ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will provide brief descriptions of the conditions of sale or provision for the various outputs of the public forests. It is quite clear that were the public lands to be judged by criteria appropriate to lands under private ownership-namely, the earning of maximum financial returns, or maximization of the positive difference between discounted market receipts and expenditures-the bulk of the national forests would fail such a test. This can be explained in part, but only in part, in terms ofthe intent ofthe various legislative acts to have public land managers provide a mix of unpriced resource services in addition to timber. Perhaps largely because of the complexity of the production process and limited knowledge as to the value of many of the resulting services, the Forest Service has remained reluctant to emphasize economic criteria alone in making its supply decisions.
