FOREST RESOURCES OF THE PONDEROSA PINE REGION 



Survey Findings in Brief 



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THE amount, character, geographic distribution, and ownership of the forest resources of the ponderosa 

 pine region of Washington and Oregon are of vital concern, not only to local residents, but also to 

 the entire Nation. These forests supply the principal local industries — the sawmills and woodwork- 

 ing plants — with raw material. They contribute to the prosperity of farming and stock raising, the other 

 major economic pursuits. Upon this foundation, towns, schools, banks, shops, transportation systems, 

 and other institutions necessary to modern life have been created. Preservation of the regional economy 

 on the present level rests upon a continuous flow of material and services from the forests at the current 

 annual rate. This can be accomplished only through sustained-yield forest management, which in turn 

 depends upon forest owners accepting the responsibilities that must inevitably accompany ownership of 

 natural resources. 



It is not enough to know that this region has 22 million acres of forest land and 127 billion board feet of 

 saw timber. To reap the full economic benefits of this resource a detailed understanding of how it can be 

 made to contribute most to the welfare of the people is necessary. Based upon this understanding, plans 

 for adoption of sustained yield must be formulated and effectuated immediately, to avoid wasteful migra- 

 tion of industry and people that follows exhaustion of forest resources. 



A brief synopsis of the findings of the Forest Survey, as presented in detail in the following pages, is as 

 follows : : 



1. The ponderosa pine region of Oregon and Washington produces one-half of the total ponderosa 

 pine lumber cut in the entire United States. 



2. In 1939 this region produced 1.9 billion board feet of lumber, nearly nine-tenths of which was ponder- 

 osa pine. 



3. The major problem in the ponderosa pine region is to bring about a general shift to a light, maturity- 

 selection cutting practice. This will speed up transformation of old-growth stands to a net growth condi- 

 tion and reduce the severity of inevitable curtailment of cut if present practices continue. 



4. Locally the timber-supply situation is acute. The Klamath Plateau and Deschutes River units 



1 Forest Survey progress releases on the ponderosa pine region issued by the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experi- 

 ment Station previous to the publication of this major report are: (1) Forest statistics in separate form for Asotin, Chelan, Colum- 

 bia, Ferry, Garfield, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, Walla Walla, and Yakima Counties, Wash., and Baker, Crook, Deschutes, 

 Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, and Wheeler Counties, Oreg. [Mimeo- 

 graphed.] No report was issued for Malheur County, Oreg., or Lincoln, Douglas, and Whitman Counties, Wash., because of 

 the small acreage of forest land involved and its relative unimportance in the counties' economy. (2) Timber Volume and Type 

 Acreage on the National Forests of the North Pacific Region. Forest Res. Notes No. 22. 1937. [Mimeographed.] (3) Forest 

 Statistics for Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington, Forest Res. Notes No. 25. 1938. [Mimeographed.] A summary of 

 detailed and generalized forest-type areas, site quality, and timber volume. (4) Volume Distribution in Saw-Timber Types 

 of the Ponderosa Pine Region. Forest Res. Notes No. 28. 1939. [Mimeographed.] (5) Forest Growth in the Ponderosa 

 Pine Region of Oregon and Washington. Forest Surv. Rpt. 78. 1940. [Mimeographed.] (6) Detailed forest type maps 

 of each of the above-listed 24 counties and for Douglas, Lincoln, and Whitman Counties, Wash., for which no reports were 

 issued. Scale 1 inch equals 1 mile. Blue line print form. 1936. ( 7 ) State type maps — ponderosa pine region covered by 

 eight sheets, NW Washington, SW Washington, NE Washington, SE Washington, NW Oregon, SW Oregon, NE Oregon, 

 and SE Oregon. Scale % inch=l mile. 1936-37. [Lithographed.] 



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