32 



TIMBER DEPLETION, PRICES, EXPORTS, AND OWNERSHIP. 



oak, hickory, ash, chestnut, yellow poplar, and other valuable 

 hardwoods abounded. In the West practically all of the area 

 not too arid to support tree growth was also covered with a 

 forest of virgin timber interspersed with occasional patches of 

 younger, even-aged stands, as of Douglas fir and western white 

 pine, following fire. Along the Pacific coast the heavy stands 

 of redwood, Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red 

 cedar formed one of the finest forests in the world. 



PRESENT FOREST AREA. 



To-day of the original forest area there remains but little 

 more than half or approximately 463,000,000 acres, excluding 

 in both cases from 100 to 150 million acres of low-grade wood- 

 land and scrub. (See Table 4 and fig. 4.) Furthermore, 

 so far has the utilization of the original forest progressed 

 that of the total remaining area only 30 per cent, or 137 

 million acres, is virgin forest. The remainder includes 112 

 million acres of second-growth saw timber, 133 million acres 

 of second growth below saw-timber size, and 81 million acres 

 which are not restocking. Cutting has naturally been heaviest 

 in the most fertile and most densely populated sections of the 

 country. Thus in the Central States the original forest has 

 been reduced to one-third of its former extent, while in the 

 Rocky Mountains 95 per cent of it still remains. More than 

 half of the virgin forests of the country are in the Western 

 .States, only 15 per cent of the virgin forest area being in- 

 cluded in the Northern and Central States. Over nearly a fifth 

 of the present forest area the original timber growth is not 

 being renewed. The le.rgest areas of nonrestocking land are 

 in northern New England, Pennsylvania, the northern Lake 

 States, the pine lands of the South Atlantic and Gulf States, and 

 parts of the Pacific coast States. v. 



TABLE 3. Original and present forest areas in the United States 

 by regions. 



TABLE 4. Present forest area of the United States by regions 

 and character of growth. 



1 Complete data for this region not available; total forest area probably some 

 5,000,000 acres more than indicated. 



TABLE 5. Stand of saw timber in the United States by regions. 



SAW-TIMBER STANDS. 



The original stand of saw timber has been estimated at not 

 less than 5,200 billion board feet. In the light of the cut that 

 has already been obtained, and of present standards of utiliza- 

 tion, it is probable that the actual stand was considerably 

 larger. Even taking the lower figure, however, less than half 

 of the original stand, or 2,215 billion board feet, still remains 

 (see Table 5 and fig 5). Of this some 1,755 billion feet is 

 softwoods and 460 billion feet hardwoods. Approximately 70 

 per cent of the total stand, including the best and most acces- 

 sible timber, is in private ownership, while about 498 billion 

 board feet, or 22 per cent, is included in the National Forests. 

 States and municipalities together hold only 59 billion board 



30 <? o so 



, *"*"**'<>'. 



m,//, on acres more 



/OO 



FIG. 4.-Forest areas of the United States by j. ?g i OD a^d character of growth. 



