CONTINUITY THROUGH TIME: RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONS

The forest industry's contribution to the domestic gross national product and the number of people employed directly and indirectly by forestry are large, and forestry research efforts and support should be large to maintain them. When the National Forest system. Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service are considered, an even stronger case is made for the importance of forestry research to our nation. Given the high cost of modern research in biotechnology, genomics, and ecosystems, the need for adequate support of forestry research is even greater.

Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of this report provide recommendations for addressing deficiencies in scientific and fiscal resources needed to secure our nation's future forestry-research capacity. The recommendations encompass university, government, and industry. Implementing some of the recommendations might require new federal funding, which is often difficult to obtain. The search for new funding will continue, but lasting change might occur best through reshaping and development of important new models and systems to generate the dollars for research. Federal, state, and local law and regulatory changes could be made to encourage investment in forest research.

Models such as cooperative university, industry, and federal research appear to be functioning well and should be considered ( Box 5–1). For any such models to function three things conditions are necessary: stakeholders must agree that there is a need, there must be an equitable system to secure the required funds; and there must be a defined process to set priorities and allocate the funds.