OWNERSHIP OF FOREST LAND AND TIMBEK 



317 



From the beginning of World War II, demands 

 for public timber increased rapidly, and the volume 

 of timber cut on the national forest has risen 

 steadily. In fiscal year 1956, the cut of national- 

 forest timber reached 6.9 billion board-feet, or 

 3}^ times the cut of 2.1 billion board-feet in 1940. 

 Present national-forest policies provide for bring- 

 ing the cut of national-forest timber up to the 

 maximum level possible under sustained-yield 

 management. 



In the decades ahead, national-forest timber 

 will, and should, comprise a more important seg- 

 ment of the raw material for forest industries, in 

 view of the volume and quality of these resources. 

 In addition, on private timberlands in industrial 

 holdings, the cut is often limited because of re- 

 duced growing stocks or efforts to build up a 

 permanent timber supply. To the extent possible 

 and within limits of sustained-yield capacity, 

 cutting in old-growth stands in the western na- 

 tional forests should sustain a substantial pait of 

 the forest industries until sufficient young-growth 

 timber matures on private lands to permit cutting 

 in balance with productive capacity on both 

 private and Federal lands. 



National Forests of Major 

 Importance in West 



The national forests are of major importance in 

 the western economy since they account for 52 

 percent of all the commercial forest land in the 

 Western States and 48 percent of the present 

 volume of sawtimber in the West. Nearly 61 

 million acres, or 72 percent of the 85 million acres 

 of commercial forest land in all of the national 

 forests, is in the western regions (table 180). 

 National forests in both the North and South 

 contain about 10 million acres of commercial 

 forest land and in Coastal Alaska about 3/2 million 

 acres. In terms of sawtimber, the western national 

 forests are of even larger importance than the 

 eastern forests, with 646 billion board-feet, or 

 84 percent, of all national-forest sawtimber. 



As indicated previously, areas of old-growth 

 timber in the western national forests have not as 

 yet been opened up for utilization and manage- 

 ment. Access road construction and maintenance 

 is of particular importance as a means of lessening 

 the volumes of overmature timber lost annually to 

 insects and other destructive agents and bringing 

 the cut into line with sustained-yield capabilities. 



Management of National Forests 

 Becoming More Intensive 



On recently cut national-forest lands, produc- 

 tivity for future timber ci'ops is relatively good, 

 averaging 81 percent in the upper productivity 

 class, 16 percent in the medium class, and only 3 

 percent in the lower class (table 173, p. 303). 



Table 180. — Area of commercial forest land and 

 volume of timber in the national forests, in the 

 United States and Coastal Alaska, by section and 

 region, 1953 



Section and region 



Com- 

 mercial 

 forest 



land 



Saw- 

 timber 



Growing 

 stock 



North: 



New England 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 



822 

 1, .339 

 5,895 

 2,226 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 

 2, 310 

 1,691 

 5,652 

 3,454 



Million 

 cu. ft. 

 1,038 



Middle Atlantic 



903 



Lake States 



3, 199 



Central and Plains 



1, 186 



Total .. 



10, 282 



13, 107 



6,326 







South: 



South Atlantic 



2,783 

 3,892 

 3,697 



6,258 

 8, 210 

 8,748 



1, 961 



Southeast- _ . . 



2, 404 



West Gulf _ . 



2, 379 







TotaL _ . ._ 



10, 372 



23, 216 



6, 744 







West: 



Pacific Northwest 



California 



Northern Rocky Moun- 

 tain 



17, 109 

 8,573 



21,627 



13,351 



308, 907 

 178, 913 



108, 232 



50, 476 



59, 694 

 32, 086 



28, 378 



Southern Rocky Moun- 

 tain 



12, 732 



TotaL _-_ ___ 



60, 660 



646, 528 



132, 890 







Coastal Alaska, _ _ 



3,445 



82, 524 



17, 139 







All regions 



84, 759 



765, 375 



163, 099 



Over the years, fire protection has been extended 

 to all national-forest lands, and in 1952 protection 

 was considered adequate for average years on 89 

 percent of the total area requiring protection. 

 Areas burned have been steadily reduced and in 

 1952, for example, the area burned amounted to 

 0.1 percent of the total area protected. Control 

 of insects, diseases, and other pests also has been 

 strengthened. Through aerial spraying to control 

 defoliators in spruce and pine timber, for example, 

 a good beginning has been made in reducing the 

 great losses of timber caused by epidemics of 

 insects. 



Some of the nonstocked national-forest lands 

 also have been planted, although the rate of plant- 

 ing is still relatively low. In 1953 planting on 

 national forests amounted to 53,000 acres, or 7 

 percent of the total planting by all agencies. 

 The area of successful plantations in the national 

 forests totaled 1.4 million acres, or 27 percent of all 

 acceptable plantations in the United States. 

 About 4.6 million acres, however, are still classed 

 as plantable. 



