FOREST SERVICE. 199 



4. Cooperation with the States in growing and distributing forest 

 planting material, in order that this important means of reforestation 

 may be more widely employed. 



5. Provision for enlarged research in the growing and use of timber. 

 The investigative agencies of the country are now unable to keep pace 

 with the demands of timber growers and timber-using industries for 

 the technical information needed to direct soundly their undertak- 

 ings. The availability of accurate scientific data underlies every 

 effort for the conservation of existing timber supplies and the grow- 

 ing of new timber crops. 



FORESTRY IN ALASKA. 



Good progress was made during the year in collecting the informa- 

 tion essential to the practicable development of the Tongass National 

 Forest, which occupies most of the heavily timbered panhandle of 

 Alaska. The merchantable timber on this forest includes at least 

 100,000,000 cords of western hemlock and Sitka spruce. Fully 90 

 per cent of this timber is admirably adapted for use in the manu- 

 lacture of wood pulp and paper. It is estimated that this forest 

 alone can furnish perpetually an annual yield of print paper equal to 

 one-third our total national consumption. 



As a step toward the establishment of the industry the Tongass 

 National Forest was last year tentatively divided into 14 zones, each 

 embracing sufficient timber to furnish a large paper mill with a 



Permanent supply of raw material. The lines of each zone have 

 een so dra^vn as to include water powers sufficient to meet the 

 requirements of manufacture. In the further development of this 

 plan, the service has had two crews in the field, one estimating and 

 appraising the timber in each zone, while the other, headed by a 

 hydroelectric engineer, has been examining and surveying water- 

 power resources and preparing maps and reports covering each power 

 site in detail. The Federal Power Commission is cooperating with 

 the Forest Service in securing the water-power data. This work is 

 not only providing reliable information regarding the water power 

 available for a local paper industry but also has resulted in the dis- 

 covery of a number of valuable water-power sites not heretofore 

 known to exist, notably one permitting the development of from 

 22,000 to 24,000 horsepower at a very low cost. 



Economic conditions during the past year have not been favorable 

 to the launching of "a pulp and paper industry in Alaska. Business 

 in the Territory has encountered the same difficulties as in the States. 

 The drop in the market price of wood pulp last year resulted in the 

 temporary closure of the one pulp mill in Alaska. Ocean freight 

 rates are an important factor in marketing such a bulky product, 

 but it appears probable that the local industry will be more suc- 

 cessful if it includes the manufacture of pulp into paper. Evidently 

 this belief is shared by a number of responsible concerns which have 

 submitted applications for the purchase of pulpwood from the 

 Alaska National Forests and applications for water-power licenses 

 for the purpose of manufacturing both pulp and paper. As soon 

 as they are satisfied that business conditions are stabilized, including 

 a stable labor and money market, it is reasonable to expect the 

 extension of this important industry to southern Alaska. Best of 



25684— AGR 1923—14 



