LUMBER 



Until the mid 1950' s ponderosa pine one inch (U/U) and 

 thicker boards were the mainstay of the Montana lumber indus- 

 try. Since that time both Douglas-fir and western larch 

 have exceeded it in the volume produced. By far the greater 

 portion of these two species have been processed into two 

 inch (8/U) dimension lumber. This is in turn used as struc- 

 tural members in wood frame construction. In these species 

 the one inch (li/U) boards are confined to the highest quality 

 upper grades of lumber or to the lowest grades of lumber found 

 in jacket boards developed in the process of making dimension 

 lumber . 



Engelmann spruce has also increased in the volume used 

 since 1950. This increase was brought about by the effort 

 exerted to salvage stands of spruce killed by insect epidemic. 



Other species, including lodgepole pine and the true firs, 

 also have accounted recently for an increasing amount of 

 Montana's total lumber production. 



Most of the lumber produced is sold and shipped out of 

 state as a partially finished consumer product. Lumber differs 

 from its tree resource form in that it has definite size and 

 shape and is segregated according to its quality, or grade 



-U5- 



