INTRODUCTION 



During the 1973 economic recession, Ravalli County, Montana, was an area of high 

 unemployment. The Ravalli County Resource Conservation and Development Committee 

 (RC§D)--part of the Rural Area Development Program- -located in Hamilton, began seeking 

 means for stimulating employment, particularly among farm and ranch workers chronically 

 unemployed during the long winters. 



One promising answer lay in expanding the logging of the large stands of lodgepole 

 pine on the Bitterroot National Forest. The stands were underutilized at the time, and 

 individual trees were of a size that could be skidded with equipment--also often idle 

 in winter--found on many ranches and farms. Many ranchers who owned timber supplemented 

 their incomes by logging during the winter. Creating similar work for others seemed a 

 likely way to reduce unemployment. 



The RC5D Committee enlisted the assistance of the staff of the Bitterroot National 

 Forest and the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station's Forestry Sciences 

 Laboratory in Missoula. Two studies resulted from this cooperative effort. A study by 

 Benson and Strong^ evaluated the acreage, volume, and product potential of lodgepole 

 stands on the Bitterroot National Forest. The second study is the subject of this report. 



The study reported here had two objectives: (1) examine the feasibility of using 

 inexpensive skidding equipment in a small-stem lodgepole pine stand in western Montana, 

 and (2) determine forest residues volumes (unused wood) resulting from different ground 

 skidding methods and utilization standards. Preharvest volumes, volumes removed, re- 

 sidues left on the ground, and unusable material hauled from the site were determined 

 for various utilization standards. The efficiency of skidding with a horse, small 

 tractor, and small rubber-tired skidder were compared. 



Benson and Strong^ reported the volume and product potential of mature lodgepole 

 pine stands on the Bitterroot National Forest. Mature lodgepole pine stands cover 

 81,688 acres, of which only 44,147 acres are available for timber harvest. The cubic 

 volume on these 44 thousand acres, 3 inches and larger in diameter, is segregated as 

 follows: 



Million ft^ 



Standing green 

 Standing dead 

 Down 



91.3 

 26.7 

 63.8 



Total 



181.8 



Suitable for solid wood products 

 Suitable for fiber 

 Not usable 



122.5 

 36.1 

 23.2 



Total 



181.8 



iBenson, R. E., and R. A. Strong. Wood product potential in mature lodgepole 

 pine stands, Bitterroot National Forest. USDA For. Serv. Res. Pap. INT- 194, 16 p. 

 Intermt. For. and Range Exp. Stn., Ogden, Utah. 



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