I 



MANAGEMENT PLANS THE NATIONAL, FOEESTS 77 



(d) Practical considerations — Markets. — The lumber needs of the Rio Pueblo 

 Valley do not exceed 25,000 board feet per year. More than enough side lumber 

 will be mr.nufactured from the exploitation of the tie timber in the working 

 circle to supply this demand perpetually. In fact, the full utilization of side lum- 

 ber will be a problem for many years to come because of the economic imprac- 

 ticability of getting it to a general market. 



The inhabitants of the Mora Valley are not dependent on this working circle 

 for their forest products. Their supply is gotten from the east slope of the 

 range. 



Neither is Taos Valley dependent on the Rio Pueblo timber. There is more 

 than sufficient timber in the Taos drainage to supply the inhabitants with all 

 their needs. 



Because of the high cost of railroad construction due to difficult topography 

 and because of the impossibility of driving logs down the small streams to 

 supply a sawmill located at Embudo, the exploitation of the Rio Pueblo timber 

 for lumber is not now economically feasible. Also, Engelmann spruce, cork- 

 bark fir, and white fir are species which are not in favor for lumber production. 

 A large percentage of the timber in the working circle is composed of these 

 species. For this reason alone the stand is an unattractive chance for a large 

 lumber operator. 



There is a strong demand for crossties for the Santa Fe Railroad, which has 

 absorbed the entire output of this area since 1908. The initial investment 

 necessary to exploit a stand for ties is small. A large percentage of ties are 

 hewn in the woods. All logs over 12 inches in diameter are taken to small 

 portable mills and sawed into ties. Furthermore, ties are comparatively small, 

 easily handled in rough country, and can successfully be driven in a stream 

 the size of the Rio Pueblo. 



There is no local demand to absorb the side lumber which could be cut in 

 the small mills in producing ties. Accordingly, only enough is cut to supply 

 construction needs in connection with the operation, and to supply near-by 

 farmers who buy an occasional wagonload. The problem of marketing side 

 lumber from the operation has been given much thought by the supervisor's 

 office, but no solution has been found to date. 



Mine timbers could be gotten to the shipping point as economically as ties. 

 If a market developed for such material the utilization of unused tops and of 

 thinnings, especially from the spruce stands, would add greatly to the forest 

 revenue, as well as allowing the practice of better forestry from a silvicultural 

 and utilization standpoint. Such a market does not now exist. 



Besides the large volume of spruce and cork-bark fir, both excellent pulp 

 woods, there is an area of 30,882 acres covered by a stand of aspen estimated 

 to carry 300,000 cords. In case the White Rock Canyon dam is built in the 

 Rio Grande there would be sufficient power generated to operate a large pulp 

 mill, which could draw on the pulp stands in the upper Rio Grande drainage. 



For the next decade it is unlikely that any markets other than the existing 

 one for crossties will be developed. Nevertheless, in order to utilize all mate- 

 rial fully it is absolutely necessary that this question of markets for pulp 

 wood or mine timbers be kept in mind at all times. The most desirable form 

 of forest management can not be practiced without an outlet for thinnings 

 and unusued tops. Therefore it is up to forest officers on the ground to seize 

 the first market opportunity that presents itself. 



Logging and accessibility : It is possible to construct roads with steep grades 

 into practically every canyon so that with the exception of isolated rocky areas 

 of small extent the entire working circle is accessible. 



The present plan of operation provides that all logs under 12 inches in 

 diameter at the small end shall be hewn into ties in the woods. Large logs are 

 sawed into ties. The small tributary canyons carry a flow of water for at least 

 several months every year. Both sawed and hewn ties are flumed to the main 

 Rio Pueblo, down which they are driven to Embudo. and thence down the Rio 

 Grande to Domingo, the shipping point on the Santa Fe Railroad, a total driving 

 distance of 95 miles. 



Water: The Rio Pueblo watershed is one of the best, watered regions of New 

 Mexico. Permanent streams flow in all the main canyons and many of the 

 branch streams carry a perpetual flow of water. This watershed is an im- 

 portant tributary of the Rio Grande and accordingly is of great value in 

 conserving water for irrigation purposes. 



