34 



National Resources Committee 



are essentially in equilibrium for large areas and long 

 periods of time. 



The settlement of the country and the development 

 of its forest industries have upset this equilibrium. To 

 the natural losses have been added the trees felled by 

 the lumberjacks' saws; fires have increased in number 

 but have been fought by organized protective systems, 

 and overmature forests have been partially replaced by 

 thrifty young stands. Up to the present, use has far 

 exceeded growth, minus natural losses, so that the 

 forest capital of the Region has been heavily reduced. 



The net growth is, however, increasing rapidly. This 

 is an inevitable outcome of the progressive cutting of 

 the overmature timber, in which there is no net growth, 

 and the establishment in its place, with the aid of 

 organized fire protection, of thrifty second-growth 

 stands. There is little reliable information even on 

 the present rate of growth of the Region, either gross or 

 net, and many guesses published in recent years have 

 been ambiguous. A study of growth is one of the 

 projects of the Federal Forest Sm-vey, now in progress, 

 but to date only the Douglas fir region of western 

 Oregon and Washington has been completed. 



OWNERSHIP OF MATURE CONIFEROUS 

 TIMBER LAND 

 IN COLUMBIA BASIN STATES 



\vyy'//////A.7y/////////A^3Wi^ 



EASTERN 

 .MONTANA 



EASTERN 

 WASHINGTON 



^ WESTERN 

 ; WASHINGTON 



WESTERN 

 OREGON 



^ 



20 30 40 50 60 70 60 

 PERCENTAGE OF SUBDIVISION AREA 



90 100 



NATIONAL FORESTS 

 J NATIONAL PARKS 

 I REVESTED LAND 



INDIAN LAND 



STATE LAND 



COUNTY LAND 



OTHER PUBLIC 

 LAND 



PRIVATE LAND 



AREA OF SQUARE REPRESENTS MATURE CONIFEROUS 

 TIMBER LAND OF REGION OR 43 MILLION ACRES 



AREAS OF RECTANGLES REPRESENT AREAS IN 

 OWNERSHIPS ACCORDING TO ABOVE LEGEND 



NUMERALS ARE AREAS IN MILLIONS OF ACRES 



FlQHKE 16. 



In this Douglas fir region, the current growth per 

 year is found to be only 2.G billion feet * a year (1.6 in 

 Oregon and 1.0 in Washington). This is not the gross 

 growth, for it ignores the growth accruing on the vast 

 areas of mature timber, it being assumed that in these 

 stands growth is completely neutralized by losses from 

 disease, insects and other causes. On the other hand, 

 it is not the net growth, for no allowance has been 

 made for losses by fire occurring in the stands of grow- 

 ing age nor for the wipmg out of mature stands by 

 fire. While statistics on fire losses have been kept for 

 a number of years, it is impossible to calculate a re- 

 liable average loss per annum; the assumed frequency 

 of such catastrophes as the Tillamook burn, which de- 

 stroyed some 1 1 billion feet in a few days, overshadows 

 the average losses of more normal years. Allowing for 

 a considerable salvage of Douglas fir from burned areas, 

 a deduction of 700 million feet per annum seems not 

 unreasonable, leaving the net growth at 1.9 billion 

 feet (1.1 in Oregon and 0.8 in Washington). 



This figure is insignificant when compared to the 



' Lumber tally. 



OWNERS-HIP OF SECOND GROWTH 

 TIMBER LAND 

 IN COLUMBIA BASIN STATES 



EASTERN 

 MONTANA 



EASTERN 

 WASHINGTON 



WESTERN 

 WASHINGTON 



WESTERN 

 OREGON 



-r 



10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 



PERCENTAGE OF SUBDIVISION AREA 



^ 



NATIONAL FORESTS 



NATIONAL PARKS 



REVESTED LAND 



INDIAN LAND 



AREA OF SQUARE REPRESENTS SECOND GROWTH TIMBER. 

 LAND OF REGION OR 28 MILLION ACRES 



AREAS OF RECTANGLES REPRESENT AREAS IN 

 OWNERSHIPS ACCORDING TO ABOVE LEGEND 



NUMERALS ARE AREAS IN MILLIONS OF ACRES 

 J ir.URE 17. 



