558 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



after the State lands and forests, but to point the way, step by step, to a forest 

 poHcy which will insure Montana's place as a progressive, prosperous, and wholly 

 productive State." 



The basis for such a forest pohcy is found in a mass of detailed 

 statistics presented by Mr. Preston regarding the forest resources of 

 the State and their present and possible future utilization. While these 

 will well repay study, specific reference can be made here only to a few 

 of the more important figures bearing directly on Mr. Preston's argu- 

 ments for immediate action to bring about the practice of forestry. 



Under present conditions, it is estimated that 900 million board feet 

 could be removed from the forests of Montana each year without in- 

 juring either their permanence or the continuity of the cut. Through 

 the increased growth possible as the present primeval forests are re- 

 moved and their place taken by growing stands of young timber, it is 

 estimated that this cut could in time be increased to 2,250 million feet. 

 With the present annual utilization within the State of some 385 million 

 feet of lumber and 595 million feet of forest products of all kinds, it is 

 evident that the forest resources of the State, if properly handled, are 

 sufficient not only to meet its own needs indefinitely, but to leave a 

 large surplus for export elsewhere. This is particularly true, in view 

 of the fact that the present annual per capita consumption of forest 

 products is about 1,600 board feet, which is considerably higher than 

 the average for the country as a whole, and may be expected to decrease 

 as the State becomes more settled. Even the present cut, however, 

 cannot be continued indefinitely, to say nothing of an increase, unless 

 the forest lands of the State are kept productive. 



At present only about 52 per cent of the lumber consumed in Mon- 

 tana is produced in the State, practically all of the rest coming from 

 Idaho and the Pacific Coast, x^llowing for a certain amount of large, 

 high-grade material which the State would probably have to continue 

 to import, Mr. Preston points out that if Montana were to supply only 

 75 per cent of its total requirements, certainly a conservative estimate, 

 the saving in freight would amount to a total reduction in the price of 

 lumber now paid by the consumer of $380,000 annually. He leaves to 

 the reader the calculation of the increased price which would have to 

 be paid by the consumer should the importation of much larger quanti- 

 ties be necessitated by failure on the part of the State to perpetuate its 

 own forest resources. 



As evidence of the economic importance of the lumber industry, Mr. 

 Preston estimates that the investment in the industry (including stump- 

 age, transportation facilities, retail yards, stocks on hand, etc.) is $78,- 



