TIMBER RESOURCES OF NORTH AMERICA AND THEi WORLD 



331 



contribution to tlie Territorial industrial economy, 

 being used only for rough lumber, house logs, and 

 fuel. Some 66 small sawmills, mostly portable, 

 produce from 8 million to occasionally 20 million 

 feet of rough lumber in a year. The annual rated 

 capacity of them all is about 45 million feet, but 

 such mills seldom operate at capacity. 



Even if existing mills improved their manufac- 

 turing processes and increased production to 

 capacity, the entire needs of the Interior would 

 probably not be met. Specialty products and 

 special grades would continue to come from tlie 

 outside. 



General unfamiliarity with tlie timber resource 

 of Interior Alaska and the lumber markets, as well 

 as with the industry in general, has resulted in an 

 unfavorable climate for industrial development. 

 The lack of experienced loggers and mill operators 

 in the Territory coupled with the customary 

 operation of mills as a sideline rather than as a 

 full-time business has failed to develop confidence. 

 It has also failed to develop a product wbich in- 

 spires pride on the part of the operator and satis- 

 faction on the part of tlie consumer. 



The domestic problem is one of development of 

 forest products industries to meet local needs, pro- 

 tection to reduce the risks to invested capital, 

 adequate methods of financing, and "know-how." 



Of greater importance for the future is the 

 significance of this resource as a reserve available 

 to meet increased requirements originating beyond 

 the borders of the Territory. The great growth of 

 world population, shared by the United States, 

 indicates an increasing requirement for forest pro- 

 ducts, particularly of softwoods. The marked 

 trend toward increasing pulp production, for which 

 Alaskan species are well suited, and the need for 

 additional supplies is rapidly expanding the bound- 

 aries of economic accessibility. Forest industries 

 are already moving northward in Canada, espe- 



cially in British Columbia and along the Pacific 

 Coast to Southeastern Alaska. Mineral and power 

 developments also share this trend. The need for 

 forest products from Alaska's Interior lies in the 

 future, but current trends toward greater demand 

 indicate that the present losses suffered by this 

 resource should be substantially reduced. 



CANADA'S TIMBER SITUATION 



Canada's forest resources are of great impor- 

 tance to the United States. Most of Canada's 

 forests are of species and timber size-classes that 

 are peculiarly adapted to pulp and paper making. 

 From these forests the United States imports three- 

 fourths of the newsprint paper it uses, considerable 

 quantities of woodpulp and pulpwood, and some 

 lumber. The forests of large-size, virgin timber in 

 British Columbia also supply the United States 

 with substantial quantities of high-quality soft- 

 wood lumber. 



Forests Cover More Than 

 Two- Fifths of Canada 



Canadian forests cover 951 million acres out of 

 a total of 2.2 billion acres (exclusive of Labrador). 

 The comparable figures for the Continental United 

 States are 648 million acres of forest land and 1.9 

 billion acres of total land area. The Canadian 

 forests grade from readily accessible commercial 

 forests, in the belt adjacent to the southern border, 

 to completely inaccessible, sparse, scattered, non- 

 commercial forest in the cold, windswept, northern 

 tundras (fig. 102). Excluding the Yukon and 

 Northwest Territories, 60 percent of the land area 

 is forested ; more than 80 percent of the total forest 

 area is in the ten Provinces (table 183). 



Table 183. — Land classification oj Canada,^ by region, 1953 



Region 



Land area 



Relation of 

 forest to 





Total 



Forest 



Nonforest 



total land 

 area 



Maritime Provinces ^ 



Quebec 



Ontario -^_. 



Million 

 acres 

 56 

 335 

 223 

 441 

 230 

 933 



Million 

 acres 

 38 

 221 

 143 

 214 

 159 

 176 



Percent 

 4 

 23 

 15 

 22 

 17 

 19 



Million 



acres 



18 



114 



80 



227 



71 



757 



Percent 



68 

 66 

 64 



Prairie Provinces ' - - . _ _ 



48 



British Columbia -._ 



69 



Yukon and Northwest Territories 



19 







Total 



2,218 



951 



100 



1, 267 



43 



' Exclusive of Labrador. 



- Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, 

 and New Brunswick. 



3 Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. 



Source: Canada Department of Northern Affairs and 

 National Resources (formerly Department of Resources 

 and Development), Forestry Branch. Bulletin 106 

 Amended 1954. 



