TIMBER DEPLETION", PBICES, EXPOETS, AND OWNEESHIP. 



33 



New Englanit 



Middle Atlantic-- 



Lake- .. 



Centre!. 



«Jm** Atlantic and 



Cdjt euif.:-,,-\ 



Lower M/\ssiesrppi 

 Reeky Mountain. 

 Paafie Coast- 



100 



200 



000 



400 



600 



Fig. 5.- 



JOO 600 700 



BILLION BOARD FCLT 

 Stand of saw timber in the United States by regions. 



SOO 



1000' 1100' 



1200 



feet, or less than 3 per cent of the total. (See Table 6 and 

 fig 6.) 



The exhaustion of the eastern forests and the steady progress 

 of the lumber industry toward the West Is well indicated by 

 the location of the remaining stands of sawtimber. Thus, New 

 England, the Middle Atlantic, Central, and Lake States, with 

 35 per cent of the total forest area, contain only 349 billion 

 board feet, or 16 per cent of the total ; while the Pacific Coast 

 States, with only 13 per cent of the forest area, contain 1,141 

 billion board feet, or nearly 52 per cent of the total. (See 

 fig 7.) Between these two extremes come the. South At- 

 lantic, East Gulf, and Lower Mississippi States, with 39 per 

 cent of the forest area and 23 per cent of the sawtimber; and 

 the Eocky Mountain States, with 13 per cent of the forest 

 area and 10 per cent of the sawtimber. Altogether, 61 per 

 cent of the present stand of sawtimber lies west of the Great 

 Plains. 



In other words, the depletion of our eastern forest resources 

 has now reached the point where the softwood stands in the 

 Northern and Central States can no longer contribute any large 

 proportion of the total softwood lumber consumption of the 

 country, where the Southern States are losing the command- 

 ing position that they have held for the last 20 or 30 years, 

 and where the one great reservoir of softwood timber still left 

 lies on the Pacific coast, chiefly in the Pacific Northwest. 

 Douglas fir, with an estimated total stand of 596 billion board 

 feet, approximately 85 per cent of which is in the two States 

 of Washington and Oregon, is the principal species in the West. 

 (See Table 7 and fig. 8.) Western yellow pine is a fair 

 second, with a total stand of 250 billion board feet, 2J per cent 

 of which is in the Kocky Mountains and 73 per cent on the 

 Pacific coast. Following these two species, which together com^ 



prise nearly half of the softwood sawtimber in the entire coun- 

 try, come western hemlock, the true firs, and redwood, with 

 stands of 95, 91, and 72 billion board feet, respectively. 



Table 6. — Ownership of forest area and stand of sawtimber 

 in the United States hy regions. 



' AREA. 



STAND. 



Eastern United States.. 



Rocky Moimtains 



Pacific Coast 



Total 



Million 

 board 

 feet. 

 860,721 

 223,141 

 1,141,031 



2,214,893 



Million 



board 



feet. 



8,184 



157,618 



434,300 



600,102 



Million 

 board 

 feet. 



4,184 

 145,449 

 348,000 



497,633 



Million 

 board 

 feet. 



10,000 

 9,791 



39,000 



58,791 



Million 

 board 

 feet. 



832,537 

 55,732 



667, 731 



1,556,000 



Million 

 board 

 feet. 



340,288 



S 



' Not indicated because of lack of data. 



In the East the only softwood with a stand comparable to 

 any of these is southern yellow pine, with a total of 258 billion 

 board feet, or slightly more than western yellow pine. (See 

 Table 7 and fig 8.) Spruce and fir come next, with a stand 



Eastern US. 



Rocfty Mountains 



Pacific Coast 





ISO 200 



AREA — MILLION ACRES 



Z50 



300 



aso 



Eastern U.S. 

 Rochy Mountains 

 Pacific Coast 



E 



100 



zoo 



300 



400 



500 



Nations/ Forest 

 other Public 



600, 

 STAND 



700 800 



■^BILLION Bd.Ft. 



900 



1000 



1100 



1200 



1300 



1400 



Farm Woodlota in Eastern U.S. 

 , (Not estimated for wdsfern U.S.) 



D Other Private 



