FOREST LAND AND TIMBER RESOURCES 



COMMERCIAL FOREST LAND BY STAND-SIZE CLASS 



^^_ - . , ™»«»«s r. I ■ I Seedlings & n i i 



^^H bawtimber ^^^ Poletimber c ,. Nonstocked 



baphngs 



NORTH SOUTH 



87 



80 



60 



40 



20 



60 



40 



20 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN 



PACIFIC COAST 



Figure 38 



Stands with 1,500 to 5,000 board feet per acre 

 occupy about 23 percent of the commercial forest 

 area; and stands with less than 1,500 board feet 

 per acre about 56 percent of the total area. 

 Volumes per acre in most of these stands are too 

 light to support saw-log operations, although 

 some areas of aspen, jack pine, and spruce-fir, for 



example, are operable for pulpwood. Thus a 

 major part of the commercial forest is at present 

 unmerchantable from a logging standpoint. Many 

 areas now supporting limited volumes of timber 

 will of course produce commercial crops of timber 

 in time. 



Table 59. — Commercial forest land, by sawtimber volume classes and section, January 1, 1963 



Sawtimber volume 

 per acre 



Total U.S. 



North 



South 



Rocky Mountains 



Pacific coast 



Less than 1,500 bd. ft 

 1,500-5,000 bd. ft 

 More than 5,000 bd.ft__ 



Million 



acres 



286 



118 



105 



Percent 

 56 

 23 

 21 



Million 



acres 

 120 

 35 

 17 



Percent 

 70 

 20 

 10 



Million 



acres 



127 



51 



23 



Percent 

 63 

 25 

 12 



Million 



acres 



25 



21 



20 



Percent 

 38 

 32 

 30 



Million 



acres 



14 



11 



45 



Percent 

 20 

 16 

 64 



All classes 



509 



100 



172 



100 



201 



100 



66 



100 



70 



100 



