There are also hundreds of inactive metal mines in the 

 Clark Fork Basin, and many hold senior water rights for 

 consumptive uses. These rights are still valid, but the non- 

 use of water by inactive operations makes more water 

 available for junior water right holders (such as irrigators) 

 and contributes to instream water flows. 



FOREST PRODUCTS 



The forest products industry has played a major role in 

 the economy of the Clark Fork Basin. Nearly 77 percent of 

 the basin is forested and about three-fourths of that area is 

 capable of producing industrial-quality wood (USDA 1977) . 

 More than half of the forested area is federal land con- 

 trolled by the U.S. Forest Service; the remainder is divided 

 between state and private ownership (Table 2-3) . Most 

 private lands are held by just a few owners, such as Champion 

 International and Plum Creek Timber. 



TABLE 2-3. FOREST LAND OWNERSHIP IN THE CLARK FORK BASIN 



Federal State & Private Total Land 

 Forest Forest Area 



Area (acres) (acres) (acres) 



Upper Clark Fork(a) 1,713,640 606,180 3,525,600 



Lower Clark Fork(b) 3.384.680 420.049 5.736.130 



Total(c) 5,098,320 1,026,229 9,261,730 



(a) Upper Clark Fork: Deer Lodge, Granite, Powell, and 

 Silver Bow counties. 



(b) Lower Clark Fork: Mineral, Missoula, Ravalli, and 

 Sanders counties. 



(c) Does not include Flathead and Lake counties. 



Source: USDA 1977 



Since the early logging days when most timber was 

 supplied to mining camps, the industry has diversified to 

 include several large lumber mills, plywood manufacturers, 

 pulp and paper mill, log home manufacturers, post and pole 

 mills, miscellaneous building products manufacturers, and 



2-4 



