This file was created by scanning the printed publication. Errors identified by the software have been corrected; however, some errors may remain. •rOREST RESOURCES oF MONTANA \ • FOREST SERVICE United $tates Department of Agriculture Forest Resource Report No. 5 • . .ACKNOWLEDGMENT I · Manr people have participated in the survey of Montana's timber resource. In addition to the authors of this report. they include: M. B. Dickerman, Chief o£ the Division of Forest Economics; W. C. Hodge, B. M. Huey, T. L Finch, M. E. Metcalf, H. J. Pissot, J. H. Wikstrom, and M. Hobe of the present field and office staff. M. Bradner, G. M. DeJarnette, and R. K. Winters were in charge of the field and office work at different periods prior to 1943. Other forest· ers who have helped in the survey and contributed substantially to it are: D. L. Axlund, C. W. Brown, F. B. Casler, R. L. Conn, L. E. De· Groote, W. W. Ensign, W. R. Fallis, A. A. Flint, ]. L. Frykman, M. C. Galbraith, J. W. Girard, H. B. Hawk, V. H. Hedman, ]. N. Hessel, J. M. Honeywell, W. H. Ibenthal, R. Jacobsen, 0. B. Johnson, H. S. Mosebrook, ]. A. Nash, B. W. Newton, J. P. Oliver, W. B. Peterson, P. N. Pratt, I. C. Puphal, A. N. Quam, M. ]. Reed, W. L. Royer, E. G. Rutquist, R. R. Schulz, R. J. Smith, F. R. Waylett, W. H. Welton, and L. W. Zach. D. N. Matthews, A. G. Lindh, and others were very helpful with this report in the manuscript stage. Tbe rnajority o£ the charts in the report are the work of John B. LaCasse. Assistance in preparation: of. the statistics for western Montana was furnished by the personnel of Work Project Adntinistration official projects O.P. 501·2-96, O.P. 701·3-17, O.P. 01·2·91-158, O.P. 6~ 2·91-10&, and O.P. 165·2·91-59 .. L: :-; I T E D S T A T E S D E P A R T :VI E .'l T 0 F A G R I C U L T U R E •FOREST RESOCRCE REPORT :\0 . WASHI;\;GTO~, D. C., 1952 J. c. ;__ FOREST RESOURCES OF MONTANA S. BLAIR HUTCHISON, forest economist and PAUL D. KE:'v!P, forester :\ORTHERN ROCKY :VIOU.'lTAIN FOREST AND RANGE EXPERIMENT STATION • FOREST SERVICE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE • WASHI:-iGTO:-i • 1952 FOR SALE. BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCU,:O..lDITS. WASHINGTON, D. C., PRICE 55 CE:-.rTS • Preface '< 1928 Congress passed the :VlcSweeney-:Vlc:\ary Forest Research .\ct I authorizing a comprehensive survey of the timber supplies in the United States. Responsibility for this survey was assigned to the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. The work in :V!ontana has been under the direction of the ~orthern Rockv :V!ountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. This is a report on ·the lindings of the :Vlontana survey. The job of inventorying the extensive forest of \fontana and col­ lecting growth and drain information "·as begun in l9:H. Before its interruption by vVorld \Var II the survey was completed for that pan of the State west of the Continental Divide and in [our counties east of the Divide. field "·ork was resumed in 19·+7 and completed in the fall of 1949. The inventory. grov..:th. and drain ligures presented ~1rc the flrst based upon a complete systematic survcv ol the timber resource in Montana. It is hoped that these data and the analysis in this report will help increase the contribution of this timber resource to the economy of :Vlontana and the C nite<l States. Contents ~·----------------------------------------- -----------------------'~ PJ.ge P~lg-e ] he lacts in brief Timber "lllpply ~l!ld itH.Iu)tri~d de\ eiopntent~C.m­ The place of the roresb in the economy ot tinueJ. .:\lontana :l Conditional allowable cut-Continued Timber values in the torest 3 DcaJ. and cull trees and tops of \Vater values in the foresr 5<1\\·-tintber trees Recreation Yaluts in the iore~t 1 ht: :Illo\\·~1blc cut by species and Forage values in the forest 1\1 oH·ncrship 3/ Timber can increase ~!onuna income ]I) lndu.'itri;d expansion opponunitil's 39 The torest 14 Developing· ncH· industries \\·ith dif- The rc-,ern:d iort~t J.l ferent 1rood requirements :;9 ]j i'ht: tlOJKOllllHCrciai lui V'-t .\Jodilying· l11c wood Ollhlllllption ·rhc comm;,_Tcial tort::'L 1."> habits of the lumber indu~trv -ill Pondero..,a pine 17 :\Iorc etkcti\·e ll'ie of '1\·ood cut 10 Dt)ugla_-,.hr 19 I'll<.: lt111iwr managcllll:IH t;l.'.;k -12 \ Vestern brch 19 Reduction ot lo:-..~c~ -±2 Lodgepole pine 19 I ll)CCtS i:2 -.;prucc 21 Fire Other coniter-. 21 Disca.'!c-. Hanh,·oods ~-~ Other losses Character ot the cnnuntrcial stauds ~:} Pre-;cnt mortalitY The volwnc ol tim\)l·r in ~fontana .-\ more com plctc protection pro­ Timber growth in :'\[om:tna gr::~m H !.fontana\ tore·»t indu ...,rrie<; InncZJ.-.ing gro~~ .~1'01\·th --10 The lumber industry .\ dt\·clopmcnt and uuna~·cmcnt program -IH Sit.e ol :\fontana -,;nnnills \fnre ro;als drc needed .JS Lumber prodw.tion hy species fnten-;i[ving- public l:lnd management IB \farkcts lor :\[onrana lumber Jnrcnsil'ving: priYate LnH.l mana~cment .JI Railro~H.l tie prmluction fnlprm·in!.!, the Oll·ncrship pattern The n1inc timber indu .... u-y \ llHllt 1nnduni\T forrsr The pole industrY Liter:ttttlT < itcd The ChristmZls tree indthtry .-\ppendix Pulpwood, fud \\·ood. t1nd fence po::.ts ,),)"" ~ur\'c\' methods 00 Commodity drain on :\Iontan3.'s [orest. ,)J -\Letll :l(Y of Cstilll:l.tcs Timber supply 3.nd indu-,trial cleYelopment 35 Conditional allo1~·able annual cut Conditional J.lloH·able cut 35 Definitions Sa·w timber 35 Trees natiYC to :\fontana Pole timber 36 Supplemental table'\ III The Facts In Brief ~----------------------------------------------------------~ Hnw milch of i.Vlontana is forest? million cubic feet. The net saw-timber growth is 606 million board feet a year. One-fourth of the Srare, or 22,359,000 a.cres, is classified by the Forest Survey as forest land. The Is the ,rJ;rowth rate satisfactot)·? total area of the State is 93,642,000 acres, Fifty­ X o, not from a long-time standpoint. The net eight percent of the forest area lies in the one-sixth grm.,.th oii primary growing stock amounts to only of the State that is west of the Continental Divide. 15 cubic feet per acre a year. It should be possible to double this rate. The saw-timber gTowth Hnw much of the fm·est is .qtiti{IJ/e rwd troflilable for ;nnounts to only 38 board feet per acre a year, com­ limber p1·oduction? pared to a potential of 85 board feet. Seventy percent of the fore~c land, or 15,756,000 acres. is "commercial." i. e .. suitable and available, How ou1 p;rmoth be increased? no,...- or prospectively, for the production of timber Gross growth can be increased by restocking for industrial use. This repre-sents about 3 y2 per­ ddorl'stcd areas, improvement cuttings in thick cent of the total commerri:1l forest in the United young stands, and by replacing the extensive areas States. of old, decadent forests 'dth vigorous rapid-gro\v· ing-, wcl!-.'ltockcd stands. :'\ret gTowth can be in­ Horl' nn/r:h saw timber/:;, tlu:rt'! creased by reduciug the hig-h mortality losses from •..\fontana's commercial forest contains 56 billion fire, insects, :;hading, and other natural causes \\"hich are a.ll debits against gross growth. To illus­ board feet of timher, likewise about 3!/2 percent of the national total. Approximately half of the saw trate, annual gross growth is 84-9 million board feet, timber is of two species: larch and Douglas-fir. but 2 P) million of it is offset by mortality. Ponderosa pine. Engelmann spruce, and lodgepole pine are other importatu species from a quantity I>ot'S the high mortality rate indicate inadequllte standpoint. Se,·enty-one percent of the saw-timher prntection? volume i'i ''-est of the Continental Divide. ProgTess has heen made in curbing fires. Corre~­ ponding; effort has not gone into insect control. ~Vho orons the forest? Hecausc of the low vitality a.'isociated with advanced :1g-e. lllll<.:h of :\fontana's timber has suffered heavy Seventeen million acn:s, or 76 percent of the total lo .. _... t':-i from bark. beetles. These losses ·will diminish forest area, is publicly m\·ned or managed. The :ts the old tn_.es 1re utilized. but in the meantiiP.e national forest.-, alone include 1.3,92:).000 acres of thtv can be n:duced only by intensifying insect­ forest. Public agencies mana~e only 69 percent of control efforts. the commercial fore:-;r. Seventy percent of the cur~ rent . \'oiume .;aw-timhc::r is publicly owned or !~ tllf' tim1wr cut /IHJ !u'gh ur too fowl 1nanag·ccL \Vith :-:.omc important exccp(ions, the timber cut How fmt is the forest grm.ving? in the State has been too low. The allowable an­ nual cut of saw-timber and pole-timber trees and For the primary growin~ stock, that is all trees the u:,ablc portion of cull and dead trees in ~(on­ 5.0 inches and larger, the annual net growth is 241 t~lna is 129 million cubic feet greater than the cur. •FfJrest Resources of ~Wontana I in 1948. One exception to the over-all situation i'i ! fl/.1 lock uf roads bl::'c/1 I!~~:: rnliv factor holdit~g h11cl: the ponderosa pine 'ia\v timber.