Contents 



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A midcentury checkup 



The forest resource 



Forest lands 



Main commercial forests m the North 



Southern and western forests mostly farm woods . 



Few saw timber stands remain 



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Page 



1 



4 

 4 



4 

 4 

 4 



Original softwood forests now partly displaced by aspen 



and brush 6 



Federal, State, and county ownership large 8 



Forests now in transition 10 



Softwood area still shrinking 10 



Sapling stands "thickening up" 11 



New hardwood combinations evolving 11 



Nonstocked areas still a problem 12 



Ownership becoming more stable 12 



Timber volumes 13 



Small share of volume is sawtimber 13 



Sawtimber of rather poor quality 14 



Smaller timber finds many uses 15 



Pulpwood volume large 15 



Federal forests include much softwood timber 15 



State controls valuable pulpwood stands 17 



Counties control significant volumes 17 



PFarm woods are primai ily hardwood 17 



Other privately owned timber of mixed character .... 18 



Hardwood volumes have increased 18 



Net annual growth 18 



Rate has increased since 1936 19 



Further large increases possible 19 



Nonstocked acreage reduces growth total 20 



High mortality a retarding factor 20 



Current growth mainly on small trees 22 



Growth contains too little softwood 22 



Quality of hardwood growth needs improvement. ... 22 



.Allowable cut 23 



Cut should be less than growth 23 



Trends in allowable cut upward 23 



Forest industries and their wood needs 25 



Where the timber goes 25 



Many mills in State 25 



Sawmills are small 25 



Nine pulp mills in 1953 27 



Few veneer mills in State 27 



Other mills mainly lath and shingle 27 



Much wood goes for fuel 27 



Other timber used in round form 28 



Current rate of cutting 30 



Not all cut is from growing stock 30 



Logging residues rather large 30 



Sawtimber trees furnish 39 percent of cut 30 



Softwood and hardwood cut equal 30 



Private lands supply three-fifths of timber 31 



Accessible areas cut most heavily 33 



Trends in timber cut 34 



Lumber decline halted 34 



Pulpwood operations expanding 35 



Page 

 Forest industries and their wood needs — Continued 

 Trends in timber cut — Continued 



Less wood cut for fuel 36 



\'eneer log production gaining 36 



.Some industries dropping out 36 



Pole and post business rebounding 36 



Mine timber use falling off 36 



Total cut increasing 36 



Problems highlighted by survey 38 



Available supplies not fully utilized 38 



Some hardwoods overabundant 38 



Aspen offers large surpluses 39 



Pine overcut in accessible areas 39 



Spruce unevenly used by locality 40 



Surplus balsam fir available 40 



Tamarack and cedar accumulating 40 



New industries needed 40 



Too much land is understocked 41 



Softwood types losing ground 41 



Unev'en distribution of stand-size classes 41 



Too much low-grade timber 41 



Mortality excessive 41 



Management responsibilities divided 42 



Public agencies have most surplus wood 42 



National forests have access problems 43 



Difficult management problems on State and county 



lands 43 



Management varies on private lands 44 



Conclusion 45 



Some gain expected with present trends 45 



Management can improve quality as well as quantity of 



yields 45 



Minnesota can produce more softwoods 45 



.Appendix 47 



Forest survey methods 47 



Areas 47 



Ownership 47 



\'olumes and growth 47 



Allowable cut 47 



Timber cut 48 



-Accuracy of survey 48 



.Areas 48 



Volumes 48 



Definition of terms 48 



Land-use classes 48 



Forest types 49 



Species groups 49 



Stand-size classes 50 



Tree classifications 50 



Diameter measurements 50 



\'olume classifications 50 



Growth 51 



Mortality 51 



Allowable cut 51 



Timber cut 51 



Principal commercial forest trees recorded on the Min- 

 nesota forest survey 52 



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