32 



TIMBER DEPLETION, PRICES, EXPORTS, AND OWNERSHIP. 



oak, hickory, ash, chestnut, yellow poplar, and other Valuable 

 hardwoods abounded. In the West practically all of the area 

 not too arid to support tree growth was also covered with a 

 forest of virgin timber interspersed with occasional patches of 

 younger, .even-aged stands, as of Douglas fir and western white 

 pine, following fire. Along the Pacific coast the heavy stands 

 of redwood, Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red 

 cedar formed one of the finest forests in the world. 



PRESENT FOREST AREA. 



To-day of the original forest area there remains but little 

 more than half or appi-oximately 463,000,000 acres, excluding 

 in both cases from 100 to 150 million acres of low-grade wood- 

 land and scrub. (See Table 4 and fig. 4.) Furthermore, 

 so far has the utilization of the original forest progressed 

 that of the total remaining area only 30 per cent, or 137 

 million acres, is virgin forest. The remainder includes 112 

 million acres of second-growth saw timber, 133 million acres 

 of second growth below saw-timber size, and 81 million acres 

 which are not restocking. Cutting has naturally been heaviest 

 in the most fertile and most densely populated sections of the 

 country. Thus in the Central States the original forest has 

 l)een reduced to one-third of its former extent, while in the 

 Rocky Mountains 95 per cent of it still remains. More than 

 half of the virgin forests of the country are in the Western 

 States, only 15 per cent of the virgin forest area being in- 

 cluded in the Northern and Central States. Over nearly a fifth 

 of the present forest area the original timber growth is not 

 being renewed. The Ip.rgest areas of nonrestocking land are 

 in northern New England, Pennsylvania, the northern Lake 

 States, the pine lands of the South Atlantic and Gulf States, and 

 parts of the Pacific coast States. 



Table 3. — Original and present forest areas in the United States 

 by regions. 



Region. 



New England 



Middle Atlantic 



Lake 



Central 



South Atlantic and East Gulf. 



Lower Mississippi 



Rocky Mountain 



Pacific coast 



Total 



Original. 



Acres. 

 38,908,000 

 69,610,000 

 103,680,000 

 170,560,000 

 170,240,000 

 128,400,000 

 63,720,000 

 77,120,000 



822,238,000 



Present. 



Total. 



Acres. 

 24,708,000 

 28,678,000 

 57,100,000 

 56,682,000 

 99,000,000 

 78,865,000 

 60,842,000 

 57,586,000 



463,461,000 



Virgin.. 



Acres. 



2,000,000 



1,896,000 



10,100,000 



7,150,000 



18,300,000 



20,835,000 



37,746,000 



39,369,000 



137,396,000 



TABLE 4.— Present forest area of the United States by regions 

 and character of groioth. 



Region. 



New England 



Middle Atlantic 



Lake 



Central 



South Atlantic and East 



Gulf - 



Lower Mississippi 



Rocky Mountain 



Paoiflccoast' 



Total 



Total 

 (thou- 

 sand 

 acres.) 



24,708 

 28,678 

 57,100 

 56,682 



99,000 

 78,865 

 60,842 

 57,586 



463,461 



Per cent. 



Saw timber 

 (thousand acres). 



Virgin. 



2,000 

 1,896 

 10,100 

 7,150 



18,300 

 20,836 

 37, 746 

 39,369 



137,396 



Grow- 

 ing. 



8,761 



9,559 



13,930 



23,301 



27,900 



20,200 



3,313 



5,292 



112,256 



Cord- 

 wood 

 (thou- 

 sand 

 acres). 



8,372 

 10,793 

 12, 570 

 24,011 



32,080 



24,075 



14,533 



6,425 



132, 859 



Non- 

 restock- 

 ing 

 (thou- 

 sand 

 acres.) 



5,575 



6,430 



20,500 



2,220 



20,720 

 13,755 

 5,250 

 6,500 



80,950 



1 Complete data for this region not available; total forest area probably some 

 6,000,000 acres more than indicated. 



Table 5. — Stand of saw timber in the United States by regions. 



Saw-tim- 

 ber area 

 (thousand 

 acres). 



New England 



Middle Atlantic 



Lake 



Central 



South Atlantic and East Gulf 



Lower Mississippi 



Rooky Mountam 



Pacific coast 



Total 



10, 761 

 11,455 

 24,030 

 30,451 

 46,200 

 41,035 

 41,059 

 44,661 



249,652 



Total saw timber. 



Million 

 board 

 feet. 



49, 799 

 44,867 

 110, 110 

 144,470 

 220,677 

 280,908 

 223, 141 

 ,141,031 



2,214,893 



Per 

 cent. 



100 



Softwood 



(niiilion 



board 



feet). 



38,480 



15,353 



40, 760 



11,318 



136,827 



148,308 



223, 141 



,141,031 



1,755,218 



Hard- 

 wood 

 (million 

 board 

 feet). 



11,319 

 29,504 

 69,350 



133, 152 

 83,750 



132,600 



SAW-TIMBER STANDS. 



The original stand of saw timber has been estimated at not 

 less than 5,200 billion board feet. In the light of the cut that 

 has already been obtained, and of present standards of utiliza- 

 tion, it is probable that the actual stand was considerably 

 larger. Even taking the lower figure, however, less than half 

 of the original stand, or 2,218 billion board feet, still remains 

 (see Table 5 and fig 5). Of this some 1,755 billion feet is 

 softwoods and 460 billion feet hardwoods. Approximately 70 

 per cent of the total stand, including the best and most acces- 

 sible timber, is in private ownership, while about 498 billion 

 board feet, or 22 per cent, is included in the National Forests. 

 States and municipalities together hold only 59 billion board 



/Veyv £nff/and 



A^/e/e//e Af/anf/c. 

 ia/ce 



.South At/anfic 

 anc/ ^ast Gu/f^ 



/.opyer /tf/SSI35>ppi — j 



,/focMy Mountain. 



* 

 focific Coast. 



M//ffon /Icres.-O /O BO 30 <0 so 60 70 



# Comp/ete data for t/?is region not ai'ai/able; total -forest area 

 probab/y Son?e -fife mii/ion acres rnore t/ran inc/icated. 



FXG. 4. — Forest areas of the United States by regions and character o( growth. 



90 



too 



