330 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



there was a sharp increase in the area burned to 

 1.5 milHon acres in 1946 and 1947. 



In 1947 the work of the General Land Office 

 was assumed by the Bureau of Land Management. 

 Subsequent efforts to reduce the annual burn were 

 made in the face of an increase in population of 

 150 percent, an increase in road mileage of 71 per- 

 cent from 1940 to 1952; and an increase in car 

 licenses of 269 percent between 1947 and 1952. 



Areas burned during the past 15 years are as 

 follows : 



Area 

 burned 

 {.thou- 

 sand 



Year; ocrfs) 



1940 4, 500 



1941 3,655 



1942 453 



1943 667 



1944 111 



1945 117 



1946 1,439 



1947 1,432 



Area 

 burned 

 {thou- 

 sand 



Year: ""<■») 



1948 35 



1949 18 



1950 2,064 



1951 222 



1952 75 



1953 473 



1954 1,431 



Accent Must Be on Fire Protection 



After 10 years of fixe control effort the Terri- 

 torial Fire Control Act of 1949 was passed. This 

 establishes a fire season from April 30 to Septem- 

 ber 30, inclusive, and provides for additional 

 periods when conditions warrant. The Gover- 

 nor, by proclamation, may prohibit setting of 

 fires, smoking, entry, or other use in designated 

 areas. The act also includes other provisions for 

 prevention, suppression, and control and imposes 

 civil and criminal liability for violations. 



Acquisition of evidence against violators of 

 fire laws is limited and difficult because of the 

 immense area, much of it remote, limited per- 

 sonnel, and poor transportation. Effort is being 

 made by the Bureau of Land Management to 

 supplement public education on fire problems 

 with timely prosecution proceedings. 



Three- Fourths of the Fires Are Caused 

 by Man 



In spite of the low population, at least 75 per- 

 cent of the fires are caused by man, many in 

 remote parts of the Interior where control is 

 next to impossible. Records collected during 

 the years of protection effort show the causes of 

 forest or range fires to be as follows: 



Carnpfires 



Debris burners. 



Lightning 



Smokers 



Percent 



27 Incendiary 



24 Railroad 



17 Miscellaneous. 

 16 



Percent 



3 



2 



11 



Education Is Needed 



In the face of public indifference the present 

 fire control organization is inadequate to hold 



the annual burn to a reasonable level. Alaskans, 

 as well as tourists, defense workers, and members 

 of the Armed Forces serving in the Interior must 

 be informed of the devastating effects of fire on 

 the forest and range resource, as well as the 

 damage to water, soil, and many forms of wildlife. 

 The fire risk is annually becoming more acute 

 because of the increasing population, greater 

 tourist activity, and extended road system. 



There is great need for fire research to develop 

 a danger rating system applicable to the Interior. 

 The combination of fuel types, low precipitation 

 and humidity, and high -winds and high tempera- 

 tures coupled with long hours of summer sun- 

 shine probably create as severe fire danger as 

 exists anywhere on the North American Continent. 



The Forest Economy Is in a Pioneer 

 Stage 



Present conditions in the Interior are probably 

 typical of the pioneer stage of development. As 

 in the early days in the States, there are vast 

 areas undeveloped, a great excess of growth over 

 cut, high losses due to fire, insects, and disease, 

 and a rapidly expanding population, which so far 

 has been associated with defense activities. The 

 construction of the Government railroad and auto- 

 mobile roads to connect with the Alcan Highway 

 through Canada to the States has resulted in 

 great belts of burned-over country. Still, tliere 

 are large areas of timber of a size suitable for the 

 manufacture of forest products. 



Birch stands of good quality and volume equal 

 to or greater than those in the northern Lake 

 States or New England are available and many are 

 accessible. The great areas of spruce, spruce- 

 birch, aspen, and cottonwood could supply pulp 

 mills, as in the Northeast. 



Present requirements are difficult to determine 

 as imports are unknown. For all of Alaska in 

 1947 there were 7 million dollars' worth of forest 

 products imported. How much went to the In- 

 terior is unknown, and since 1947 there are no 

 records of imports except from foreign countries. 

 With a population, according to the 1950 census, 

 of perhaps 80.000 people in the Interior of Alaska 

 and an estimated civilian per capita use of 150 

 board-feet, the demand would be only 12 million 

 board-feet. 



It has been estimated, liowever. that the popula- 

 tion of such centers as Anchorage and Fairbanks 

 has increased so much that the Interior's present 

 population (1954) may be nearer 130,000, which 

 would call for 19.5 million board-feet for civilian 

 use. Construction and maintenance by the Armed 

 Forces in the Interior would probably increase 

 this to 30 or 40 million board-feet. 



Industries based on Alaska's Interior forest 

 products are almost nonexistent; certainly not of a 

 size for export. The forests make little or no 



