for timber production. Most of these 

 owners are unwilling to invest in timber growing 

 and many are reluctant to sell timber because of 

 conflicts with other purposes. 



Capturing a larger part of the very large 

 potential for timber growing on these numerous 

 holdings is technically sound and economically 

 feasible, but will require substantial investments. 

 On many ownerships public cost sharing and 

 technical assistance appear necessary to achieve 

 the increased growth that is estimated to be 

 economically feasible to produce. 



An initial analysis to illustrate management 

 opportunities on National Forests and farm and 

 miscellaneous private holdings indicated that 

 increased investments of about $69 million an- 

 nually could increase annual harvests of softwood 

 sawtimber about 1.6 billion board feet by 1980 and 

 and as much as 13 billion board feet by 2020. 

 This analysis used as a criterion a minimum rate 

 of return of 5 percent on additional investments, 

 with prices of lumber and plywood assumed to 

 average 30 percent above 1970 levels. 



Additional promising opportunities for increased 

 timber production also undoubtedly exist on other 

 public and industrial ownerships, and in the use of 

 genetically improved planting stock, fertilization, 

 or other new technology. 



Environmental management to assure balanced 

 production of nontimber uses and protection of the 



