A key forest management challenge in Canada, and elsewhere, is to strike an
acceptable balance between the various values for which forests are to be
managed. Striking that balance between commodity, aesthetic, environmental,
and other values is difficult because (a) what defines an acceptable balan
ce varies between parties who weight such values differently, and (b) some
values are incompatible, in that managing for the betterment of one occurs
at the expense of another. Timber supply is an important economic value in
Canada, but there is clear evidence of an increasing social demand to favou
r non-timber values in forest management to a greater extent than has occur
red in the past. Accommodating this demand often has negative timber supply
consequences, thus forcing difficult decisions involving tradeoffs between
values. Such tradeoffs occur when management decisions affect any of three
primary factors of timber production, namely, landbase size, stand growth
rates, and treatment timing choices. In New Brunswick, where aggressive ind
ustrial development has resulted in intensive use of the forest for timber
production, the tradeoffs between timber and non-timber values are particul
arly difficult to make. Using New Brunswick as an example, this paper explo
res the mechanisms by which forest values conflict. It employs a simple lan
d allocation schematic to illustrate the nature of that conflict, to identi
fy plausible future scenarios in which that conflict is likely to intensify
, and to discuss possible mitigating strategies.