study by H. M. Johnson of the production of minor 

 products in Oregon and Washington in 1930, 

 varied widely between counties and urban and 

 rural districts, depending upon the availability of 

 other kinds of fuel, such as dead timber, limb wood 

 from logging operations^ slabs, edgings, planer 

 ends, sawdust from mills, coal, or gas. After the 

 average total fuel-wood consumption had been 

 determined for each county in the region, the 

 average fuel-wood production in the county was 

 computed, due regard being given the importation 

 and exportation of fuel wood and the species avail- 

 able for such use. 



The estimate of the annual drain on saw-timber 

 stands due to production of round and split fence 

 posts was determined by computing the number 

 of post replacements needed on the farms annually. 

 In computing this figure the number and total 

 acreage of the farms in each of six size classes were 

 obtained from statistics of the Bureau of the Census. 

 A varying fencing-acreage ratio was used to de- 

 termine the total number of posts in use, and this 

 figure divided by a life expectancy of 12 years 

 gave the number of posts replaced annually. A 

 converting factor of 1.08 cubic feet per post was 

 used. Since most of the posts are produced locally, 

 the species utilized depended largely upon avail- 

 ability. Data on the quantities of other minor 

 products produced annually, such as poles, piling, 

 ties, mine timbers, cross arms, and shingles, were 

 obtained from the 1930 minor-products study. 



Fire Depletion 



The average annual rate of fire depletion in the 

 region was derived from an analysis of fires that 

 occurred during the 12-year period 1924-35 

 This analysis consisted of translating the data 

 obtained from the individual reports for fires 40 

 acres and larger, obtained from the Forest Service, 

 Indian Service, State Foresters of Oregon and 

 Washington, and private fire -patrol associations, 

 in forest-survey types and species and adjusting 

 the derived figures to agree with the total area 

 burned and timber volume killed during the period. 

 The adjustment of the derived figures was based 

 on an extensive examination in the field of approxi- 

 mately 80 percent of the total area burned. Modi- 

 fication of the individual reports was made pri- 

 marily on the judgment of the field examiner. 



Two broad ownership classes were recognized — 

 national-forest land and all other land. The 

 former includes only net national-forest land; the 

 latter includes all private, State, county, munic- 

 ipal, and Indian-owned lands, both inside and 

 outside the national forests, and unappropriated 

 Federal lands. 



There were practically no area adjustments of 

 individual reports for net national-forest land. 

 The total area of net national-forest land burned 

 was obtained by summarizing the individual 

 reports of fires 40 acres and larger for the period 

 and adding the acreage of smaller fires reported 

 by each national forest. For practically all 

 national forests this summary was considerably 

 lower than the acreages reported in the annual 

 national-forest fire reports owing to incomplete 

 coverage of large fires or loss of reports. The 

 annual summary reports were apportioned by 

 counties on the basis of fires of which record was 

 available and used as the total net national-forest 

 land burned for the period. 



It was assumed at the outset that the records of 

 the State Foresters of Washington and Oregon 

 would cover all lands other than national forest, 

 but it was found that they did not include the 

 fires that occurred on the Colville and Yakima 

 Indian Reservations in Washington and only 

 partially included those on the Warm Springs 

 and Klamath Indian Reservations in Oregon. 

 It was also found that not all of the acreage of 

 burned-over alienated lands inside the national 

 forests was included in the State reports. Addi- 

 tion of the Indian-reservation fires and unreported 

 fires on alienated lands in the national forests and 

 adjustments made by the men in the field increased 

 the total area of other lands burned over in the 

 12-year period about 57 percent over the area 

 indicated in the State reports for the same period. 



The volume loss as compiled by the Forest Sur- 

 vey was considerably greater than that shown 

 by the national-forest reports. Although there 

 was some downward adjustment in individual 

 reports, this was more than offset by upward 

 adjustments, and there was also additional loss of 

 volume on areas reported as protection forests for 

 which no loss was indicated. 



Since the State reports on fires on other lands 

 did not include the Indian reservations, no direct 



90 



