FOREST LAND AND TIMBER RESOURCES 



79 



There are also about 234 million acres of 

 "unproductive" forest land incapable of producing 

 more than approximately 25 cubic feet of industrial 

 wood per acre per year and thus considered un- 

 suitable for sustained production of timber crops. 

 About 112 million acres of these unproductive 

 forest lands are located in Alaska, 101 million 

 acres in other parts of the West, and 21 million 

 acres in the East. 



A large part of this unproductive forest land in 

 the Western States supports piny on and juniper, 

 open woodlands of oak or other hardwoods, sub- 

 alpine forests, and chaparral. The timber gi'ow- 

 ing on these lands is suitable mainly for fuelwood 

 or other low-quality products such as fence posts. 

 Nearly two-thirds of these lands are in Federal 

 ownership. 



Although these noncommercial forest areas are 

 of limited national significance from a timber 

 standpoint, they nevertheless have substantial 

 values for other purposes such as watersheds, 

 recreation, and the production of forage for 

 domestic animals and wildlife. 



Interior Alaska Forests Included 

 in Noncommercial Acreage 



In addition to the forest lands of coastal 

 Alaska- — comprising 6 million acres of commercial 

 and 7 million acres of noncommercial forest — 

 there are in the interior of Alaska an estimated 

 105 million acres of forest land. These forests 

 cover about 32 percent of the total land area of 

 833 million acres in the interior. Detailed 

 statistics of these interior forests are not yet 

 available and thus in this study, as in the Timber 

 Resource Review of 1952, none of the forest land 

 in Interior Alaska has been included in tabulations 

 of commercial forest area. 



Perhaps 22 million acres of the forests in Interior 

 Alaska may prove to have a timber growth 

 potential in excess of 20 cubic feet per acre annu- 

 ally. These more productive areas are of potential 

 importance for timber production, even though 

 opportunities for large-scale industrial use of 

 forests in this area currently appear somewhat 

 distant. 



The forest cover in the interior of Alaska is 

 made up largely of a mosaic of stands of varying 

 species and ages, reflecting the numerous and 

 recurrent fires that have burned in the past. The 

 occurrence of permanently frozen ground (perma- 

 frost) also contributes to the diversity of vegeta- 

 tion. Forest types are generally mixed, with 

 spruce, birch, and aspen the predominating species. 



Some of the forest area is occupied by fairly 

 heavy stands. Other areas are capable of pro- 

 ducing substantial volumes of timber but have 

 been largely denuded or are stocked with young 

 trees as a result of past fires. The more productive 

 forest lands are located mainly on the Kenai 

 Peninsula and along the valleys of the Yukon, 

 Susitna, Copper, and Tanana Rivers. 



Prior to statehood, over 99 percent of the land 

 in Interior Alaska was under the jurisdiction of 

 the Bureau of Land Management of the U.S. 

 Department of the Interior. The Statehood Act 

 of 1958, however, provided for the selection of 

 about 104 million acres by the State of Alaska. 

 As of January 1, 1963, about 12.7 million acres 

 had been selected and 0.7 million acres patented 

 under this act. 



The total volume of timber now standing on the 

 more productive forest lands in interior Alaska is 

 estimated to be roughly equivalent to some 2.5 

 percent of the total volume of growing stock on 

 commercial forest lands of the United States. 

 Because of the large proportion of immature 

 stands, the average volume of timber on these 

 lands averages less than 2,000 board feet per acre. 



Net growth in interior Alaska currently is very 

 low as a result of both site conditions and the low 

 levels of stocking resulting from past fire and other 

 destructive agents. Most of the interior, more- 

 over, is economically inaccessible and timber 

 harvesting to date has been mostly limited 

 to local cutting of rough lumber, houselogs, and 

 fuelwood. In time, however, these forests may 

 well supply increasing volumes of forest products 

 for the people of Alaska and an expanding world 

 population. 



TIMBER GROWING CAPABILITY 



The Nation's forest lands differ widely in terms 

 of their inherent capacity to grow crops of indus- 

 trial wood. Although precise techniques for de- 

 termining the growth capacity of forest land are 

 still in early stages of development, a classification 

 by broad productivity groupings is of value in 

 appraising future timber growing possibilities. 



One-Third of the Commercial Forest Land 

 Has Nearly Half the Growth Potential 



The Nation's timber growing capacity is con- 

 centrated on a relatively small portion of the total 

 commercial forest land. According to the pre- 

 liminary estimates now available, about 8 percent 

 of the commercial forest area has the capacity to 

 grow in excess of 120 cubic feet per acre annually 



