FOREWORD 



A forest typically is made up of a large 

 number of stands differing in stage of develop- 

 ment, composition, and condition, and often 

 intermingled with nonstocked areas. The task 

 in developing action programs is to select and 

 fit the pieces of the management puzzle to- 

 gether in the way that best allows the achieve- 

 ment of the management objective. However, 

 before the program can evolve, or, in fact, 

 before a realistic program objective can be 

 developed, there must be an evaluation and 

 ranking of the forest areas in terms of the 

 opportunity they afford to produce specified 

 products. This is part of the information 

 needed for intelligent decision making. 



This paper is concerned with the ranking 

 of timber management opportunities in exist- 

 ing stands on National Forest land capable of 

 producing white pine in the Forest Service's 

 Northern Region. Presently management at- 

 tention is focused on this land, partly because 

 it is such good timber producing land and 

 partly because the presence of blister rust in 

 white pine has forced the Northern Region 

 into a reevaluation of the management of 

 white pine land. However, the evaluation 

 techniques described here are applicable in 

 other forest situations as well, wherever treat- 

 ment alternatives exist. 



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