board feet an acre, but that much higher saw-timber 
yields in the coming few decades can be obtained 
by leaving a greater volume per acre. To further 
complicate matters, silvicultural methods must be 
designed to prevent Douglas-fir from taking over 
ponderosa pine and larch stands, grand fir from 
encroaching on western white pine, alpine fir on 
spruce, etc. 
Overcrowding of trees is a common failing of 
Montana’s coniferous forest. Because of this ten- 
dency, many stands become stagnant, and growth 
is held down. Thinning is the most elementary type 
of management for such stands, yet little of it has 
been done. More needs to be done. However, if a 
large-scale thinning operation is to be successful, 
markets must be found for the small trees cut in 
the process. Even with a large part of the cost re- 
paid by immediate returns, some of the thinning 
will be in the nature of a long-time capital invest- 
ment. 
In contrast with the generally good stocking of 
the forest, there are a few denuded areas that have 
restocked only partially or not at all. One-half 
million acres of commercial forest in Montana are 
deforested, that is, they are less than 10 percent 
16 Rog, ARTHUR L. GROWTH OF SELECTIVELY CUT PONDEROSA 
PINE STANDS IN THE UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN. U. S. Dept. Agr. 
Handb. 39, 1952. 
Forest Resources of Montana 
stocked with trees. Planting of some this area is 
desirable. So, also, is interplanting of some under- 
stocked stands. Any considerable expansion in the 
planting program will require the development of 
more nursery facilities. 
To the complexities involved in stepping up the 
growth rate may be added the difficulty of ade- 
quately dispersing timber operations. Most forest 
stands in Montana have some trees that should be 
cut and others that should be left to grow. The 
timber ready for harvest, therefore, is widely scat- 
tered. In contrast, utilization has been unduly con- 
centrated. Vigorous timber in accessible areas has 
been logged, while more remote timber ready for 
harvest has been going to waste. 
The Montana situation is a prime example of 
the need for close correlation between the silvi- 
cultural and utilization phases of management. 
‘The industrial possibilities discussed in an earlier 
section will not be realized unless protection and 
other management measures are so intensified that 
gross growth is increased and mortality reduced. 
On the other hand, more complete and better dis- 
tributed industrial use of the timber is required 
if the objectives discussed in this section are to be 
fully effective. Cutting of trees is in reality just as 
much a part of management as planting and insect 
control. 
47 
