PROJECTED TIMBER SUPPLIES 1970 LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT 



75 



Table 63. — Supplies of roundwood products in the Rocky Mountains, by owner class and species group, 



1952, 1962, and 1970, with projections to 2020 



[Million cubic feet] 



Owner class and species group 



1952 



1962 



1970 



Projections 





1980 



1990 



2000 



2020 



National Forests: 



Softwoods _ .. . _. 



Hardwoods 



218 



7 



387 

 10 



519 

 9 



702 

 23 



697 



28 



692 

 32 



685 

 38 



Total 



225 



397 



528 



725 



725 



724 



723 



Other public : 

 Softwoods 

 Hardwoods 



72 

 1 



78 

 2 



78 

 0) 



82 

 4 



120 



7 



177 

 10 



174 

 10 



Total 



74 



80 



78 



86 



127 



187 



184 



Forest industry 

 Softwoods 

 Hardwoods 



90 



118 

 1 



170 



146 

 6 



127 



6 



100 



5 



102 

 5 



Total .. . .. 



91 



119 



170 



152 



133 



105 



107 







Farm and miscellaneous private: 



Softwoods . . _ 

 Hardwoods ___.._ 



116 



2 



101 



2 



86 



1 



113 

 12 



196 

 24 



306 

 41 



270 

 36 







Total 



118 



103 



87 



125 



220 



347 



306 



Total Rocky Mountains: 



Softwoods . _ _ . . . . 



495 

 11 



684 

 14 



852 

 11 



1,044 

 46 



1, 139 

 65 



1,275 

 89 



1, 231 



Hardwoods 



89 



Total . 



506 



698 



863 



1,090 



1,204 



1, 364 



1, 320 







1 Value is less than 0.5 million cubic feet. 



miscellaneous ownerships. In the latter case, the 

 projected change in roundwood output is based 

 on the assumption that timber harvests will 

 increase from the actual level of 1970 to a balance 

 with growth on lands remaining in the commercial 

 timberland category. On these farm and mis- 

 cellaneous ownerships removals in 1970 amounted 

 to only 31 percent of the net growth of growing 

 stock and 56 percent of sawtimber growth. 



Forest industry ownerships display almost an 

 opposite trend. As reserves of industrial timber 

 are harvested, projected output declines to about 

 63 percent of the 1970 level. Projected roundwood 

 production per acre declines from a relatively 

 high level of about 76 cubic feet in 1970 to 49 

 cubic feet by 2020. 



Projection alternatives. — A substantial increase 

 in projected available supplies of roundwood 

 products from the Rocky Mountains in the face 

 of some decline in commercial timberland acreage 

 and a drop in output on forest industry lands 

 will be possible only if farm and miscellaneous 

 private owners greatly increase removals and if 



harvests in National Forests actually rise to the 

 allowable cut levels estimated in 1970. 



Furthermore, most of the projected increase in 

 available timber supplies must come from smaller 

 diameter trees. Available roundwood supplies 

 from growing stock trees over 5 inches in diameter 

 is estimated to increase 53 percent over 1970 

 levels. Available output of sawtimber, however, 

 is projected to increase only 8 percent above the 

 actual cut in 1970. The preponderance of trees 

 below 9 inches in diameter in the projections of 

 available timber supplies indicates that improved 

 utilization of trees by new types of milling equip- 

 ment or use for pulpwood will be necessary if 

 these supplies are to be utilized. 



While these projections of potential supply 

 indicate what is biologically available under the 

 specified assumptions, the Rocky Mountain area 

 is faced with problems of economic inaccessibility 

 of much timber, lack of markets for small wood, 

 and possible increases in management constraints 

 to protect environmental values. Consequently, 

 estimates of timber supplies economically availa- 

 ble with alternative price levels have been devel- 

 oped, as shown in the final section of this chapter. 



