The ponderosa pine areas of eastern Montana 
are, with a few exceptions, of low quality from 
the standpoint of producing capacity. In western 
Montana the stands are better and the average 
site quality is classified as “medium.” This is about 
the same as in the pine region of eastern Oregon 
and Washington. 
The ponderosa pine type in western Montana 
can be subdivided into the pure stands found on 
the drier areas, and the mixed type in which the 
pine occurs along with other species, principally 
Douglas-fir. Ecologically speaking, the mixed pine 
forest is growing on Douglas-fir sites and the pres- 
ence of ponderosa pine is accounted for largely by 
past fires. The improved fire protection of recent 
years and the logging of the pine create a manage- 
ment problem of how to keep Douglas-fir from. 
gradually taking over most of these areas. 
Douglas-fir 
Montana has 15.4 billion board feet of Douglas- 
fir. ‘Though it is the most common species in the 
State, only 314 percent of the total saw-timber 
supply of Douglas-fir in the United States is located 
in Montana. 
Few, if any other important American trees, 
grow under more diverse climatic conditions than 
Douglas-fir. The range of this species stretches all 
the way from the humid Pacific slope of Wash- 
ington and Oregon to the semiarid parts of eastern 
Montana. The tree itself varies as much as the 
climatic conditions of its range. On the Pacific coast 
occasional trees have reached diameters in excess 
of 10 feet. In Montana a 36-inch Douglas-fir tree 
is a large one and the average saw-timber tree of 
this species is about 16 inches in diameter. Sixty- 
three percent of the Douglas-fir saw-timber volume 
is in I1- to 20-inch trees and 33 percent in 21- to 
30-inch trees. 
Even though the Montana Douglas-fir is consid- 
erably smaller and more scrubby than the coast 
variety, it is locally important. In eastern Montana, 
where it is used for bridge planking and other struc- 
tural purposes, Douglas-fir is probably more sought 
after than ponderosa pine. It is particularly suit- 
able for timbering the metal mines of western 
Montana, because it gives warning signs of struc- 
tural failure. 
Douglas-fir is the main species on 2.9 million 
Forest Resources of Montana 
acres of commercial forest land (not including 
woodland) , six-tenths of which is in eastern Mon- 
tana (fig. 19). 
Western Larch 
Forty-four percent of the western larch saw 
timber in the United States is in Montana—a total 
of 11.8 billion board feet. All of the larch except 
for a few trees occurs west of the Continental 
Divide. 
Larch is one of the larger and better trees in 
Montana, growing tall, straight and clear, and 
occasionally reaching a diameter of 5 feet. Its 
growth habits are such that it will produce more 
clear wood than any other native tree. Seventy- 
two percent of the volume in larch saw timber 
today is in trees 20 inches and larger. 
Larch is believed by some to have more undevel- 
oped potentialities than any other native species. 
It is used mainly for sawed lumber products, a pur- 
pose for which it has not commanded a_ high 
price and certainly not the one for which the higher 
quality trees are best suited. ‘Tests prove it to be 
a very good veneer wood. ‘This species is also un- 
usually rich in galactose sugar, an extractive that 
makes up from 12 to 20 percent of the dry weight 
of the wood. The heaviest concentration of sugar 
is found at the butt of the tree. As yet no industrial 
use is made of this extractive. 
Larch makes up half or more of the timber vol- 
ume on 2.6 million acres of forest land in western 
Montana. Its principal associate is Douglas-fir, 
which accounts for about one-third of the volume 
in larch stands. Larch is a pioneer tree that re- 
establishes itself best on areas burned to the min- 
eral soil and on which there is a minimum of shade. 
Because young larch will not grow in the shade 
of a parent stand, the species forms a_ so-called 
temporary type; that is, it gradually gives way to 
more tolerant trees—principally Douglas-fir—if the 
stand is not disturbed. A typical virgin larch stand 
is shown in figure 19. 
Lodgepole Pine 
Montana’s supply of lodgepole pine saw timber 
is 6.9 billion board feet, approximately one-third 
of the total saw-timber volume of this species in the 
United States. ‘Two-thirds of the Montana volume 
lies east of the-Continental Divide. 
