THE LOGGING ENGINEER IN THE PACIFIC 



NORTHWEST 



BY A LOGGING ENGINEER 



' I X CE entering corporation rather 

 than GoYernment or State em- 

 v. I have received quite a 

 nurnbf tters from prospective for- 



esters asking for information as to just 

 what opportunities were <: tiered a tech- 

 nical man with private logging aiid_ tim- 

 ber companies in this section of tht 

 country. The purpose of this article 

 vdll be I set forth very frankly the 

 advantages and drawbacks of such em- 

 ployment : the ultimate reward to which 

 he may look forward, if successful, and 

 the special preparation needed for this 

 particular line of work. 



In the Pacific Northwest we are r. 

 yet to that stage of development in 

 which our timbermen and millowners 

 can see the end of their resources in 

 the near future and are sufficiently 

 -ed by the prospect into taking -teps 

 r a perpetual timber yield. 

 .-"a matter of fact we cannot even ap- 

 proximately utilize our present waste. 

 "We are simply in the position of "V\is- 

 ::sin and Minnesota in the 90's with 

 the important exception that our busi- 

 ness men are wiser from past experi- 

 ence and the m< si I them more than 

 willing to take any necessary step- 

 avoid the serious consequences of an 

 exhau-v. a : ur timber supply, pro- 

 vided they can get together, as to ways 

 and means, and can be shown that dol- 

 lar^ invested now will at least earn their 

 5 per cent a year. That we are pro- 

 gre^ing along the right lines is shown 

 by our forest fire laws and their effec- 

 tive enforcement, and bv the very able 

 work done by Mr. E. T. Allen, fore- r 

 [or ti mbined timber and fire ass - 

 ciatio: - our Northwestern States. 



So far this work has been mostly edu- 

 cational and tending toward the enact- 

 ment of such laws as will enable the 

 work of providing for future genera- 

 tions to be put on a sound and pr fit- 

 able basis. 



I would like to call attention to one 

 fundamental difference in the situation 



: ;hese Northwestern States to day. 

 and that of \Yisconsin and Minnesota 

 in a like stage of their timber develop- 

 ment, namely, the great national forests 

 occupying the greater part of our 

 mountainous country, which will not 

 only serve as an example of practical 

 conservation, but furnish a very con- 

 siderable source of permanent timber 

 supply around which, and modeled on 

 which, we can maintain our large 

 private holdings of the future. 



AYhile these foregoing paragraphs 

 may seem quite a digression from my 

 subject. they are necessary to an intel- 

 ligent understanding of the field _ in 

 which the labor of the future logging 

 engineer is to be spent. It is so easy 

 the young forester, fresh from his 

 studies of the latest and most advanced 

 methods, to make the mistake of con- 

 demning local methods before fully un- 

 derstanding the underlying principles 

 and conditions which may justify the-c 

 seemingly incorrect and wasteful ways 

 of going at things. Let him first ask 

 himself "Why," and after thoroughly 

 threshing it out he will be in a better 

 position to suggest change-. 



First and foremost, you mu-t 

 specialize on the importance of the log- 

 ging railroad. The railroad is the main 

 artery of the modern logging _p\ant. 

 and. "aside from the timber itself, it is 

 the most important consideration in 

 planning for a logging operation. 



Under this head comes your topog- 

 raphy taken in connection with a thor- 

 3Ugh" reconnaissance of the entire tract. 

 You will have very little use for trian- 

 o-ulation or traverse methods in tins- 

 first preliminary examination. The 

 general mapping will be done by pacing 

 and the use of the aneroid, with check- 

 on the section and quarter - I a corn- 

 ers. All section lines should be run out 

 and reblazed and the mapping done by 

 the contour method using from '2* 

 50 foot contours, depending on the re- 

 l ; ef of the country, and accuracy re- 

 quired. 



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