during the first 5 years, 28 

 percent supported virgin 

 timber. The remaining lands 

 were culled, cut over, or 

 abandoned farmlands. 

 These lands cost an average 

 of $5.65 per acre during 

 this period (Paxton 1950). 



In 1916, sufficient land had 

 been acquired to establish 

 the Pisgah National Forest 

 in North Carolina. Additional 

 lands were approved in 

 Alabama and Arkansas in 

 1 91 7 and 1 91 8, respectively. 

 A large part of the lands in 

 Alabama carried valuable 

 stands of sawtimber, much 

 of which was virgin. In 1 91 8, 

 the Alabama National Forest 

 was proclaimed, made up 

 of Weeks Law purchases 

 and land that had been 

 withdrawn from the public 

 domain in 1913. The Ozark 

 and Arkansas National 

 Forests were enlarged the 

 same year, and the 

 Shenandoah (now part of 

 the George Washington) 

 and the Natural Bridge 

 (now part of the Thomas 

 Jefferson) were established 

 in Virginia (Paxton 1950). 



"Virgin timber* was a 

 condition classification not 

 clearly defined in most 

 instances. The narrative 

 comments of the land 

 examiners at the time 

 suggest that many of those 

 stands had been 

 high-graded for specialty 



products, particularly the 

 large, high-quality walnut, 

 cherry, oak, and white pine. 

 In some cases, stands of 

 mature trees having over 

 2,500 board feet of mature, 

 merchantable timber per 

 acre were considered virgin. 



Other tracts that had good 

 stands of so-called virgin 

 timber at time of examination 

 were purchased subject to 

 reserved cutting rights. The 

 80,000-acre Vanderbilt 

 tract, now a part of the 

 Pisgah National Forest, was 

 one of those. From 1 890 to 

 1912, it was managed for 

 the Vanderbilt family by 

 foresters Gifford Pinchot 

 and Carl A. Schenck, 

 founder of the first forestry 

 school in America. During 

 the first 5 years after its 

 acquisition by the 

 government, 70,000 acres 

 in the Pink Beds area were 

 logged under cutting rights 

 held by the Carr Lumber 

 Company. 



Frequent wildfires were a 

 major factor affecting the 

 condition of stands of virgin 

 timber. The effects of high 

 grading, disease, insects, 

 and fire combined to make 

 many trees defective, 

 particularly in the hardwood 

 and mixed pine-hardwood 

 types. 



As of 1918, the 

 preponderant national forest 



15 



