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This paper analyzes the optimal harvest age of a forest if the forest provides a flow of valuable services while standing in addition to the value of the timber when it is harvested. A basic conclusion is that the presence of recreational or other services provided by a standing forest may well have an important impact on when or whether to harvest.

A debate that has raged for centuries is unlikely to be resolved by me in one lecture. However, I shall do my best to set forth the issues and indicate what ought to be the crucial factors that a jury should consider in rendering its verdict on the matter. The issue is one between forestry experts and the general public on the one side and professional economists and profit-conscious businessmen on the other. At first blush this would seem to suggest that economists are on the side of the interests and are not themselves members of the human race. But, as I hope to show, sound economic analysis is needed to do justice to the cases put forward by either of the adversary parties.