FOREST RANGERS* CATECHISM 13 



2. What is the total forest land area of California? 



The total forest land area capable of growing commercial timber 

 stands is estimated at 19,195,000 acres, or nearly one-fifth of the 

 land area of the State. Of this total, approximately 14.500,000 

 acres is virgin timberland and the remainder cut-over and burned 

 land and brush fields. 



3. How much of the total virgin timber land of the State is within 

 the national forests of the California region? 



About 9.564.000 acres. 



4. Who owns the remaining virgin timber lands in the State? 

 About 100.000 acres are owned by the State and municipalities, 



and 3,996,000 acres are owned by individuals and companies, and 

 840.000 acres are in the national parks. 



5. How much timber is there in the national forests of the Cali- 

 fornia region? 



The national forests contain approximately 100,000,000.000 board 

 feet of saw timber and 26.000.000 cords of fuel wood. A board foot 

 is the unit of lumber measure, being 1 by 12 by 12 inches in size. 

 A cord contains 128 cubic feet (8 by 4 by 4 feet). 



6. How much timber is there in private ownership in California? 

 There are approximately 188,000,000,000 board feet of timber in 



private ownership. 



7. What is the average annual cut of the California sawmills? 

 California cuts from its forests about 2,000,000,000 board feet of 



lumber annually. 



8. How much of the annual cut of lumber comes from the national 

 forests of the California region? 



The annual cut from the national forests has been ranging between 

 350.000,000 and 400,000.000 board feet, 



9. What is the average annual consumption of lumber in Cali- 

 fornia? 



Three and one-half billion board feet. 



10. How much lumber does California export and import? 



California exports approximately 1,000,000,000 board feet of lum- 

 ber, and imports about 2,500,000,000 board feet annually, which 

 comes mainly from the Pacific Northwest. 



11. What are the principal commercial timber trees of the State? 

 Western yellow pine, Jeffrey pine, sugar pine, redwood, white fir, 



Douglas fir. red fir, and incense cedar. 



12. Can national-forest timber be obtained free of cost? 



Free use of timber may be granted to bona fide settlers, miners, 

 rural residents, and prospectors for firewood, fencing, building, 

 other domestic purposes, mining, and prospecting. Usually not 

 more than $20 worth of timber is granted to any one person an- 

 nually. The regulations provide that transients may take dead 

 timber for camp fires and similar uses without written permits. 



13. How is national-forest timber sold? 



Ripe, standing timber on the national forests is offered for sale 

 in regulated amounts to improve growing conditions and maintain 



45509°— 31 3 



