Natural Science SD 431 .065 NOTE TO REVIEWERS July 28, 1975 It will be evident that the main sections of the Assessment are in varying stages of completion. This reflects, in some cases, the lack of data--some of the data on water are still not available--and in others, the lack of adequate time for the principal authors to prepare a finished product. Work is continuing on each part of the study and will be continued until the report is sent to the printer at the end of the year. All review comments will be helpful to the authors in their further efforts to put this material into finished shape. This assessment has been prepared in response to the provisions of Section 2 of the "Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974" which directs the Secretary of Agriculture to "1 .prepare a Renewable Resource Assessment. .the Assessment shall be prepared not later than December 31, 1975 and shall be updated during 1979 and each tenth year thereafter, and shall include but not be limited to: (1) An analysis of present and anticipated uses, demand for, and supply of the renewable resources of forest, range, and other associated lands with consideration of the international resource situation, and an emphasis of pertinent supply and demand and price relationship trends; (2) An inventory, based on information developed by the Forest Service and other Federal agencies, of present and potential renewable resources, and an evaluation of opportunities for improving their yield of tangible and intangible goods and services. . In accordance with these provisions, this study provides an analysis of the present situation and the outlook for (1) outdoor recreation and wilderness, (2) fish and wildlife, (3) grazing, (4) timber, and (5) water. It includes statistical data on the ownership and condition of the Nation's 1.6 billion acres of forest and range lands and associated inland waters; recent changes in forest and range resources; trends in the consumption and prices of major products; the prospective demand, supply, price outlook to 2020; and opportunities for increasing supplies of products and improving the productivity of forest and range lands. Data are also presented on international trade in forest and range products and the forest resources of important trading countries. The last section of the study discusses the kinds of data and scientific information needed to provide an adequate quantitative basis for future assessments of this kind and for the determination of the sizes and combinations of programs that would most effectively and efficiently meet the Nation's future demands for forest and range products. The projections of demand as used in this study indicate the amount of the product likely to be consumed or used under a range of assumptions on population, economic activity, prices, and other determinants. The supply projections show the amount of the product that will be available for consumption or use if recent trends in investments in management, utilization, and research programs continue through the projection period. A comparison of these projections provides a measure of possible future imbalances between demands and supplies, given the underlying assumptions, and an indication of the kinds and sizes of programs that could bring about a desired supply and resource situation. These comparisons, along with the current and historical statistical data, also provide a basis for appraising ongoing forestry and range programs and an indication of opportunities for economic development of forest and range resources. In recent years, many and rapid changes have taken place in the use of American forest and range lands. Consumption of nearly all products of these lands has been rising rapidly, and there has been increasing emphasis on management for multiple purposes. There has also been growing concern about the forest and range environment and the need to preserve and enhance scenic and esthetic values. An effort has been made to recognize the changes that have been taking place and likely impacts on future supplies of forest and range land products. For example, constraints associated with multiple use management and the protection of the environment have been taken into account in projecting timber supplies from the National Forests. Projections for private ownerships also recognize the importance of nontimber objectives and that timber harvests might be limited. Specific allowances for the continuing transfer of commercial timberlands to other uses were made on all ownerships. For The analysis in this study covers the next four and a half decades. the longer run, with growing population pressure on the environment and nonrenewable stocks of ores and fuels, renewable resources could become increasingly more important. Thus, in appraising the needs for programs and the urgency for action, consideration must be given to the situation beyond the period covered in this report. With proper management, the output of renewable forest and range products can, in time, be greatly increased and higher levels of output maintained for future generations. |