STUMPAGE SITUATION IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST 25 



result in wholesale destruction of the forests to prevent loss on 

 the part of the owners. A very good illustration is shown in the 

 case of a certain tract of white pine in northern Idaho. Approxi- 

 mately 8,000 acres were purchased in the region in 1906 under 

 severe competitive conditions, at prices very near the true value 

 of the stumpage. During the next decade white pine lumber ac- 

 tually decreased in value $ .88 per 1,000 board feet. The carry- 

 ing charges and return on the money invested demand that the 

 timber be worth 125% more than the original purchase price. 

 Four thousand acres of timber adjoining the 8,000 acres pur- 

 chased in 1906 were acquired under competitive conditions in 

 1916. ^The prices paid were less per claim and less per 1,000 feet 

 than for the contiguous tracts of timber purchased 10 years be- 

 fore. From these figures it is clearly seen that the calculated 

 advance in stumpage did not materialize; in fact, during the 

 period, based upon the selling prices of the finished product, the 

 value of the standing timber actually decreased. During 1916, 

 however, the selling prices of white pine lumber have advanced 

 and the condition of stumpage has greatly improved. The 4,000 

 acres mentioned above were recently resold, for immediate cut- 

 ting, at a very substantial profit. 



White pine is a highly specialized wood. It is used for certain 

 purposes for which there are no suitable substitutes. The ease 

 with which the wood can be worked, together with its light color, 

 even grain and freedom from shrinkage, warping and checking 

 after seasoning, makes it highly desirable in the mill-working in- 

 dustries. Millwork plants consume over 50% of the total output. 

 The demand for white pine is always strong. The supply of 

 standing timber is strictly limited. There should be a steady rise 

 in the price of lumber and of stumpage, as the exploitation of the 

 forests depletes the supply. 



Coast species, Douglas fir, western hemlock, western red cedar, 

 white fir, redwood, spruce and others of less importance occur in 

 heavy stands covering large areas. These woods, especially the 

 firs and the hemlock, have no highly specialized uses, and actively 

 compete with each other in the general trade. Statistics stated 

 elsewhere show that Douglas fir, the species having the greatest 

 volume of standing timber, the largest output, and the most di- 

 versified uses of all coast trees, decreased in value $3.61 per 1,000 

 feet b. m. in the ten-year period following 1906. Th value of 

 stumpage has declined in exact ratio to the drop in the price of 

 the manufactured product. 



The selling prices of coast stumpage have not actually been 

 lowered in recent years, neither have they advanced perceptibly. 

 Substantial profits have been BMide on recent sales of standing fir 

 timber, but the rise in prices was not due to increased values per 

 thousand feet, but rather because more careful estimating has 

 revealed heavier stands than earlier cruises indicated. Many of 



