Subalpine fir ranges from 3,500 feet to 

 timberline; it grows best with large 

 amounts of moisture, but has a wide range 

 and can stand extremely cold tempera- 

 tures. It is found in mixed forests with 

 lodgepole and white pine, spruce, and al- 

 pine larch. Subalpine fir grows very slowly 

 at high elevations, reaching a height of 

 only 60 to 70 feet at the age of 200 years, 

 and may look more like a shrub at tim- 

 berline. 



Subalpine fir 



Other trees in this band of severe cli- 

 matic conditions are whitebark pine, 

 Engelmann spruce, and, on lower levels, 

 lodgepole pine. Most trees become dwarfed 

 at the highest elevations, where July mean 

 temperatures are not more than 50 °F. 

 These trees also have to contend with bliz- 

 zards, deeply frozen soil, high winds, and 

 wide fluctuations in temperatures. At 

 higher elevations the principal ground 

 cover is timberline bluegrass, mosses, and 

 forbs. The subalpine areas provide sum- 

 mer range for many species of wildlife — 

 mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, deer, 

 bear, and mountain lion are among the 

 larger ones. 



Forests as Watersheds 



Montana is a headwaters state; three ma- 

 jor rivers have their beginnings here. 

 About 65 percent of the water that flows 

 out of state comes from rivers and streams 

 that start inside Montana's borders. Water 

 is one of the most valuable resources that 

 comes from our forests. People who will 

 never see our wooded mountains will use 

 water that once fell as snow or rain in 

 Montana's Rockies. For instance, an area 

 that has only 1 5 percent of the state's land 

 surface contributes a large amount of wa- 

 ter to the Columbia River Basin— 58 per- 

 cent of the total amount of water in the 

 Clark Fork drainage. Only about 10 per- 



cent of Montana's water is used in the 

 state; most of that goes to irrigate crops 

 and pasturelands. 



It would be hard to overestimate the im- 

 portance of forests to our watersheds. (A 

 watershed is a region or area that supplies 

 water to a lake or river.) Trees and shrubs 

 in the forests help to hold the snowpack 

 that builds up during our long cold winters; 

 the shade and undergrowth help to keep it 

 frozen. In some years, brief warming pe- 

 riods in January and February may melt 

 some of this snowpack. Often, though, be- 

 low-freezing temperatures keep it trapped 

 in the higher elevations. In May and June, 

 the snow melts and runs into streams and 

 rivers, providing more water for agricul- 

 ture, industry, home use, recreation, and 

 power generation. Some of this water is 

 stored in about 61,000 farm ponds and 67 

 reservoirs; there are also 1,500 natural 

 lakes in the state. 



(For more information on Montana's wa- 

 ter resources, see the Water chapter of this 

 series.) 



Forest Products 



Montana's lumber industry began as an 

 offshoot of her first industry, mining. The 

 first commercial lumber mill was set up in 

 Virginia City in 1863 to supply mine tim- 

 bers and building materials. The railroads 

 that advanced into Montana needed lum- 



