THE NATIONAL FORESTS OF IDAHO 6 



Before the national forests were established there was danger 

 that the timber might be destroyed by unwise methods of cutting 

 and lack of protection from fire. This destruction of the timber 

 would have entailed also the loss of the protection which the forests 

 give to the watersheds, upon which depend the flow of streams and 

 the supplies of water needed for irrigation, for power, and for do- 

 mestic and municipal use. Accordingly, in 1897 the first national 

 forest in Idaho was created by President Cleveland. Between that 

 date and 1907 many additional areas in the State were designated 

 as national forests by presidential proclamation. Since 1907, ex- 

 cept for minor additions, there has been little change in the total 

 area. At present there are 19 of these forests distributed over the 

 entire mountainous portion of the State. 



RESOURCES OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



Although timber is the principal resource of the forests, they con- 

 tain many other resources of great importance. The forage that 

 grows among the trees, on the open slopes and in the grassy parks 

 is grazed by about 1,585,000 head of livestock. The water flow- 

 ing in the streams that originate in the forests is used in irrigating 

 farms and in developing hydroelectric power. The forests them- 

 selves do not produce this water, it is true, but they assure a more 

 dependable and uniform stream flow. Also as an incident to their 

 situation, their character, and their management for timber, water, 

 and forage conservation, the national forests contain many recrea- 

 tional resources and provide good camping, fishing, and hunting. 



TIMBER 



The Forest Industry 



The forest industry is one of the three leading industries of the 

 State of Idaho. The annual cut of lumber during the past 10 years 

 has been about 821 million feet, as is shown in Table 1. The value 

 of all Idaho's timber products for 1923 was approximately $39,000,- 

 000. It has been estimated that about 80 per cent of this amount 

 remains within the State to pay for labor, supplies, and equipment. 

 The relation of the forests to the business interests of the State is, 

 therefore, very close, and their continuance on a permanent basis 

 is of primary importance. 



Table 1. — Lumber cut in Idaho, 1015-1923 (all species). 



Year : Board feet 



1915 777, 000, 000 



1916 846,107,000 



1917 749,764,000 



3918 802,529,000 



1919 765, 388, 000 



1920 969, 576, 000 



Year : Board feet 



1921 550, 077, 000 



1922 860,161,000 



1923 1, 073, 299, 000 



Average 821, 54f, 000 



Of approximately 83 billion board feet of standing merchantable 

 timber in the State about 49 billion board feet is in the national 

 forests, the remainder being on private or State land, or on public 

 lands outside the national forests. (See Table 2.) Because the 

 privately owned timber is more accessible it furnishes about 85 per 

 cent of the present yearly cut of 821 million board feet. The total 



