National Forests and the Inter mountain Region 



and more lumber was needed. The mountains close at hand were 

 the only source available. 



Many stories are told of how completely the native forests were 

 made to supply the needs of the early pioneers. The willows along 

 the creeks furnished charcoal for gunpowder. The knotted and 

 stunted mountain mahogany that grows in the crevices of rocks 

 furnished excellent fuel, and from its extremely hard wood were 

 made such articles as drumsticks and flutes. At a later date the 

 cottonwood along the canyon bottoms and the aspen from the moun- 

 tains in the vicinity of Salt Lake City were used, in conjunction 

 with rags, for the manufacture of paper upon which the Desert 

 News was for many years printed. To-day, old stumps on the 

 most rugged parts of the mountains close to Salt Lake City and 

 other early settlments tell better than words how tremendously 

 valuable the conifers were for lumber and how the pioneers searched 

 out timber in places where a modern logger would consider it 

 unprofitable to go. 



In 1865 gold was discovered in Boise Basin, and the rush to that 

 region started a demand for lumber there. Timber was vastly more 

 plentiful in Idaho than near the Mormon settlements. In the early 

 days a regular small lumber industry began, which has continued 

 to grow till the present time. In Utah and Nevada conditions 

 were different. As soon as railroad connections with California 

 and the Northwest were established, lumber from the coast came 

 into use on account of both its higher quality and its lower price, 

 for by that time the most accessible stands in the intermountain 

 States had become greatly depleted by the excessive cutting of earlier 



years. 



PRODUCTION 



The history of the lumber business in the intermountain region is 

 indicated by the lumber cut of Idaho, LTtah, and Nevada since 1870, 

 as given in Table 1. It must be remembered that most of the Idaho 

 cut is in the northern part of the State, which is not included in the 

 intermountain region. In recent years about 80 per cent of the 

 Idaho cut has been outside the intermountain region. 



Table 1. — Lumher cut for the States of Idaho, Nevada, and Utah 



Year 



Thousand board feet 



Year 



Thousand board feet 



Idaho ! 



Nevada 



Utah 



Idaho 1 1 Nevada 



Utah 



1870 



1,490 



18, 204 

 27,800 

 65, 331 



211, 447 



212, 725 

 418, 944 

 513, 788 

 518, 625 

 645, 800 

 745, 984 

 765, 670 



35, 025 

 21, 545 



19,741 1 

 25,709 

 14,295 

 17,484 

 12, 630 

 3, 618 

 7, 768 

 14, 690 

 15,059 

 12, 638 

 11, 786 ; 

 10, 573 



1912 



1913 



713, 575 

 652, 616 

 763, 508 

 777, 000 

 849, 600 

 760, 000 

 802, 529 

 765, 388 

 970, 000 

 542, 620 

 857, 581 



( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 

 ( 3 ) 

 ( 3 ) 

 ( 3 ) 

 ( 3 ) 



20, 335 

 ( 3 ) 

 ( 2 ) 

 ( 3 ) 



9,055 



1880 



5,403 



1890 



1914 



1915 - 



8,680 



1899 



725 



( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 



10, 892 



1904 



1905 



1906 



1916 



1917 



1918 _ 



9,385 

 8,567 

 9,815 



1907 



1908 



( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 

 ( 2 ) 



1919 



1920 



11,917 

 7,750 



1909 



1910 



1921 



1922 



7,689 

 6,827 



1911 







1 Figures are for entire State. The Bureau of the Census makes no segregation of the northern Idaho 

 cut and the southern Idaho cut. Only the latter comes from the intermountain region, and at present it 

 amounts to only about one-fifth of the State cut. 



2 Included in "All other States " in census reports. 



3 Included with California in census reports. 



50325°— 25 2 



