Stand size Thousand acres 



Sawtimber 303 

 Poletimber 93 

 Seedling and sapling 32 



Total 428 



From even this brief description of the 

 forest occupying white pine land, it is evident 

 that managers hoping to improve timber pro- 

 duction must deal with a variety of situations. 

 Stand composition as well as stand size may 

 vary, ranging from almost pure stands of a 

 single species, including white pine, to stands 

 of a variety of species mixtures. Stands may 

 range in age from less than a year to over 200 

 years, and in condition from vigorous and 

 healthy to heavily diseased and decadent. It is 

 important to recognize also that some stands 

 are on stable soils and gentle slopes so that 

 they are easy to develop, whereas others are 

 on highly unstable soils or steep slopes, or 

 both, and may not be loggable with present 

 technology. There is no simple answer to the 

 management of these stands nor is there a 

 simple solution applicable to all. Every stand 

 must be evaluated individually. However, cer- 

 tain general considerations must be recognized 

 with respect to white pine and other mer- 

 chantable and nonmerchantable stands. 



White Pine Stands 



Because there is still hope for a practical 

 method of blister rust control and research is 

 going forward to find one, managers may wish 

 to defer action on white pine stands if cost- 

 value relationships would not be materially 

 changed by a delay of a few years. This con- 

 sideration would apply to mature stands as 

 well as young stands. Again, regardless of how 

 serious losses due to blister rust or other agents 

 may be, it would not be wise to han^est if 

 logging would seriously damage soil or water- 

 shed values, or both. It also may be desirable 

 to adjust priorities in treatment planning so 

 as to achieve yield objectives more fuUy. 



Merchantable Stands 



Some merchantable stands cannot be logged 

 economically with present technology with- 

 out undue watershed damage. However, the 



major consideration in dealing with mer- 

 chantable stands, particularly on highly pro- 

 ductive land, is mortality. If mortality is very 

 light, the manager will want to defer cutting 

 as long as possible. In stands on good land 

 where mortality rates are high, cutting will 

 need to be accelerated to reduce mortality 

 losses. 



Cutting for salvage in high-mortality stands 

 appears particularly urgent in seriously threat- 

 ened high-value old-growth stands of white 

 pine. With its higher stumpage value, white 

 pine can carry the cost of much of the access 

 development needed to serve a multitude of 

 land use objectives. If the white pine values 

 are lost, large areas may have to remain with- 

 out access for many years to come. 



The opportunity to develop and log an area 

 economically can be quickly lost as mortality 

 increases. The Northern Region has about 

 150,000 acres of mature white pine timber 

 type in areas largely inaccessible. Much of this 

 timber is in stands yet to be inventoried in 

 sufficient detail to indicate mortality, but in 

 those stands that have been surveyed, 5 to 7 

 percent of white pine timber has been dying 

 each year. 



Data from the Forest Survey indicate the 

 nature of the problem of mortality. The vol- 

 ume of salvable dead timber^ reflects the more 

 recent mortality: 38,000 acres support saw- 

 timber stands containing 1,500 cubic feet 

 (roughly 7,500 board feet) or more in sal- 

 vable dead trees per acre, as the following 

 tabulation shows: 



Volume of 



Approximate 



Thousand 



salvable 



board feet 



acres 



dead wood 



per acre 





(Cu. ft./acre) 







Less than 499 



1,250 



1,699 



500-999 



3,750 



81 



1,000-1,499 



6,750 



33 



1,500-1,999 



8,750 



18 



2,000-2,499 



11,250 



9 



2,500-2,999 



13.750 



7 



Over 3,000 



15,000+ 



4 



Total 





1,851 



^Dead merchantable trees containing 50 percent 

 or more sound wood at the time of measurement. 



4 



