

I.—THE FORESTS OF THE REGION. 
LOCATION. 
The forests of the Rocky Mountains, mainly coniferous, are usually 
located upon the mountain slopes, at altitudes varying from 4,500 to 
12,000 feet above the sea; in some cases the timber line extends to a 
height of 12,500 feet. The foot-hills and mesas often have a scattering, 
inferior forest growth, and many of the streams which flow from the 
mountains are bordered with a sparse growth of cottonwood and a few 
other deciduous species native to the region. 
AREA. 
The forest areas, though large in themselves, are not large as com- 
pared with the area of the entire region, which amounts to 640,155 square 
miles, nor are they to any considerable extent contiguous. There are 
at present no means of determining accurately their bounds and extent. 
Approximate estimates only ean be given, based mainly upon state- 
ments received from residents of the several localities, or from persons 
having special knowledge of particular portions of the region.* 
According to the best data obtainable, and including in the estimate 
all kinds of forest growth, light and heavy, valuable and inferior, the 
approximate forest areas, in square miles, of the several divisions are 
as follows: Idaho, 15,990; Montana, 26,255; Wyoming, 12,060; Colo- 
rado, 16,625; New Mexico, 12,500; Utah, 6,000; or a total in round 
numbers of 90,000 square miles or 57,000,000 acres, being 14 per cent. 
of the total land area. 
OWNERSHIP. 
The bulk of the forest land of the Rocky Mountain region is still owned 
by the General Government. In New Mexico, through the means of old 
Spanish grants, the titles to large tracts of woodland are held by private 
*Itisone of the most difficult undertakings, asevery one who hasattemptedit knows, 
to ascertain with accuracy the timber areas, especially in the great mountain region 
of the West. In all of the Territories I found a disposition among the people to 
overestimate the timber area, and to call all Jands timber lands that had once been 
covered with forest growth. Lumber dealersand producers do not like to give figures 
to a Government agent, and when they do, are not likely to exaggerate them. There 
is no common and recognized standard by which to estimate forest areas.—E. T. E. 
69 

