A prolific, aggressive tree, lodgepole pine has 
taken over much of the vast area swept by fires in 
years past. Today, forests dominated by this species 
cover a greater area than any other commercial type 
in the State—about 4.6 million acres. In eastern 
Montana one-third of the commercial forest is 
lodgepole pine. 
One of the outstanding features of the commer- 
cial forest of Montana is that most of the area 1s 
well covered with tree growth. Despite extensive 
severe fires, only 3 percent of it, excluding wood- 
lands, has so few trees as to be classed as nonstocked 
or de-forested. ‘This situation is attributable in large 
part to the prolificness of lodgepole pine and its 
weedlike capacity to thrive on burned-over areas. 
Dense, pure stands of lodgepole pine, such as shown 
in figure 20, have sprung up on innumerable burns. 
The ease with which this species reproduces has, 
however, been a disadvantage as well as an advan- 
tage. Many stands, overcrowded to start with, have 
in later years stagnated. One of the management 
problems in the lodgepole pine type is to keep the 
number of stems down to where individual trees 
can grow rapidly to merchantable size. 
Like some of the ponderosa pine, much of the 
lodgepole pine is growing on land which, from an 
ecological standpoint, belongs to other species. 
Lodgepole pine has been called the great visitor 
that comes to see the fire and stays for a rotation. 
In the absence of future fires, other species will 
normally take over many areas presently bearing 
lodgepole pine. 
Lodgepole pine is typically a small tree. The aver- 
age saw-timber tree of this species has a diameter of 
approximately 12 inches as compared with approxi- 
mately 20 inches for ponderosa pine saw timber. 
Only 1 percent of the lodgepole pine saw-timber 
volume is in trees larger than 20 inches. ‘This is in 
contrast to the larch saw-timber volume, 72 per- 
cent of which is in trees larger than 20 inches. Only 
its small size in a western forest of giants has kept 
lodgepole pine from being heavily cut for lumber. 
Its properties are very similar to those of ponderosa 
pine.’ 
During the past half century an enormous area 
of overmature lodgepole pine forest has been swept 
°’The versatility of this species was described by I. V. 
Anderson in a talk entitled LODGEPOLE PINE: A MULTIPLE- 
PURPOSE WOOD, given before the Washington-Idaho-Montana 
Dry Kiln Club at Libby, Mont., in August 1949. 
Forest Resources of Montana 
Most of the 
timber killed by these beetles has long since fallen 
to the ground and deteriorated beyond salvage. 
However, Forest indicate 
that 361 million cubic feet of dead lodgepole pine 
might still be used for pulping and certain other 
purposes. The volume of this salvable dead wood 
is about one-tenth as large as the green lodgepole 
pine volume. 
by waves of dendroctonus beetles. 
Survey measurements 
Spruce 
From the standpoint of quantity, spruce is the 
fifth most important tree in the commercial forest 
of Montana. The 7.0 billion board feet of spruce 
saw timber in the State is approximately one-fifth 
of the total volume of spruce in the Western States. 
No estimate of the eastern spruce volume is avail- 
able, but it is probable that at least 13 percent of 
the total spruce saw-timber volume in the United 
States is in Montana. 
Two species of spruce grow in the State: Engel- 
mann and white. Actually, the distinction between 
these species is an academic one, for the two woods 
are very similar. White spruce, though it occurs 
in several localities, is a minor quantity. 
Spruce grows primarily at higher altitudes. Cun- 
ningham, et al (2), found that “The lower range is 
confined to moist canyons or protected north slopes, 
while on other exposures it finds sufficient moisture 
only at higher altitudes. . . . It is found in greater 
abundance and of better development in the forests 
bordering the Canadian boundary than elsewhere 
and appears to attain the largest dimensions on the 
deep-soiled springy slopes and along canyons.” Be- 
cause spruce has an affinity for the higher areas 
which lack roads, it has been little used. 
Other Conifers 
The range of white pine, hemlock, grand fir, and 
western redcedar, which flourish in northern Idaho, 
extends into the western edge of Montana. From 
the standpoint of area, these are minor species 
predominating on only 357,000 acres or 2 percent 
of the commercial timber-growing area. However, 
the 2 billion board feet of saw timber of these 
species is almost 4 percent of the total saw-timber 
volume in Montana. White pine (fig. 21) and its 
three associates occupy some of the most produc- 
tive forest land in the State. This is shown in the 
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