THE FORESTS OF ALASKA 



31 



At the west end of the Chugach Forest there is a 

 marked change in the climatic conditions. Whereas the 

 rainfall on the Prince William Sound is from 75 to over 

 100 inches, it is less than 30 inches at the northwestern 

 edge of the Forest. The high mountain ranges separate 

 the Forest into two climatic regions, and there are cor- 

 respondingly two distinct forest regions. The forest on 

 the west end of the Chugach is of the interior type. 

 This portion of the Forest is subjected to a great hazard 

 from fire. During the past season the Forest officers 

 were kept busy for nearly three months fighting fire. 

 It was onlv ilirdugh the work of these men that a large 

 body of the best tinibsr in that section was saved. 



At the present time the largest single demand on the 

 Forest is for piling and ties for the Government railroad. 

 A permit has already been issued by the Forest Service 

 to the Alaska Engineering Commission for 85 million 

 feet for piling, ties and other purposes, on areas readily 

 accessible to the railroad right of way. Aside from this 

 special requirement for timber, there are used locally 

 every year considerable amounts of timber for lumber, 

 for piling in construction and maintenance of docks at 

 towns, mines, and canneries, for mine timbers, and for 

 various other miscellaneous uses. 



IMany persons have undertaken to depreciate the value 

 and usefulness of the Chugach timber. It has recently 



A RECENTLY BURNED FOREST IN THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA 



The interior forests of Alaska are composed cliiefly of white spruce, white birch and Cottonwood. This view shows a typical spruce stand. On 

 account of the relatively low rainfall these forests are subject to great fire hazard. There is no system of protection, and the aggregate 

 destruction by fire during the past fifteen or twenty years has been enormous. The past season was an unusually dry one, and it is estimated 

 that several million acres at least of these forests were burned over. 



The total volume of timber on the Chugach National 

 Forest is estimated as appro.xiniately 6 to 8 billion feet. 

 This includes the timber of merchantable size and char- 

 acter, which is suitable for lumber, piling, ties, and pulp 

 material. It excludes the unsound, straggling trees whose 

 use for any purpose is doubtful. 



The Chugach Forest is important, first as a source 

 of forest products to meet local needs in the development 

 of the region in which the Forest is located. It will 

 have an increasing importance in furnishing certain 

 classes of construction material in other parts of Alaska, 

 and it is (|uite ]3robable that there will be a demand later 

 on for [lulp material. 



been argued that the shipping of lumber from Seattle 

 and Tacoma to X'aldez and other points within and near 

 the Chugach Forest is conclusive proof that the local 

 timber is of no public importance, is of little or no com- 

 mercial value, and that the public control over it should 

 at once be abandoned and the land opened to private 

 acquisition. 



The shipping into Alaska of lumber products from 

 the outside does not prove in the slightest degree that the 

 Alaskan timber is unfit to meet the requirements of local 

 use, either in quality or amount. It indicates that the 

 present economic conditions have not yet justified the 

 development of a manufacturing industry that can com- 



