The diminished private timber supply is expected to 

 result in new demands for harvest in national forests. The 

 U.S. Forest Service has completed forest plans for each of 

 the national forests in the Clark Fork Basin. The plans show 

 the average harvest in the past and indicate the number of 

 acres available for timber management in the future (Table 4- 

 2) . Actual harvest in national forests in the future will be 

 increasingly managed to meet the Forest Service's multiple- 

 use criteria and to provide sustained yields of wood 

 products. As timber supplies diminish and demands increase, 

 forest management efforts will be intensified. 



TABLE 4-2. 



TIMBER MANAGEMENT IN NATIONAL FORESTS OF THE 

 CLARK FORK BASIN 



Average Annual Suitable 

 National Total Area^ Harvest (millions Timber 

 Forest (millions of acres) of board feet)i: facres)-^. 



Deer Lodge 



Bitterroot 



Lolo 



Kootenai 



Flathead 



Helena 



1.3 

 1.6 

 2.2 

 2.1 

 2.3 

 0.975 



1 



2 

 3 



Areas include parts of drainage not in Clark Fork Basin. 



Based on average harvest over variable time periods. 



Estimated acres suitable for producing commercial 

 timber. In some instances may include areas that are 

 designated as wilderness. 



Sources: USDA 1985b, c; 1986a, b; 1987a, b. 



WATER AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 



The following sections describe water available for 

 future development in the Clark Fork Basin. The first 

 section addresses those issues associated with surface water, 

 the second with ground water, and the third with water 

 exchanges. The probability of new federal irrigation 

 projects is discussed last. 



4-14 



