Timber Outlook Literature

Forest landowners, public officials, industry representatives, economic developers and others, periodically ask questions about the future market outlook for Mississippi's timber products. These questions are important for forest management consideration and planning for the future. The answers involve examining many aspects of forest resource usage, forest products development, forest inventory, societal trends and much more.

The most prominent timber outlook literature currently available is listed below. It is a guide for interested individuals seeking information about the future of Mississippi's forest resources.

1.The Southern Forest Resource Assessment: Summary Report by Davis Wear and John Greis. 2002. General Technical Report SRS-54. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 103p. http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/sustain/index.htm

The Southern Forest Resource Assessment is the latest published study of the future of the southern forest. "The study was initiated in 1999 … to examine the status and likely future of the southern forest. ... This summary report is intended to provide an overview of the many forces of change affecting southern forests and the changes they produce." The report addresses timber and land markets among many others.

2. Human Influences on Forest Ecosystems: the southern wildland-urban interface assessment. Edward Macie and Annie Hermansen, editors. 2002. General Technical Report SRS-55. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 155p. http://www.interfacesouth.usda.gov

This report publication provides and review of critical wildland-urban interface issues, challenges and needs of the southern United States. Chapter topics include population and demographic trends, economic and tax issues, challenges for forest resource management and more.

3. The 5th Resources Planning Act (RPA) Timber Assessment titled "An Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States: 1952-2050. 2003. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-560. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 254p. http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr560

The USDA Forest Service, since it's inception, has analyzed the timber demand and supply situation. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974, as amended by the National Forest Management Act of 1976, formalized these analyses by directing the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare a Renewable Resources Assessment. This report is the latest in that series of reports.

4. "An Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States: 1952-2030. 1982. Forest Resource Report No. 23. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 499p.