Forest Research Problems and Program— Taylor 13 



primarily concerned with the development of the pulp and 

 paper industry on the Tongass National Forest. 



Interior Research 



The Forest Research Center can use only a small fraction of 

 its funds for research on interior forests, but one study has been 

 undertaken in an effort to determine the effect of forest fires 

 on the timber and other vegetation. This will be described by 

 Dr. H. J. Lutz of the Yale Forest School in another section of 

 this conference. As one result of this study which is being 

 carried on with the cooperation of the Bureau of Land Man- 

 agement's Forestry Division, it was found that volumes of 10 

 thousand board feet or 20 cords of pulp-sized timber per acre 

 were common in the denser stands of the interior. 1 It has been 

 estimated that there are 25 million acres still unburned of the 

 dense forests that occupy the lower slopes of river valleys. This 

 area is as large as the Douglas-fir region of Oregon and Wash- 

 ington, or the commercial forest land area of New England (12). 

 The red spruce-balsam fir stands of northern Maine and Ontario 

 seldom contain more than 20 cords per acre yet they support 

 large industries (2). 



I am convinced we can grow good timber on the better sites 

 in the Interior, if fire can be controlled. If only the estimated 

 25 million acres of heavily forested land could be saved it would 

 certainly be of tremendous value to the future State of Alaska. 



Southeastern Alaska Research 



The forests of Southeast Alaska are a northward extension 

 of the Pacific Coast western hemlock-Sitka spruce type. It is a 

 climax virgin forest scarcely touched by axe or saw. From 80 

 to 160 inches of annual rainfall keeps it fire-proof and the 

 foresters dripping wet. The Tongass National Forest of 16 

 million acres practically blankets this area. 



Others will mention the need of the pulp industry to furnish 



1 8 M per acre in trees 8" and larger in diameter. Twenty cords per acre in 

 trees 4" and larger in diameter. 



