F-464663 
Ficure $8.—A 20-inch, four-log ponderosa pine killed by 
insects. The death of this pine nullified one year’s growth 
on 8 acres. Trees like this one are mute evidence that 
full industrial use is not yet being made of Montana's 
timber. 
Forest Resources of Montana 
The State of Montana is in the forest-manage- 
ment business because of the land grants it received 
from the Federal Government for financing schools 
and other institutions. Six million acres, mostly 
grassland, were thus acquired. The State at present 
owns 658,000 acres of forest. 
The Indian Service, Department of the Interior, 
manages 712,000 acres of forest land actually be- 
longing to the Indians on seven widely scattered 
veservations. 
The National Park Service manages 933,000 acres 
of forest for the purpose of preserving for recreation 
outstanding scenic and wildlife attractions. 
The Bureau of Land Management handles 700,- 
000 acres of public domain forest left over after 
homesteaders had made their selections and various 
grants and withdrawals had been made. 
Counties hold 81,000 acres of forest that they 
acquired through tax delinquency and by other 
means. 
The Forest Service manages 13.9 million acres 
of forest land in 11 national forests, or 62 percent 
of the forest area of Montana. 
All together public agencies manage 17 million 
acres of the 22.4 million acres of forest land in 
Montana—76 acres out of every 100. Over the 
United States as a whole, only 34 of every 100 acres 
are publicly owned or managed. It is especially 
significant that a major part of the forest in Mon- 
tana was retained in public control to assure a 
higher type of management than it was expected 
to receive if parceled out to individuals and com- 
panies. How well has that objective been realized? 
On the credit side of the ledger may be listed 
several important facts. Public agencies have taken 
the leadership in wild-land conservation. An un- 
broken wilderness, much of which is difficult moun- 
tain terrain, has been tamed to the point where 
fire losses have been greatly reduced. Satisfactory 
working procedures have been set up for selling 
timber, leasing range, and handling other busi- 
ness. A survey of forest management practices in 
1944, made by the Forest Service in cooperation 
with the State Forester and other agencies, indi- 
cated that the over-all situation with regard to 
cutting practices on public lands was favorable. 
Looking at the public lands from the standpoint 
of what needs to be done, it is obvious that a big 
job lies ahead. Cutting practices can still be im- 
proved; this is true on some types of holdings more 
49 
