The Forests 



More Than Eighteen Million Acres 

 of Timber-Land in Montana Arc 

 Administered by the Federal Gov- 

 enment, Furnishing Grazing to 

 livestock and Conserving State's 

 Timber and Water Resources. 



By F. A. SILCOX, 



District Forester of the United States 

 Forest Service. 



Supplementing its 60,000,000 acres of rich valley and bench, agricultural 

 and grazing lands, Alontana has approximately 30 million acres of mountain 

 lands, for the most part timbered. Of this mountainous area 18,977,580 

 acres are included within National Forests. The best data available rough- 

 ly classifies national forest area 73% timber: 20% open grazing parks inter- 

 mixed with the timber; 2% agricultural; 5% barren, rocky mountain tops. 



The area classified as timber land includes all of the ground 

 Area and upon which now stands or upon which will grow timber either 

 Value of the for commercial use or Avatershed protection. Protection forests 

 Forest cover about 2,874,000 acres and are located on the headwaters 



Resources, of streams in the high ranges and have little or no commercial 

 value. Commercial forests cover about 7,882,000 acres. The 

 timber is yellow pine, lodgepolc, larch, red fir, hemlock, white fir, white 

 pine and cedar, either in pure stands or stands of varying mixtures. 



The total estimated stand of commercial timber in the State of Montana 

 is approximately 65,600.000 M. feet B. M., of which 33% is in private owner- 



-Several transcontinental railroads stretch ribbons of civilization across Montana. 



