Citizens throughout the United States became aware of environmental issues during this period and began to pressure Congress to change logging practices on the national forests. Late in 1971, the U.S. Forest Service announced that timber harvests on parts of the national forests in northern Idaho and western Montana could be reduced by as much as 50 percent. The drop in supply drove prices up to record levels.
Alternately, the size of logs decreased, a result of having overcut old growth trees. Sawmills were forced to retool their equipment to handle smaller logs. In 1963, Pack River Lumber Co. remodeled its Colburn mill to run efficiently with logs averaging only 12 inches in diameter. Some mills now can take logs small enough to make a single 2×4 stud.