U.S. forestland has been a constant 755 million acres for the past century, but the number of trees has increased by 20 percent since 1970, the volume of wood has doubled since 1953, and the United States is the world’s largest supplier of forest products. Decisions by millions of private forest-land owners are responsible for this remarkable performance.

Is the U.S. timber industry efficient and do forest-land owners operate in the social interest or self-interest? What effect does private ownership have on the efficiency of the timber industry?