OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASING TIMBER SUPPLIES 



125 



could lead to reduced wood use and a broadening 

 of the resource base for pulping. Greater use of 

 waste paper and board beyond that assumed in 

 Chapter V may be possible through improved 

 technology and or changes in economic conditions 

 or programs to increase consumer acceptance of 

 paper with significant proportions of recycled 

 fibers. Development and adoption of efficient 

 methods of whole-tree harvesting and bark-chip 

 separation also could greatly expand the raw 

 material base for pulpwood, and thus improve 

 the supply situation for other timber products. 



7. Improved construction designs for housing 

 and other structures, and the development and 

 adoption of improved construction methods, 

 could aid in conserving wood materials and re- 

 ducing costs of end products. These might in- 

 clude stress skin panel construction systems, 

 for example, or other improvements ha design 

 of structures or components. Many wooden 

 structures are overdesigned and use more wood 

 than necessary because of tradition, building 

 codes, inadequate grading, or lack of knowledge. 

 It is estimated that use of more efficient construc- 

 tion methods in residential building, for example, 

 could reduce wood use as much as 10 to 20 percent 

 with no significant sacrifice of performance. Also, 

 increased use of wood preservative treatments in 

 some construction uses would extend wood 

 supplies. 



8. Expansion of technical assistance to provide 

 advice on adoption of new technology is also an 

 important phase of accelerated efforts to improve 

 timber utilization. Many examples can be found 

 of poor log bucking practices, for example, or 

 inefficiencies in lumber sawing and drying. Im- 

 plementation of new technical discoveries is often 

 a slow process, in part because of the slow spread 

 of knowledge of new technology throughout 

 producing industries. 



It is of course difficult to quantify the costs, 

 timing, and benefits of accelerated efforts to 

 develop and apply new technology. Some pro- 

 grams, such as adoption of improved technology 

 in lumber manufacture, could result in prompt 



increases in supply of wood products. Some other 

 efforts are likely to require more time for ac- 

 ceptance and investment of capital in new plants. 

 In any case it is apparent that there are many 

 opportunities for extending available timber sup- 

 plies by improved utilization over and above 

 prospective trends. 



PROJECTION ALTERNATIVES 



The examples of timber management and utili- 

 zation alternatives presented in this chapter 

 should be regarded as preliminary. The major 

 objective of these initial studies was to develop 

 procedures that might be used in evaluating 

 alternatives on given forest properties or in local 

 regions, and provide some general indication of the 

 costs and benefits of intensifying forestry practices. 

 Much additional work will be required to improve 

 estimates of yield responses to forest management 

 and the costs and values of increasing outputs of 

 timber and related goods and services. 



In addition to the illustrations cited, many 

 opportunities for intensification of management 

 undoubtedly exist on lands of the forest industries 

 and on public ownerships other than National 

 Forests. New technology such as fertilization 

 also represents potentials that were not speci- 

 fically included at this time. 



Use of criteria other than the specific economic 

 conditions assumed in this analysis also could 

 warrant much larger forestry efforts than 

 indicated. Higher relative prices of timber products 

 than assumed herein could have the effect of sub- 

 stantially increasing areas economically suitable 

 for intensification. 



The acceptance of lower rates of return would 

 have similar effects. The rates of return used in 

 the above analysis are measured in constant 

 dollars. If inflation continues, the rates of return 

 measured in current dollars would be substantially 

 higher. For example, if inflation continues at the 

 rate prevailing in the past couple of decades a 

 5-percent return in constant dollars would repre- 

 sent an 8- or 9-percent return in current dollars. 



