- 11 



Approximately Sh million acres of state, private and BLM lands are covered 

 by this report. 



Annual harvest from forest lands is shown in Figure II -2. 



Although no definitive figures exist on how many acres are subject to 

 various forest management practices, it is estimated that 100-125,000 

 Montana acres are affected annually on state, private and BLM lands. 

 This figure includes all types of forest practices including harvesting, 

 site preparation, road construction, etc. 



1. Large industrial forest lands 



Three forest industry firms (Burlington Northern, Champion, and St. Regis) 

 account for about 11 percent of the commercial forest lands in Montana. 

 In 1976, these three firms produced, from their lands, about 30 percent 

 of the timber harvested in the state. 



Volumes harvested from industrial forest lands have increased from 194 MMBF 

 in 1970 to 339 MMBF in 1976. This increase has been partially caused by 

 intensified harvesting of old growth stands and efforts by the industrial 

 firms to salvage timber affected by insects and disease. 



2. Small private forest lands 



The small private forest land owners control about 22 percent of Montana's 

 commercial forests. These lands produced 21 percent of the total harvest 

 in Montana during 1976. 



About 19,000 individuals own Montana's private commercial forests. Twenty 

 years ago 14,500 individuals owned the private commercial forest (Bolle 

 et.al., 1966). The increase in the number of landowners can be attributed 



