202 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 



It has the disadvantage of being considerably farther from the large 

 paper markets, and of pioneer conditions which would tend to hamper 

 the development of an industry. In southeastern Alaska, cutting 

 operations for lumber and other purposes are very small, so that in 

 this respect there would be a greater opportunity for the development 

 of a dominant pulp and paper industry than in any of the Western 

 States. 



Southeastern Alaska is within the range of the extensive Pacific 

 Coast forest, which occurs in western Oregon, Washington, and 

 British Columbia and along the southern coast of Alaska as far north 

 and west as the Aleutian Peninsula and Afognak Island. It is 

 essentially a timber-producing region. Aided by mild temperature 

 and abundant rainfall, the region supports extensive stands of rapidly 

 growing trees; because of rough topography and thin soil, perhaps 

 less than 1 percent of the area is suitable for farming. In view of the 

 high latitude, an outstanding climatic feature is the mild winter 

 temperatures. There are no climatic factors which prevent or seri- 

 ously hinder the operation of wood-working establishments through- 

 out the year. 



Nearly all the land in southeastern Alaska is owned by the Federal 

 Government, and nearly 17 million acres, or 73 percent, has been 

 included in the national forest system to be administered primarily 

 for continuous production of timber crops and a sustained yearly 

 output of raw material for local wood-using industries. Of the 17 

 million acres only 3 million acres bears commercial timber. 



There is little timber in private ownership in southeastern Alaska. 

 All but about 1 % billion board feet is in the Tongass National Forest. 

 The volume of commercial timber in the Tongass National Forest 

 is estimated as follows : 



Board feet 

 Western hemlock, __ _ 58, 000, 000, 000 



Sitka spruce 15, 800, 000, 000 



Western red cedar 2, 350, 000, 000 



Alaska cedar 2, 350, 000, 000 



Total 78, 500, 000, 000 



The western hemlock and Sitka spruce stands are characteristi- 

 cally even aged. Many age classes are represented in the forest as a 

 whole, but the older classes are greatly in the majority, with perhaps 

 three fourths of the commercial timber of the region mature or 

 overmature. 



Although this 78.5 billion board feet of commercial timber averages 

 about 26 thousand board feet per acre, individual logging units vary 

 widely from this average. A volume of 30 to 40 thousand board feet 

 per acre is common on many extensive areas, and 50 thousand feet 

 or more per acre is not unusual on small units. The majority of the 

 merchantable trees are from 24 to 48 inches in diameter and from 90 

 to 140 feet high. 



The commercial forests extend from tidewater to an elevation of 

 about 1,500 feet. Because of prevailing steep slopes, they form 

 relatively narrow bands along the shore lines of the mainland and 

 islands, rarely extending inland more than 5 miles, except along the 

 valleys of the few large streams. A large percentage of the timber 

 can be logged directly to tidewater by the use of 2 or 3 logging engines 

 working tandem. Floating logging camps, easily towed from one 



