A Development and Management Program 
ti 
LTHOUGH it is reasonable to look forward 
to continued progress in forestry and forest 
utilization in Montana, we must remember 
that even after a half century of effort we have 
accomplished only part of the tremendous job of 
putting 15.8 million acres of commercial forest to 
sustained use. After half a century, industries are 
still using only part of the timber available to 
them. Trees that Nature took a century or more 
to grow are still dying and falling to the ground 
unused (fig. 38). Much more needs to be done to 
conyert the forest to a well-managed, fast-growing 
one. ‘There is need for an adequate program for 
opening up the forest so that it can be used and 
managed, and for all owners to exert more effort 
toward improving and increasing timber yields. 
More Roads Are Needed 
Timber cannot be used unless there are roads 
over which it can be taken out. We are reminded 
of this almost every time the necessity arises for 
salvaging trees damaged by a bad fire, insect attack, 
or blowdown (fig. 39). The amount of loss from 
such catastrophies depends upon how much of the 
damaged timber can be salvaged. However, salvage 
is only one aspect of the transportation problem. 
Without a well-developed road system, full and 
balanced industrial expansion is impossible. With- 
out adequate roads, the management objectives dis- 
cussed earlier are quite academic. 
The existing road system is not adequate. In the 
national forests, for example, the basic skeletal 
network” required for proper administration is 
estimated to be 12,300 miles. In 1950, only 6,900 
miles of that road were in existence. Aithough the 
entire 6,900 miles are good enough to serve the 
purposes for which they were constructed, only 
1,600 miles are of sufficiently high standard to carry 
This is best described as the main arterial system from 
which logging, mining, and other local roads branch. It is 
only a fraction of the total road mileage required on the 
Montana national forests. 
all of the traffic that would come with full utiliza- 
tion of the forest resource. A large proportion of 
the present road system was built for fire control 
purposes at a time when it was necessary to get 
maximum mileage for the limited funds available. 
This, in many instances, accounts for the inade- 
quacy of such roads for other purposes. The 5,300 
miles of existing road which need to be rebuilt 
or replaced and 5,400 miles of entirely new road 
which need to be constructed would cost over 125 
million dollars. 
During the decade 1939-48 approximately 7 mil- 
lion dollars was spent by the Government on the 
construction of a basic-road system within the 
boundaries of Montana national forests. At that 
rate, it would take 150 years or more to complete 
the job. Although not all of the roads are needed 
immediately, the major part of the basic-road net- 
work should be completed in the next 20 years. 
Obviously, the longer the delay in completing the 
network the longer industrial and forest develop- 
ment will be retarded and timber wasted. 
Intensifying Public Land Management 
In Montana 76 percent of the forest land is 
managed by State and Federal agencies. Thus, a 
major part of the responsibility for future handling 
and development of the forest falls directly on the 
public. The following tabulation shows the forest 
landownership in Montana: 
Commercial 
All forest forest 
Public ownership: (million acres) (million acres) 
Nationaliforeste-o.2 ace con oe eee 13.9 9.0 
Indian; Senviceiteiuccinn ower eee erate off 6 
Publickdomainigees ese aloo si 6 
National Park and other Federal...... 1.0 ae 
ae a ae HOHE aut omits ca dh At host Hr af, 6 
County and municipal..............-. 1 al 
A Worl meh WA eed Bienen atcxt a0 5 17.1 10.9 
Private sownershipiies sacs eee Os) 4.9 
NIG ownershipsirscnaee are b er alee neat 22.4 15.8 
48 Forest Resource Report No. 5 U. 8. Department of Agriculture 
