Table I . --Forest area by type and land class, nonreserved land, Bitterroot National Forest 



Forest type 



Forest land class 1 



Standard : Special 



Marginal 



Unregulated 



Total 



Douglas-fir 

 Lodgepole pine 

 Alpine fir/spruce 

 Ponderosa pine 

 Other 



Total 



153,728 

 54,590 

 28,505 

 11,129 



247,952 



116,258 

 10, 151 

 7,726 

 43,852 



177,987 



Acres 



93,314 

 1,416 

 1,730 

 8,799 



105,259 



19,698 

 67,649 



89,707 

 



7,631 



184,685 



382,998 

 133,806 

 127,668 

 63,780 

 7,631 



715,. 



^Standard: Available and suitable for timber production with present technology. 



Special: Needs special timber production measures to protect other multiple use 



values . 



Marginal: Areas not presently scheduled for harvest because of excessive development 



costs, low product values, or resource protection constraints. 



Unregulated: Commercial timberland not organized for timber production, including 

 administrative sites, recreation areas, high areas, unproductive and 

 remote areas, etc. Some harvest may be permitted but not on a regular 

 scheduled basis. 



Table 2. --Area of lodgepole pine type by forest land class and condition'^ 



Forest land class 



Condition class 



Standard : Special 



Marginal 



Unregulated 



Mature, high-risk stand 

 Mature, low-risk stand 

 Mature pole 



Subtotal, mature 

 Immature and nonstocked 



Total 



3,221 

 27,303 



30,524 

 24,066 



54,590 



1,566 

 230 



1,796 

 8,355 



10,151 



Acres 



1,416 



1,416 



16,848 

 27,257 

 5,263 



49,368 

 18,281 



67,649 



Total 



21,635 

 54,790 

 5,263 



81,688 

 52 , 118 



133,806 



•^Acreage in this table and acreage in Bitterroot National Forest inventory printouts 

 may be slightly different because some mature stands have been harvested since the in- 

 ventory fieldwork, and some land has been reclassified. 



The mature lodgepole pine on the Bitterroot is mostly quite old--in some cases 

 more than 200 years old. Most of the lodgepole grows in fairly high, cold sites that 

 get most of their moisture from spring snowmelt. Summer and autumn are often very dry. 

 Under these conditions, lodgepole stands will remain more or less intact for more than 

 200 years unless fire occurs. However, mortality is fairly heavy, and there is a large 

 accumulation of standing and down dead material. Growth of individual trees is negli- 

 gible, and net growth of the stand is often zero or negative, due to mortality (fig. 2). 



3 



