For this working circle, a management plan to improve growth and yield 

 should be thrcc-pronged: It would include conversion of high risk sawtimber 

 stands and many of the uneven aged, understocked, young growth sawtimber 

 stands to younger, fully stocked, mixed species stands; intermediate treat- 

 ments of submerchantable stands before the opportunity is lost; and a commit- 

 ment to increase stocking in understocked areas. (Opportunities to increase 

 stocking in understocked areas were most common for timberlands in the 20-49 

 site class category.) 



Production could be further increased through improved utilization of the 

 timber harvested. Employing the latest harvesting and milling technologies 

 would increase the board-foot volume recoverable per tree. These tech- 

 nologies include more efficient log manufacturing, smaller saw kerfs, and a 

 more efficient first cut by the sawyer. Some mills can currently saw smaller 

 diameter logs which increases production because smaller trees can be eco- 

 nomically harvested and more of each tree can be used. 



A major factor that will affect future yields of timber from private forest 

 lands will be the amount of the commercial timberland contained in relatively 

 small land holdings. In most cases, as forest lands are subdivided and 

 decrease in size, the owners become less willing to sell their timber. Thus, 

 as more of the forest land is developed and subdivided into smaller parcels, 

 more and more of the timber becomes physically and economically unavailable 

 for harvesting. 



When this inventory was conducted, only five percent of the sampled 

 commercial timberlands were placed in the other private-individual ownership 

 class. By definition, this ownership class is made up of private land owners 

 with holdings of 40 acres or less. The majority of the timberland sampled (62 

 percent) was placed in the farmer/ rancher owner class. Information and 

 education programs could make these landowners more aware of forest manage- 

 ment opportunities. Unfortunately, many individuals need to be contacted 

 before much forest acreage can be treated. 



Timber production will be a major and probably a primary use of the 

 land for those timber lands owned by the forest industries and the Montana 

 Department of State Lands (about 25 percent of the total). The outlook for 

 timber production on the two-thirds of the commercial timberland owned by 



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