Evolving Views of the Future of the US Forest Sector

There have been nine post-WorldWar II Timber Assessments, all motivated by three broad questions. Do we have enough resources to meet current and future wants? Can we describe the sustainability of forest resources in the face of increasing demand? Can we identify emerging problems while there is still time to design programs to offset them? Each of the Timber Assessments pictured the future in ways that strongly reflected contemporary views about key drivers of future conditions. Each also evolved in its reliance on underlying models of economic processes to both structure the development of projections and to increase the confidence that can be placed in individual projections. The Timber Assessments have covered a variety of issues, some short term and others that are enduing and universal to forest sectors worldwide. Some of these enduring issues include: how to increase timber supplies before increases in product price reduce consumption excessively, the role that improved harvesting or processing technologies can play in increasing supplies and employment opportunities, how forest growth can be increased through improved forest management, how different land ownership patterns influence forest management, and the role of markets in allocating resources and providing incentives for both improved processing technology and forest stewardship.