208 TIMBER VALUATION 



Spokane — the distributing center for the Inland Empire 

 and the marketing point for silver pine, western larch and 

 Douglas fir from northern Idaho and eastern Washington. 



Since then the timber with the shortest haul to market has the 

 highest value it follows that the highest stumpage prices will be 

 found in the eastern part of the United States where the bulk of 

 the population lives and the major portion of the manufacturing 

 is done. White pine, walnut and white ash have already reached 

 stumpage prices of $15 per M board feet in New England, New 

 York, Pennsylvania and the Lake States. From this maximum 

 prices taper off to the vanishing point for the less desirable species 

 in inaccessible localities. In the southeast yellow poplar, yellow 

 pine, cypress, walnut, ash and oak have all risen in value to 

 nearly $10 per M on accessible properties. The less valuable 

 hardwoods, like black oak and tupelo gum for example, are, how- 

 ever, still selling for less than $5 per M. In the Rocky Mountain 

 region and on the Pacific coast stumpage prices are in general 

 well below $5 per M even for the largest and most accessible tim- 

 ber. In fact the only places where anything like this amount has 

 been realized have been isolated communities in the semi-arid 

 districts where the supply of standing timber was limited and long 

 wagon hauls made importation out of the question. 



Stumpage prices are governed by distance from market almost 

 irrespective of use value. In other words, no matter how fine 

 timber may be it must be near to market to bring a good price 

 standing. An extreme example of this is the case of the tropical 

 hardwoods. Bringing fancy prices at the wholesale markets in 

 the form of boards or even hewed logs the trees themselves are 

 worth less than $1 per M. The cost of logging with native labor 

 in a tropical climate and the long sea voyage absorb all the mar- 

 gin which with more accessible species goes to the owner of 

 stumpage. 



In order to determine what prices will be in the future it is 

 necessary to know how they have acted in the past. Fig. 14 

 brings together figures on past stumpage prices. Furthermore 

 Sauerbeck's index figures are given in order to give a basis for 

 comparing fluctuations in stumpage prices with the changes in 



