FOREST PLANTINGS 



Approximately 1 million acres of idle, non-stocked, 

 commercial forest land in Montana are contributing 

 nothing to existing sawmills or to present landowners. 

 Three -fourths of these acres are west of the Continental 

 Divide, where milling capacity already exceeds the 

 available supply. It is sometimes argued that, because 

 it will take such a long time for planted areas to 

 produce timber, new plantings will not be helpful. This 

 is not true because the annual allowable cut is based 

 on the amount of growing stock and the quality of ^he 

 timber sites. The annual cut can be increased 

 immediately following planting of idle lands without 

 fear of exceeding the sustained yield. 



Little can be done to improve stocking in sawtimber 

 and pole-sized timber stands until the areas are harvested 

 and a new stand is started. In the cases of poorly 

 stocked seedling and sapling stands, productivity can 

 be increased and stand composition improved by "fill-in" 

 planting. 



Montana's reforestation accomplishments can be seen 

 from the chart below. The acres planted each year do not 



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