22- MISC. PUBLICATION 11, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURH 



AKKA ( AlKKS ) 



Timbered, lOT.GOli;' uoiitimbcrcd, 2V,.T2U; tot;il, 11)4,381. 



1 



STAND 



Voluiiu' of stimd in troos 10 inches and over. d. !>. li., 4(j8,n09,000 fivt b. ni. 

 CxnjiM'sition. 100 per cent western yellnw pine. 



KOIATIO.N 



One hundred and forty years, divided into four cutting; eyele.s of 35 years 

 each. 



I'ER CK.VT OK MElUMlA.NTAm.E STANO TO UK REMOVED l.\ KIUST CUTTING CYCLE 



Seventy per cent by volume (approximate). 



YIELD 



Average animal eut. 7.000,000 feet b. ni.; total cut. 1921-1930, inclusive, 

 70,000,<X»0 feet 1». ni. The indicated acreaf,'e tliat can he cut over annually is 

 3,138 acres. 



I'KUUCTED CUT IN SECOND CUTTINC CYCLE 



Twelve million tliree hundred and f(»rty-si\- thousand feet board niea.^ure 

 per year. 



INTRODUCTION 



The Custer workin;,' circle of the Harney National Forest is established to 

 provide a sustained yield of tindter for a permanent woods industry. This 

 industry will insure a steady income for the towns within the circle. Directly 

 or indirectly, a large portion of the population of Custer and adjoining terfi- 

 toiy is deiM-ndeiit upon the timber business for a livelihood. 



Custer, the larjrest and most important town within the circle, has some 

 GOO inhal)itants. Originally the mining industry providtnl the principal source 

 of income. To-day, however, only a very small amount of prospecting and 

 as.sessment work is being carried on. No mines are running. There is very 

 little promise of any considerable development in the near future. Next to 

 logging and lumbering, ranching is the most important industry. There are 

 no manufactories in Custer. It serves mainly as a supply center for the lumber- 

 men and ranchers within the circle. 



Pringle, the only other town in the circle, has less than 100 inhabitants and 

 is of secondary importance". It serves as a supply point for the southern 

 sawmills and ranchers and is a .shipping point for cattle and lumber. Pringle 

 is about 12 miles south of Custer on the Dcnver-Deadwood Highway and the 

 Chicago, Turlington i^ Quincy Railroad. A sustained yield of timber will 

 unquestionably benefit the town. 



Assurance of a sustainetl yield within this circle will undoubtedly bring 

 about the erection of a finishing or woodworking plant at Custer that will be 

 able to handle all of the yearly cut of luml)er. Such a plant will mean that 

 the small operator need not dei)end ui)on the Chicago. lUirlington & Quincy 

 Railroad for a market, except for ties. P.oth large and small operators can 

 sell direct to such a plaid. Th(>re will l)e little tendency to shiit their i)rodiicts 

 out of the Black Hills. Better and closer utilization will result. Economic 

 conditions in the circle will improve accordingly. The inhal>itaids are bound 

 to be more prosjjerous. 



The fact that most of the ranchers sp«'nd much of their time working at 

 some other occupation clearly indicates tliat ranching is not a paying proposi- 

 tion on the whole, altlmugh it will undoubtedly always be carried on to some 

 exterd. Lumbering' furnishes yearlong occupation, and an increasing number 

 of jM-rsoiis desire |o engage in it. A sustaintnl yield of timber is therefore a 

 very necessary adjunct to the ec<)ncmuc life of the circle, and vitally important 

 to the town of Custer. 



» InrludpB 394 ncros classifled as Inaccessible. 



