AN IMPORTANT FOREST RESOURCE 



The interior of Alaska has in the neighborhood of 180 billion board feet on 

 about AO million acres of canmercial forest land, or about three times as 

 much volinne as the New England states. Southeast Alaska has about 70 

 billion feet or as much as the middle Atlantic states. These are not 

 "stunted arctic stands" (fig. l). Merchantable-sized trees are found well 

 north of the Arctic Circle. To get an accurate pictirre of the resource a 

 forest inventory must be made. This is being done in Southeast Alaska where 

 more accurate figures are urgently needed to replace the data obtained in 

 rough cruises. The figures for the Interior are based only on estimates by 

 experienced foresters engaged in fire protection. Even if an accurate forest 

 inventory of the Interior eventually shows somewhat less than these esti- 

 mates, there is still a great forest resoxirce. 



Forggt Rggearch Involved 



To manage a forest resource it is necessary to know as a minimum (a) the 

 location and volxime of merchantable stands and location of land capable of 

 growing merchantable stands, (b) the rate of present and potential growth, 

 (c) how to harvest the timber crop to provide for reproduction of the best 

 kind, (d) how to treat new crops to pranote quantity and quality growth, 

 and (e) how to protect all forest land from fire, insects and disease. 



Management assumes utilization. Forests cannot be managed under sustained 

 yield without removing crops of timber. In Southeast Alaska utilization for 

 pulp and lumber is under way. In the Interior utilization is yet to come. 

 To assist in developing forest industry in the Interior products utilization 

 research and service is needed. 



The work needed imder these broad headings may be outlined as follows: 



Forest Inventory 



a. Areas and voltmies 



b. Growth and mortality, present stands. 



a. Fire studies to aid in detection and suppression - Interior 



b. Insect research and surveys 



c. Disease research and surveys 



Visible indicators of cull and defect 



2 - 



