334 . TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



Table 184. — Commercial and noncommercial Jorest land area in Canada,^ by region, 1953 



Region 



Total 



Commercial ^ 



Relation of 

 commercial 



to total 

 forest area 



Noncom- 





Total 



In region 



Accessible 



mercial 



Maritime Provinces ^ . . _ 



Million 

 acres 

 38 

 221 

 143 

 214 

 159 

 176 



Million 



acres 



29 



161 



102 



110 



79 



48 



Percent 

 6 

 30 

 19 

 21 

 15 

 9 



Million 

 acres 

 29 

 123 

 83 

 64 

 55 

 16 



Percent 

 76 

 73 

 71 

 51 

 50 

 27 



Million 

 acres 



9 



Quebec 



60 



Ontario 



Prairie Provinces * 



41 

 104 



British Columbia 



Yukon and Northwest Territories 



80 



128 







Total 



951 



529 



100 



370 



56 



422 



' Exclusive of Labrador. 



^ Forest lands phj'sically capable of producing crops of 

 usable wood that are economically exploitable now or pro- 

 spectively. 



' Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, 

 and New Brunswick. 



The National and Provincial Governments 

 have reserved approximately 95 million acres for 

 special purposes. Some 40 million acres have 

 been set aside as national and provincial parks, 

 primarily for recreational use. On these areas, 

 timber is definitely not available for commercial 

 cutting operations. Some 48 million acres are in 

 provincial forest reserves, roughly comparable to 

 national forests in the United States. On these, 

 commercial cutting under certain regulations is 

 permitted. An additional 7 million acres are in 

 military, Indian, and other reserves. 



Approximately 141 million acres of Crown forest 

 lands, administered either by the Dominion or 

 Provincial Governments, are occupied, i. e., have 

 been leased or licensed or otherwise contracted for 

 by private timber operators. ^^ Of this total, 117 

 million acres are held as pulpwood licenses. In 

 Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, 

 pulpwood licenses account for about 90 percent 

 of leased and licensed land. Elsewhere, the saw- 

 timber licenses become more important and, for 

 the nation, account for 21 million acres. The 

 remaining 3 million acres are covered by sales of 

 timber and other types of permits. 



Some 62 million acres are privately owned 

 timberland, of which 39 million acres are held by 

 nonfarm owners and 23 million acres are in farm 

 woodlots. These woodlots, ranging in area from 

 3 to 200 acres or even more, contain some of the 

 most accessible timber in Canada. Some 60 per- 

 cent ol the farm woodlot area is in eastern Canada, 

 where because of more favorable climatic and soil 

 conditions it is generally rather productive. 



55 It is likely that scattered parts of the areas covered 

 by leases and licenses may actually be noncommercial. 

 No data regarding the size of this noncommercial area art- 

 available. Estimates as high as 25 percent have been 

 made. 



^ 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. 



Subtracting the area of occupied Crown forest, 

 national and provincial parks and reserves, and 

 private forest land from the commercial forest 

 area leaves 23 1 million acres of commercial Crown 

 forest land that is unoccupied and awaiting 

 license or lease. Some of this, of course, is not 

 readUy accessible. 



Although it is conceivable that some of the 422 

 million acres of noncommercial forest land may, 

 with the opening up of transportation systems, 

 become commercial, most of it will probably 

 remain noncommercial. 



Timber Volume Is Chiefly Softwood 



The timber volume on the commercial forest 

 area is estimated to be 397 billion cubic feet ** 

 including 782 billion board-feet " or an average 

 of 750 cubic feet and 1,478 board-feet per acre 

 (tables 185, 186, and 187, and fig. 105). This 

 contrasts with an average of approximately 1,000 

 cubic feet and 4,100 board-feet per acre for the 

 United States. Of the total cubic volume, 61 per- 

 cent is spruce, balsam fir, and hemlock, which 

 are prime pulping species. An additional 22 per- 

 cent is pine, cedar, Douglas-fir, and other soft- 

 woods. Only 17 percent is hardwood, chiefly 

 poplar (aspen) and white tirch. 



It is estimated that 70 percent of the cubic-foot 

 volume and 75 percent of the board-foot volume 

 is found on areas now considered to be accessible. 



5' In trees 4 inches and larger in diameter at breast 

 height. 



5' In trees 10 inches and larger in diameter at breast 

 height. It is possible that the timber-volume estimate 

 may be con.servative. Modern sampling surveys have 

 covered only about one-fourth to one-third of the com- 

 mercial forest area, and as surveys progress the reported 

 timber volume has steadily increased. 



