42 



,THE OUTLOOK FOR TIMBER IN THE UNITED STATES 



Public expenditures to aid private forest 

 land owners 



Figure 19 



has steadily expanded in recent years. As shown in 

 table 29, total expenditures for forestry research 

 in 1970 amounted to an estimated $208 million. 

 In terms of constant dollars, research expenditures 

 increased about 65 percent during the decade of 

 the 1960's. 



Table 29. — Expenditures for forestry research, by 

 agency, 1960-71 



[Million dollars] 











Total 





Forest 

 Service ' 



State ' 



Forest 

 industry 2 







Year 















Current 



1967 











dollars 



dollars 



I960... 



16 



2 



66 



84 



103 



1961... 



19 



4 



69 



92 



110 



1962... 



19 



3 



75 



97 



114 



1963... 



26 



5 



80 



111 



127 



1964... 



28 



4 



83 



115 



124 



1965— 



36 



n.a. 



89 



3 135 



145 



1966— 



34 



8 



101 



143 



148 



1967... 



39 



13 



97 



149 



149 



1968— 



40 



12 



115 



167 



159 



1969... 



40 



18 



137 



195 



175 



1970... 



49 



16 



143 



208 



170 



1971-. 



52 



20 



3 170 



3 222 



170 



1 Includes research on timber and nontimber uses of the 

 forests and on utilization of timber products; other Federal 

 and private university expenditures not included. 



2 Includes mainly research and development in the 

 forest industries. Related research on equipment, ad- 

 hesives, etc., in other industries not included. 



3 Estimated. 



Sources: National Science Foundation. Research and 

 development in industry. Surveys of Science Resources 

 Series, Annual; and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Forest Service and Cooperative State Research Service. 



A major part of the public research effort is 

 aimed at improving the technology of forest land 

 management— for timber and for related resources 

 such as water, range, wildlife, and recreation. Such 

 research to date has led to substantial improve- 

 ments in equipment and techniques relating, for 

 example, to fire prevention, control, and prescribed 

 burning. At least partial control of various insects 

 and diseases is now being achieved as a result of 

 past investigations. Studies of genetic improve- 

 ment of forest planting stock has led to practical 

 techniques of seed selection and other measures to 

 obtain more productive plantations. Research on 

 cultural measures and harvesting practices also is 

 pointing the way to increased wood yields and 

 incomes from forestry investments. 



Continuation of the programs of forestry re- 

 search at the 1970 level can be expected to result 

 in continued improvements in available technol- 

 ogy. In developing the projections of timber supply 

 presented in this chapter some allowances were, 

 therefore, made for improved technology, as in 

 the case of forest fire control where it was assumed 

 that rising hazards would be offset by better 

 techniques of prevention and control. 



However, all technological improvements that 

 might result from on-going programs of research, 

 such as genetic improvement for example, cannot 

 be foreseen. To this extent the projections of 

 prospective timber supplies in this analysis may 

 be conservative. 



Part of the public research and most of the 

 private research conducted by the forest industries 

 and by related industries which produce equip- 

 ment and supplies for the forest industries is 

 directed toward problems of timber utilization. 

 This research relates, for example, to improve- 

 ments in technology for production of logs and 

 other roundwood, improvements in processing 

 roundwood into lumber, pulp, and other products, 

 and more efficient use of wood materials in manu- 

 factured products and in construction. 



In the analysis of timber demands presented in 

 Chapter V of this report, estimates were made of 

 possible impacts on timber demands of on-going 

 research relating to use of timber products and 

 competing materials. Estimates also were made of 

 potential applications of improved technology that 

 would extend timber supplies by closer utilization 

 in the forest, and by increasing output of lumber, 

 pulp, or other production per unit of roundwood 

 used. 



Other Forestry Measures 



In addition to the forest protection, manage- 

 ment and research activities described above, en- 

 tailing expenditures of nearly $700 million in 1970, 

 a number of other forestry and related activities 

 also influence timber supply. 



Thus road construction and maintenance re- 

 quire major expenditures both by public agencies 



