lioard-foot production of western white pine would furnish 

 to the community in the neighborhood of J2,000,000 yearly 

 in wages, salaries, and other values added through manu- 

 facture. The value of public blister rust control is equally 

 lireat on private lands because of the industrial values at 

 stake. Thus, the blister rust control program would 

 seem to offer a means of supporting in northern Idaho a 

 much higher economic standard than would be possible 

 without control, and at a lower end cost. 



fVhich Government? 



.As private lands stripped ot their convertible wealth 

 drift back into public ownership, they may become per- 

 manently the property ot the counties, the State of Idaho, 

 or the Federal Government. Which of these becomes the 

 ultimate owner should be determined by the willingness 

 and ability of these agencies to maintain the lands in a 

 productive condition. 



For the counties faced with a pressing problem ot 

 financing, it is simply out of the question to carry cut-over 

 forest land for the long period until an income will be 

 produced. 



.At present, the State does not maintain an organization 

 adequate to administer the extensive forest resources 

 which it already owns. This sentiment is expressed by 

 the State forester in the Twenty-Fourth Biennial Report 

 of the State Land Department of the State of Idaho, 

 1937-38. It is a curious fact that, although sustained- 

 vield management by private timber operators has been 

 a public objective for many years, the State itself, owning 

 lietween one-fifth and one-sixth ot the remaining western 

 white pine timber, does not as yet operate under a sus- 

 tained-yield plan. In spite of all this, it would seem 

 desirable, for a number ot reasons, to have the State assume 

 the responsibility tor managing at least part ot the forest 

 land which will pass out of private ownership; but first, 

 the State forestry organization should be adequately 

 financed and manned for the job. 



Bv default, the major part ot the public torest-laml 

 problem has so tar tallen on the shoulilers ot the Federal 

 Government. .At the present time, in the national forests, 

 it protects and administers the bulk of the noncommercial 

 torest land in northern Idaho. It, alone, is tully geared 

 to meet the conservation problem on the lanii it manages, 

 and has the tacilities, the manpower, and the will to do it. 



.A very large share ot the lands likely to come into public 

 ownership in the tuture will produce tor many years a net 

 operating deficit or low net profit. This will tend to 

 make I'eiieral ownership the most attractive to the local 

 communities. The I'ederal Government must thus bear 

 the burden ot protection and in addition return 25 percent 

 ot what gr(«s receipts there may be to the counties for 

 roads and schools; and use another 10 percent for national- 

 torest road and trail construction and maintenance. 



miLL OUTPUT 



(WOO board feel) 



PflY RATES in SRUUmiLLS 



200-499 



r\ 



500-999 







-1 











49 « 1 



1 



se"^! 



I000-A999 







62 -i 



J 



5000-9.999 







.3^1 



10.000 + 





40 50 60 70 

 CENTS PER HOUR 



FlGfRE 42. — Average hourly wage anii salary rales in savcmills of the 

 northern Idaho region, classified hy volume of cut in 1939. 



What Kind of Industry? 



Not much thought has been given to the kind ot torest 

 industry that northern Idaho should have. In view ot 

 the extensive acreage ot State and national torests, the 

 public may have a considerable influence on the nature 

 of the future forest industry. The matter ot sawmill size 

 is especially important and deserves thought. It the 

 Forest Service and State forester's office were given ad- 

 ministrative discretion, they could exert a strong influence 

 on the size of the sawmills that continue in operation and 

 those built in the future. For example, suppt^se there were 

 two sawmills in a given area, both dependent upon State 

 timber, and one of them had twice the capacity ot the other. 

 If there were insufficient timber for both mills the State 

 administrator, in deciding tor the greatest public good 

 which should receive the timber, would inevitably deter- 

 mine what size ot plant should continue in operation. 



.A balanced forest industry will certainly require that 

 there be all sizes ot sawmills trom the very small to the 

 relatively large. In many instances the question will 

 arise, however, "Should there be one larger Siiwniill in 

 this unit or several smaller ones?" This question should 

 be answered by determining which kind ot establishment 

 returns the most to the community. In this connection 

 it is interesting to compare (fig. 42) the average hourly 

 wage rates for sawmills of several size groups in the region 

 It will be noted that sawmills pn.xlucing one-fitth to one- 

 half million Inward feet annually had an average hourly 



55 



