WHAT THE NATIONAL FORESTS MEAN TO MONTANA 



By K. D. SWAN, Forest Examiner, Forest Service 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Montana richly endowed 1 



Montana natinal forests 2 



The timber resources of Montana 2 



The lumber industry 4 



Grazing 7 



Water power 11 



Irrigation 12 



Mining 16 



Page 



Recreation 19 



Wild life 21 



Protection from fire 23 



Forest planting 26 



Revenue from the national forests 27 



Six rules for preventing fire in the 



forests 28 



MONTANA RICHLY ENDOWED 



On the seal of Montana are the words " Oro Y Plata " (gold and 

 silver), but in the design above these words one finds, together with 

 the miner's pick and shovel, a plow, forest trees, and falling waters, 

 all emblematic of a rich natural endowment. 



From the days when the trapper and trader took a heavy toll of 

 furs from her woods to the present with its discoveries of oil, an 

 increasing comprehension has come of the variety and extent of 

 the resources of Montana, and the imagination may readily picture 

 a future growth which will make still more appropriate her present 

 sobriquet, " The Treasure State." 



In Montana, as usually in new regions, the wealth which was most 

 evident and easiest reached was exploited first. Trapping fur-bear- 

 ing animals was the initial industry of the region. Later the bison, 

 which at one time roamed the plains of central and eastern Montana, 

 was ruthlessly slaughtered and in an incredibly short space of time 

 almost exterminated. With the discovery of gold there sprang up 

 mining camps, famous in the early history of the West. Soon after 

 the influx of prospectors and miners the agricultural possibilities of 

 the country were recognized. The value of the open grass ranges 

 east of the Continental Divide was early realized, and a great stock- 

 raising industry arose, which has made the Montana cowboy with his 

 "chaps" a picturesque character of equal interest with the miner 

 and the fur trader. Silver mining led to the discovery in 1883 of 

 vast copper deposits in the vicinity of Butte, and Montana became 

 the second copper-producing State in the Union. Finally, the true 

 value of Montana's forests is becoming evident — a value which will 

 be more and more realized with increasing industrial development 

 and growth of population. The value of the forests lies not alone in 

 the timber which may be cut, but also in the relation the timbered 

 areas bear to streamflow and water power, and the pleasure and 

 health they bring to those who visit them each year for rest and 

 recreation. 



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