III. FORESTS AND RELATED ECONOMY 



Forest lands are defined as those normally having at least 10 percent 

 canopy cover of trees. 



About three-quarters of the Clark Fork study area is covered with forest 

 vegetation and three-quarters of that forested area is capable of pro- 

 ducing industrial quality wood. This large natural resource base 

 supports a substantial wood products industry. 



Commercial forest land is defined as that which can produce more than 



20 cubic feet of wood per acre per year. As shown in table 5, about 



58 percent of the 10-county land area is commercial forest land. See 



map V-II. (Map V-II was compiled prior to the existence of RARE II information) 



Ease of harvest and environmental constraints are not considered when 

 defining the area of commercial forest land. Therefore, some of the 

 forest classed as commercial is not available for harvest. Trees around 

 campgrounds and homes are generally cut only when they become dangerous. 

 Trees on very steep slopes are hard to reach and should remain to protect 

 the slopes from erosion. Some tree-covered areas on National Forests 

 will be left uncut to protect scenic values. 



Of the 1970 commercial timber base, 39 percent of it is prime forest 

 land, capable of growing in excess of 85 cubic feet of industrial wood 

 per acre per year. It is on this portion of the timber growing base that 

 financial returns to management are high enough to attract investment 

 capital. On the other 52 percent of the timber growing base, the rate of 

 return is less attractive and the land cannot economically receive inten- 

 sive management until such time that the projected value for wood 

 increases or there are technological innovations in management, manufac- 

 turing, or marketing of timber products. 



Thirty percent of the commercial timber growing base is in private owner- 

 ship consisting of forest industries, farmers, and miscellaneous private 

 entities. Only 11 percent of these private commercial forests have the 

 capacity to grow more than 85 cubic feet of wood per year as shown in 

 table 6. 



Thirty percent of all the commercial forest land is controlled by more 

 than 8,000 private owners. However, as few as 250 owners control 72 

 percent of the private timber base. About half of private owners control 

 less than 40 acres each and together they own only 3 percent of the pri- 

 vate timber base. These relationships are shown in table 7. 



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