FORESTRY 



Situation 



Montana's land area totals approximately 93.1 million 

 acres, of which approximately 23 million acres are 

 forested; of this, about 62 percent (14.4 million acres) is 

 classified as commercial forest land. A third of Montana's 

 commercial forest land is under small private and large in- 

 dustrial ownership. Sixty-seven percent of Montana's 

 commercial forest land is under state, U.S. Forest Service, 

 and other public management (DNRC 1980). 



communities are disrupted, wildlife habitat is af- 

 fected, vistas are altered, watersheds are damaged, 

 and man becomes a more frequent visitor. The 

 districts are particularly concerned over land use 

 conversions affecting forest and related resources, 

 sedimentation problems caused by improper 

 forestry activities, erosion, and a need for increas- 

 ed reforestation activities. 



Loss of commercial forest land is discussed in the sec- 

 tions on Food and Fiber Production, Changes in Land 

 Use, and Rural Development, but it is primarily addressed 

 in this section. In the small private sector, subdivisions 

 have depleted the commercial forest land base. For exam- 

 ple, the number of forest landowners in Montana has in- 

 creased from about 9,500 in 1969 to over 25,000 in 1979, 

 an increase of over 163 percent. As the larger ownerships 

 are divided into smaller ones (often as small as 3 to 5 

 acres), the land is essentially lost as a source of commer- 

 cial timber (DNRC 1980). 



In 1978 projections indicated that the demand for 

 timber is expected to remain at current levels in the 1990's 

 with a gradual increase of approximately 30 percent oc- 

 curring by 2030. An increased share of the forest produc- 

 tion is expected to come from small forestland (both 

 privately- and state-managed), with much more assistance 

 needed by individual landowners (DNRC 1980). 



Objectives 



Concerns 



Improper timber harvest and related forestry 

 activities can result in serious environmental 

 damage. Sometimes roads are poorly built, plant 



A) To make contact with the small forest 

 landowner through additional state foresters work- 

 ing on the Forestry Assistance Programs of the 

 DNRC Division of Forestry. The CDD will support 

 efforts to obtain these additional state foresters. 

 See Part B, Objective 51 of the Work Plan. 



Rationale: Since the number of forest land- 

 owners is expected to increase, foresters are need- 

 ed to make these forest landowners aware of the 

 management programs available to them. 



B) To adopt forestry practices for the CDs' 

 water quality management plans; the CDD will 

 assist CDs to use the practices outlined by the 

 Department of Health and Environmental 

 Sciences. The CDD will obtain the DNRC Forestry 

 Division's approval of the forestry practices prior 

 to recommending them to the CDs. See Part B, 

 Objective 52 of the Work Plan. 



Rationale: The CDs need to make forestry 

 product producers aware of water quality 

 maintenance practices. 



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