following comparison of potential annual-growth 
capacities for forest type classes in western Mon- 
tana: white pine, redcedar, and hemlock-grand fir, 
73 cubic feet per acre; spruce, 67; ponderosa pine, 
40; larch, 40; Douglas-fir, 26; and lodgepole pine, 
20. 
Alpine fir is common at the higher elevations, 
although individual trees are found almost to the 
valley floor, down many north slopes, and along 
stream bottoms. Much of the alpine fir is in non- 
commercial areas. However, 610 million board 
feet is found on commercial areas. The tree itself 
is considered to be of low quality and is little used. 
It is, nevertheless, suitable for pulping. 
Whitebark and limber pines likewise occur 
widely throughout the eastern Montana forest and 
to a smaller extent in western Montana. The 
total volume of these two species in the State is 
628 million board feet. Much of the timber is 
scrubby and not very usable. However, on areas 
where growing conditions are favorable, whitebark 
and limber pine timber possess qualities compar- 
able to some of the best found in western white 
and ponderosa pines. 
Hardwoods 
The hardwoods of the East and West meet in 
eastern Montana. Aspen, cottonwood, boxelder, 
green ash, willow, birch, and elm are all native 
to the State. However, only cottonwood occurs in 
sufficient volume to be important. ‘The total hard- 
wood saw-timber volume in Montana is 695 million 
board feet, of which 677 million is cottonwood. 
Three-fourths of the Montana cottonwood is east 
of the Continental Divide. 
Cottonwood is the only tree in Montana native 
to every county. Scattered widely along the streams 
and rivers, it occurs in largest quantities in some 
of the major river bottoms. In pioneer days the 
boilers of river steamers on the Missouri were fired 
with cottonwood. ‘Today it is used for lumber, 
fence posts, and fuel wood. Montana’s cottonwood 
is of three species: northern black, narrowleaf, 
and plains (fig. 21). 
Character of the Commercial Stands 
The retarded utilization of the Montana forest 
is reflected in a stand condition very different from 
that in much of the rest of the Nation. In the 
eastern regions of the United States most of the 
24 
timber capital has been depleted by heavy cutting. 
Consequently, those forests are producing at part 
of capacity and can be restored to full production 
only by building up the saw-timber growing stock. 
That is a long, slow process’. The Montana forest, 
in common with the forests of the other Rocky 
Mountain States, has an excess of mature and 
nearly mature timber (fig. 22). 
A detailed tally by age class in western Mon- 
tana shows that almost half of the timber area in 
that part of the State bears stands older than 120 
years, and that one-fourth of the area bears stands 
more than 200 years old. Such proportions are 
considerably in excess of requirements. The saw- 
timber volume in Montana amounts to 8,100 board 
feet per acre of saw-timber stands and 3,700 board 
feet per acre of total commercial forest, excluding 
woodland areas. East of the Mississippi River the 
average is 1,600 board feet per acre of commercial 
forest. The classification of the Montana commer- 
cial forest, with the exception of woodlands, by _ 
size of timber, is as follows: 
Western Eastern 
Montana Montana Total 
(million (million (million 
: acres) acres) acres) 
Saw-timbersstands 3.2.03 t.--cssc saree 3.7 2.0 5e7 
PRole-timber stands sears 3.0 3.4 6.4 
Seedling and sapling stands....... 1.8 6 224: 
Nonstockédareasyeac ee ee A =] BD 
Total nae eas Se ee eee 8.9 6.1 15.0 
Another notable fact is that the area of non- 
stocked forest land is small even though there 
have been many and extensive fires in years past. 
This is largely due to the great capacity of several 
species, particularly lodgepole pine and larch, to 
reseed on burned areas. Montana’s commercial 
forest, in addition to having only a relatively small 
denuded acreage, is for the most part satisfactorily 
stocked. Complete stocking data are available only 
for western Montana. They show that 86 percent 
of the area of pole and seedling and sapling stands 
in that part of the State is medium- to well-stocked 
with trees. 
In addition to the nonstocked area, there are 
800,000 acres of woodland in eastern Montana that 
are also less than 10-percent covered with trees. 
The lack of timber on the so-called woodland areas, 
however, has nothing to do with past fires, other 
damage, or cutting. It merely reflects the fact that 
these areas are on the lower end of the scale of 
commercial quality and productivity. 
4 Vorest Resource Report No. 5 U. S. Department of Agriculture’ 
