Multiple-use approach in forestry
The multiple-use approach in forestry is a land management strategy that emphasizes the concurrent use of forest resources for various purposes, rather than focusing on a single use. This concept has evolved significantly since the late 1800s, driven by the need for sustained yield and the recognition that forestlands can serve multiple roles, including timber production, wildlife habitat, recreational areas, and watershed protection. The integration of these uses aims to create a balanced approach to resource management that can sustain both ecological health and human needs.
The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 formally codified this philosophy in U.S. law, directing the management of national forests for diverse uses such as outdoor recreation, grazing, timber, and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. This act reflects a shift towards recognizing the interconnectedness of various land uses and the importance of managing resources in a sustainable manner. The approach requires collaboration among stakeholders, advocacy for conservation ethics, and community engagement to effectively balance the different demands placed on forestlands. Overall, the multiple-use approach seeks to ensure that forest resources can be enjoyed and utilized by current and future generations.
Subject Terms
Multiple-use approach in forestry
The multiple-use approach is a management practice that is teamed with sustained yield. It began as a working policy, generally associated with forestry, and was enacted as law in 1960.
Background
Multiple use pertains to a concept of resource use in which land supports several concurrent managed uses rather than single uses over time and space. As a concept of land-use management it has most often been applied to questions related to the use of forestlands. Historically, has been frequently linked with another concept, that of sustained yield. This combination was codified into law with the passage of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960.
The history of the intertwined multiple-use sustained-yield approach to land management in the United States dates from the late 1800’s. Prior to that time, land management practices often focused on one land use at a time. Forestlands were used for timber production, rangeland for grazing, parklands for recreation, and so on. Little attention was given to the interrelated aspects of land use. By the late 1800’s, however, some resource managers had begun to see land resources as something to be managed in a more complex, integrated fashion that would lead to multiple use. This awakening to more complex management ideas grew out of the need for sustained yield, especially in the forest sector of the resource economy.
Sustained Yield
From the beginning of European settlement of North America, forest resources were seen both as a nearly inexhaustible source of timber and as something to be cleared to make way for agriculture. This policy of removal and replacement led to serious concern by the late 1800s about the future of the nation’s forests. In 1891, power had been granted to President William Harrison to set aside protected forest areas. Both he and President Grover Cleveland took action to establish forest reserves. These reserves, however, needed overall direction in their management. To secure this management, Gifford Pinchot was appointed chief forester. Pinchot was trained in European methods of forestry and was well traveled and experienced. Moreover, Pinchot managed his resources, as noted by Stewart L. Udall in The Quiet Crisis (1963), “on a sustained-yield basis.” The sustained-yield basis for forest management was thus established, and with its establishment came an interest in not only yield from the land but also multiple use of the land. Essentially, the sustained-yield philosophy restricts the harvesting of trees to no more than the ultimate timber growth during the same period.
Multiple Use
Forestlands have the obvious capability of supplying timber for a variety of structural and aesthetic needs. Properly managed, these lands can meet such needs on an ongoing, renewable basis. However, land in forest cover is more than a source of timber. Watersheds in such an area can be protected from excessive runoff and sedimentation through forest management if watershed protection is kept in mind. Forest areas are also potential areas of wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation. The combination of forest management for production and for complex, interrelated land uses provided the basis for the development of multiple-use sustained-yield as a long-term forest management strategy.
Multiple Use-Sustained Yield
The merging of these two concepts took shape over a period of many years beginning in the early twentieth century. The establishment of national forests by Presidents Harrison and Cleveland provided a base for their expansion under President Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900s. With the active management of Pinchot and the enthusiastic support of President Roosevelt, the national forests began to be managed on a long-term multiple-use sustained-yield basis. The desirability of this kind of management approach eventually led to its formalization by law: On June 12, 1960, Congress passed the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act. To some, this act was the legal embodiment of practices already in force. However, the act provides a clear statement of congressional policy and relates it to the original act of 1897 that had established the national forests. Thus, historical reference and continuity are provided.
The 1960 act also specifies that “the national forests are established and shall be administered for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, and wildlife and fish purposes.” The act goes on to state in section 2 that “[t]he Secretary of Agriculture is authorized and directed to develop and administer the renewable resources of the national forests for multiple use and sustained yield of the several products and services obtained therefrom.” From a management standpoint, this act is brief and to the point. However, it gives no specifics, providing a great deal of freedom in choosing ways to meet its provisions. It also refrains from providing guidelines for management. In practice, the achievement of a high level of land management under the act has called for advocating a ethic, soliciting citizen participation, providing technical and financial assistance to public and private forest owners, developing international exchanges on these management principles, and providing and extending management knowledge.
Bibliography
Botti, William B., and Michael D. Moore. “Fully Managed, Multiple-Use Forest Era, 1959-1975.” In Michigan’s State Forests: A Century of Stewardship. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2006.
Bowes, Michael D., and John V. Krutilla. Multiple-Use Management: The Economics of Public Forestlands. Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future, 1989.
Burton, Lloyd. “Other Spaces, Other Cases: Worship and Multiple-Use Management of Public Lands.” In Worship and Wilderness: Culture, Religion, and Law in the Management of Public Lands and Resources. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002.
Cicin-Sain, Biliana, and Robert W. Knecht. “A Conceptual Framework for Multiple-Use Ocean Governance.” In The Future of U.S. Ocean Policy: Choices for the New Century. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2000.
Cutter, Susan L., and William H. Renwick. Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation: A Geographic Perspective on Natural Resource Use. 4th ed. Danvers, Mass.: J. Wiley, 2004.
DeStefano, Andrea. "Multiple-Use Forest Management for Private Landowners: Wildlife Habitats." LSU College of Agriculture, 15 May 2024, www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1715809613666. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Fedkiw, John. Managing Multiple Uses on National Forests, 1905-1995: A Ninety-Year Learning Experience and It Isn’t Finished Yet. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 1998.
Lafortezza, Raffaele, et al. Patterns and Processes in Forest Landscapes: Multiple Use and Sustainable Management. London: Springer, 2008.
Miller, G. Tyler, Jr. Resource Conservation and Management. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1990.
Schurch, Thomas W. “Priorities for the Future: Planning for Sustainable Multiple Use.” In Blackland Prairies of the Gulf Coastal Plain: Nature, Culture, and Sustainability, edited by Evan Peacock and Timothy Schauwecker. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2003.
Udall, Stewart L. The Quiet Crisis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963.