THE DEMONSTRATION FOREST AND THE STATE. 



ON another page announcement is made of such favorable prog- 

 ress in the negotiations for a Demonstration Forest to be man- 

 aged by the College of Forestry that the ownership of such a 

 tract by the University is assured. It is therefore fitting that 

 consideration should, at this time, be given to the question of what 

 place this Forest should fill in the forest policy of the State. Last year 

 we pointed out editorially that successful forestry must begin while 

 large areas of forest remain uncut; that when the forests have all 

 been removed it is too late to attack effectively the task of restoring 

 to immediate productivity the vast cut over areas. Moreover, waiting 

 until that time will fail to provide for the continuity of the lumber 

 industry. 



It will be the self allotted task of the College of Forestry to 

 demonstrate in the management of this tract two things: first, that 

 on any similar forest area the output of forest products, and hence 

 forest industry, can be made continuous and permanent ; second, that 

 forests so handled constitute a profitable investment. 



It is calculated that from the stock of 1,700,000,000 feet of tim- 

 ber that the tract is estimated to bear, not less than 30,000,000 feet of 

 the saw timber can be cut annually so long as it is handled from the 

 continuous production standpoint. In addition large quantities of 

 smaller sized material can be taken out for pulpwood and similar 

 uses. The average production in the lower slope type should be at 

 least 600 feet B. M. per acre per annum besides thinnings, woods 

 waste, etc. The total production will be sufficient to maintain in per- 

 manent operation a sawmill of about 100,000 feet daily capacity and 

 a pulpmill of 30 to 50 tons daily capacity. It is expected, however, 

 that the product from the tract will be handled by existing operators. 



Since this is a tract of non-agricultural land its value to the 

 State as a permanent producer of wealth depends as in the case of 

 millions of acres elsewhere in the State on keeping the forest in 

 producing condition, it is surely most important that production such 

 as has been outlined should be kept continuous. 



Our timber resources are worth between 90 and 100 millions 

 of dollars annually to the State. The present stand of timber is 

 estimated to be something less than 400 billion feet and the annual 

 cut about 5 billion feet. Surely something should be done to show 

 that an industry of this importance can be made permanent. Studies 

 of the rate of growth of our timber indicate that it is possible by 

 careful forest management for the State to produce in perpetuity 

 fully the amount of our annual cut on the non-agricultural lands 

 through the means of scientific forest management on the basis of 

 sustained annual yield. Prices of forest products are rapidly advanc- 



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