8 Miscellaneous Circular 47, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 



At the present time privately owned timberlands furnish the bulk 

 of the timber cut in the intermountain region. Only about 40,000,000 

 feet a year out of a total of approximately 200,000,000 feet come 

 from the national forests. In 1923 the greater part of the national- 

 forest cut was in Idaho and Wyoming, where it is steadily increas- 

 ing from year to year, largely because of the increasing use of lodge- 

 pole pine ties by the railroads. In western Idaho large lumbering 

 operations are developing in the stands of western yellow pine and 

 Douglas fir. 



TIMBER EESOUBCES OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN NATIONAL FORESTS 



The national forests of the intermountain region contain nearly 

 38,000,000,000 board feet of timber, of which approximately 10,000,- 

 000,000 are Douglas fir, often known to the logger as "red pine," 

 found chiefly in the forests of western Idaho, but extending over the 

 entire region. Eleven billion board feet are western yellow pine, 

 which occurs in large stands in western Idaho and southern Utah 

 and on the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona. The lodgepole 

 pine, of which there is more than 7,000,000,000 board feet, is found 

 throughout the higher mountains of central and eastern Idaho and 

 in large stands through western Wyoming and the Uinta Mountains 

 of northern Utah. Engelmann spruce, of which the intermountain 

 region has about 4,000,000,000 board feet, is found throughout the 

 entire region on the higher mountains, where it grows to timber line. 

 Large stands are found in the Idaho National Forest in western 

 Idaho, in the Ashley National Forest among the high Uintah Moun- 

 tains, and in the Powell National Forest, on the high Aquarius Pla- 

 teau of south Utah. Alpine fir, of which the intermountain district 

 forests have more than 2,000,000,000 board feet, is an associate of 

 Engelmann spruce, having at present only a secondary commercial 

 value. Other species, making up about 3,000,000,000 board feet, 

 include larch found in western Idaho; limber pine, a tree of high 

 altitudes, especially common in Nevada; blue spruce; white fir, 

 known in Utah as black balsam ; and others of even rarer occurrence. 

 There are also large areas of aspen timber, especially through Utah. 

 Aspen is generally unsuitable for saw timber; but the national for- 

 ests of this region contain nearly 7,000,000 cords of this wood suit- 

 able for use in the manufacture of such articles as paper, matches, 

 excelsior, and small boxes. 



HOW TIMBER IS CUT OX THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



The national forests are being managed in such a way as markedly 

 to increase their productivity. In order to permit the development 

 of a stable timber business, cutting will never be allowed to exceed 

 annual growth. The growth at present is estimated to be about 

 48,000,000 board feet a year, a rate far below that which may ulti- 

 mately be obtained under proper management. Many of the present 

 stands are old or overmature and are producing little in the way of 

 new growth, and others are so open that despite the rapid growth of 

 individual trees not much is produced. It is probable, though, that 

 ultimately the national forests of the intermountain region will be 

 in a position to supply not only all of the 300.000,000 board feet 



