ATLAS OF UNITED STATES TREES 



VOLUME 2. ALASKA TREES AND COMMON SHRUBS 



INTRODUCTION 



This volume is the second of an Atlas with large maps showing 

 the natural distribution or range of the native tree species of 

 continental United States, including Alaska. "Atlas of United 

 States Trees, Volume 1, Conifers and Important Hardwoods" 

 (Little 1971 2 ) has an introduction to the series, which may be 

 condensed and adapted here. The project is to be completed in a 

 few volumes within a few years. 



Maps demonstrate clearly and graphically where the trees grow 

 wild better than written summaries and have many obvious uses. 

 Assembled in atlas form for ready reference, these distribution 

 maps are available to foresters, botanists, and all others interested 

 in trees for use without restriction, since U.S. Government publica- 

 tions are not copyrighted. Users will render a service toward the 

 improvement of the maps by reporting errors and range extensions. 

 Review and correction is desired for a later, revised edition. The 

 ultimate aim is to produce a set of highly accurate maps of wide 

 acceptance. 



Volume 1 contains maps of 200 native tree species, all the native 

 conifers or softwoods, including the needleleaf evergreens (94 

 species, also 2 shrub species) and the important hardwoods (106 

 species). Thus, nearly all trees now important commercially for 

 lumber are represented. All of Alaska's 14 species of conifers and 

 the 5 important hardwoods are shown on small-scale maps of 

 North America, scale roughly 1 :27,000,000. 



Volume 2 has maps of Alaska for 82 native species, including 

 32 of trees, 6 of shrubs rarely reaching tree size, and 44 more of 

 common shrubs. It follows and supplements also "Alaska Trees 

 and Shrubs" (Viereck and Little 1972). That handbook primarily 

 for identification has descriptions, drawings, small maps, and 

 additional information for 128 species, including the remaining 

 shrubs not illustrated in this Atlas volume. 



The reasons for a separate volume of the Atlas for Alaska are 

 clear. The largest State cannot be included within a map of the 

 contiguous United States. On a map of North America, Alaska 

 must be shown not only in reduced scale but in slightly distorted 

 projection. In a separate map, Alaska can be presented in the 

 normal, familiar projection and at the same large scale as the 

 lower 48 States. 



The urgent need for information on natural resources for land- 

 use planning in Alaska is sufficient justification for a timely, 

 promptly published Atlas volume. "In Alaska . . . the most massive 

 redistribution of the ownership and control of lands ever to take 

 place in the history of the nation is now underway." stated Burton 



2 Names and dates in parentheses refer to Selected References, p. 17. 



W. Silcock, Federal Co-Chairman Joint Federal-State Land 

 Planning Commission for Alaska (Society of American Fon 

 1974). 



Maps showing the natural distribution within Alaska of each 

 species of native trees and common shrubs will be useful not only 

 in land-use planning but to all persons interested in the land, 

 plants, and animals. It is important to compile related maps also. 

 General maps summarize environmental factors and supply back- 

 ground information on geography, geology, climate, and vegeta- 

 tion. These basic maps indicate the broad conditions under which 

 each species grows wild and may serve as a preliminary forest 

 atlas of the 49th State. 



HISTORY OF TREE DISTRIBUTION MAPS 



Forestry activity in Alaska began with the designation of the 

 valuable coastal forest lands as forest reserves between the years 

 1892 and 1902. These areas became the Tongass and Chugach 

 National Forests in 1907. The former has since been divided into 

 the North Tongass and South Tongass National Fort - - 



The history of tree distribution maps in the I nited States has 

 been reported in Volume 1, while early work by the Fores: S 

 vice has been reviewed by Little (1951). George B. Sudworth. first 

 dendrologist of the Forest Service, began work with the Bureau of 

 Forestry in 1886 and compiled tree ranges in his check lists pub- 

 lished as early as 1897—98. "Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope" 

 (Sudworth 1908) contains much detailed information about tree 

 ranges in Alaska. 



Soon after establishment of the Forest Service in 1905, Sudworth 

 undertook a project of preparing a distribution map for each 

 native tree species of North America, exclusive of those occurring 

 wholly in Mexico and minor tropical trees of southern Florida. 

 Many thousand locality records for individual species were com- 

 piled on separate cards from publications such as botanical lists 

 and forest surveys, unpublished field notes, and herbarium speci- 

 mens. For each species these localities were plotted b) number on 

 one or more large cloth-backed maps of contiguous I nited v 

 North America, or Uaska. These maps and card file arc preserved 

 in the dendrology project. Division of Timber Management Re- 

 search. I SUA Forest Sei\i«e. Washington, D.C., and copies 



some Uaska maps also in the National Archiv. s 



Publication of these maps was begun bj Sudworth (1! 

 under the title. "Forest \tla- Geographic Distribution of North 



American Trees." Onlv "Part 1 Pines" ever appeared. It is indeed 

 unfortunate that the entire \tlas. with a map for each of near' 

 native tree species then distinguished was not published s 

 afterward, when the maps represented current knowledge. For the 

 common trees >'t Uaska, these earl] maps have a surprisingly 



