in 1948. One exception to the over-all situation is 
the ponderosa pine saw timber, which has been 
drastically overcut for a number of years. Also, 
the 1948 cut of larch and Douglas-fir saw timber was 
somewhat larger than desirable. 
How can timber utilization be increased? 
Most important of the needed developments in 
Montana is roads. Insect-control activities to save 
old timber will pay off only if the timber saved 
can be hauled out. That requires roads. Timber 
killed by one cause or another can only be salvaged 
if there are roads. Roads are also necessary for 
industrial development. The permanent road net- 
work required for administering the Montana na- 
tional forests is only 13 percent completed. 
Does Montana need more forest industries? 
Yes. However, not just any industry will do. 
There are already more than enough customers 
for the valuable ponderosa pine and white pine. 
We need more plants, such as pulpmills that will 
use sizes and species of timber and parts of trees 
not now in much demand, and we need better dis- 
tribution of the cut over the entire State. 
Has lack of roads been the only factor holding back 
industrial development? 
No. Lack of roads is actually the effect of a more 
fundamental difficulty. Montana has suffered the 
handicap of remoteness from markets; high trans- 
portation cost has slowed the growth and develop- 
ment of the State. 
The heavy wood consumption in the United 
States preceding and following World War II, plus 
the population growth in the West, has increased 
the value of Montana timber. Prospects are favor- 
able for increasing industrial use of the timber in 
years to come. 
What is the place of the forest in Montana’s 
economy? 
Water, recreation, forage, and timber values in 
Montana loom up very large and can, if the forest 
is managed properly, make a major contribution 
to the economy of the State. 
One of the more significant points in this report 
is that the timber-producing capacity of the 15,- 
756,000 acres of Montana’s commercial forest is far 
greater than many people had realized. 
Forest Resource Report No. 5 U.S. Department of Agriculture 
