Preparing Working Flatus. 149 



wasted, since they bring together most of the data available in the 

 files' of the Forest, so that they may later be used for working 

 plan purposes, and further data may be supplied where the present 

 plans show that there is a lack. 



Before taking up a proposed solution of the working plans, 

 the conditions which are met on the National Forests and the 

 Forest Service policy in regard to its timber holdings must be 

 scrutinized. Based upon these two considerations a new work- 

 ing plan system is proposed. 



The conditions to be met on National Forests may be consid- 

 ered under three heads: i. Inaccessibility of stands, and large 

 investments required to open up such areas. 2. Markets (local 

 and export demand). 3. Large stands of over-mature timber. 



1. Inaccessibility. For the most part the timber controlled by 

 the Government comprises the most inaccessible forests in the 

 country. For this reason it is difficult to place Government tim- 

 ber on the market. In many localities, therefore, no timber can 

 be put on the market until the more accessible private holdings 

 have been cut. In other places, to bring the timber to market 

 requires large investments and, therefore, large logging opera- 

 tions. All of these conditions must be considered in connection 

 with working plans. For example, if because of inaccessibility 

 no timber can be sold from a certain forest for 10 years, it is 

 useless for the working plan to designate certain stands for cut 

 during this period. Or, if the Forest Service desires to sell tim- 

 ber from a certain forest and must sell say 1,000,000 M. feet to 

 justify an investment, it is useless for the plan to prescribe 

 an annual cut of 10,000 M. feet, even if this is the increment plus 

 the per cent, of growing stock which should be cut per annum 

 to give a sustained annual yield. The question is not so much 

 "What should be sold" as "What can be sold." 



It must be granted that to practice silviculture, cutting must 

 take place in the virgin stands of the National Forests. If, then, 

 because of inaccessibility, very large sales must be made to place 

 timber upon the market, the plan of cutting must be such as to 

 allow this. In other words, the annual yield will have to be es- 

 tablished largely upon what can be and must be done, and riot 

 upon the basis of a sustained annual yield. 



2. Markets. A detailed study of markets is essential before a 



