sitka spruce: uses, growth, management. 



29 



purposes, that the tree has habits of growth and hardiness that rec- 

 ommend it as a tree for the forester to favor and propagate for the 

 forests of the future. It should be the objective, therefore, of tim- 

 bermen and foresters so to manage spruce lands that they may be- 

 come reforested through natural seeding, and that the new crop may 

 contain a desirable admixture of Sitka spruce wherever this species 

 will thrive. 



Much of the land upon which the virgin forests of spruce occur 

 has agricultural value and will be put to that use after the removal 

 of the timber. On such lands no effort need be made by the forester 

 or lumberman to promote a new crop to take the place of the one 

 removed, but on all other lands this should be done. 



The rapid extension of logging operations in this type makes very 

 timely a discussion of methods of forest management which will in- 

 sure continuous crops of timber. 



OWNERSHIP. 



The present ownership of the commercial Sitka spruce is shown in 

 Table 10. 



Table 10. — Ownership of Sitka spruce timber, by classes of owners, in millions 



of feet, board measure. 



Ownership. 



Wash- 

 ington. 



Oregon. 



Cali- 

 fornia. 



Alaska. 



British 



Co- 

 lumbia. 





1,550 



720 

 4,205 



300 



(-) 

 4,074 



( 2 ) 



( 2 ) 

 187 



15, 000- 

 18,000 









State 



1,423 





( 2 ) 



12,742 







Total 



6,475 



4,374 



187 



15,000- 

 18,000 



14,165 





1 Including Indian reservation. 



; Negligible amount. 



From the above it is seen that in Alaska the Sitka spruce forests 

 are practically all under Federal control, but that in Washington, 

 Oregon, and California the bulk of this timber is in private owner- 

 ship. The perpetuation of forests of Sitka spruce and their future 

 welfare are largely in the hands of private owners and not under 

 the jurisdiction of public agencies of government. Many of the hold- 

 ings have been consolidated into units of 1,000 to 30,000 acres, though 

 small properties are not uncommon. The State lands of Washington 

 an; in v;i nous-sized blocks, which in the aggregate now amount to 

 about 10,000 acres. The Sitka spruce timberlands under Federal 

 control in Washington lie chiefly in the Olympic National Forest and 



