2 Miscellaneous Circular 48, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 MONTANA NATIONAL FORESTS 



There are seventeen national forests in Montana. Practically 

 all the State's timbered region east of the Continental Divide, and a 

 large portion of that to the west, is included within their boundaries. 

 Of 17,880,000 acres of publicly owned forests in Montana, 15,930,000 

 acres are in national forests, 560,000 acres belong to the State, 

 780,000 acres are Indian land, and a small amount is included in 

 military reservations, Glacier National Park, and unadministered 

 public domain. (See map, pages 14 and 15.) 



Most of the forested areas of Montana are more valuable for grow- 

 ing trees than for any other purpose. In this respect they are unlike 

 much of the forest that originally existed in the East and Middle 

 West, which was cleared away to make farms. Only a very small 

 part of the land now under cultivation in Montana had to be cleared. 

 How to make the best use of the timberlands in the State did not 

 involve the q'uestion of clearing them for agriculture, but rather the 

 means to be employed in making them produce timber in greater 

 quantity and better quality as a yearly crop in perpetuity. 



With a growing population, and with expanding industries facing 

 a constantly decreasing supply of timber, the necesssity for proper 

 management and utilization of the great forested public domain is 

 apparent. The national forests were set aside under an act of Con- 

 gress passed in 1891. Since 1905 they have been administered by the 

 Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. 

 The object aimed at in the administration of the national forests is 

 the best use of all their resources under such regulations as will in- 

 sure the permanency of these resources. Mature timber is for sale 

 and may be cut in accordance with the principles of scientific for- 

 estry ; where there is forage grazing of livestock is permitted ; where 

 water power is available its development under proper regulation is 

 encouraged; where there are recreational opportunities they are 

 open to the public; and where there are mineral deposits they may 

 be freely exploited. 



THE TIMBER RESOURCES OF MONTANA 



It is estimated that four-fifths of the timber in Montana is west of 

 the Continental Divide ; here is the seat of the lumber industry, and 

 here the large sawmills are located. The heavy growth of timber 

 is due directly to the rainfall caused by moisture-laden winds that 

 find their way inland from the Pacific Ocean. 



Magnificent stands of western yellow pine (see fig. 1), the most 

 widely distributed conifer of the West, grow in the Bitterroot, 

 Blackfoot, Thompson, and Flathead River Valleys, and in much 

 of the country tributary to the Kootenai River. It is estimated 

 that about 46 per cent of the total supply of western larch in the 

 United States is in Montana, practically all in the northwestern 

 counties (fig. 2). Intermixed with western yellow pine and larch 

 is Douglas fir, which stands high among the valuable timber trees 

 of Montana. Although some western white pine grows here- also, 

 the quantity cut is very small compared with what is taken from the 

 woods of northern Idaho and eastern Washington, and it can not 

 be considered one of the important timber trees of the State. 



