RESEARCH SUMMARY 



Mature lodgepole pine stands in Montana's Bitterroot National 

 Forest could yield 1.2 to 2.3 million cubic feet of wood annually. 

 Three-fourths of this volume is suited for high value roundwood products. 

 About 15,000 houselogs, 62,000 corral rails, and 110,000 fenceposts, 

 plus one-fourth million cubic feet of fiber material could be harvested 

 from land classed as "standard" — suitable and available for harvest. 

 Additional volume could be obtained by salvage-cutting of dead timber. 



Rapid growth in the past few years of plants using lodgepole 

 roundwood products has created a brisk demand for lodgepole. Harvest 

 of dead lodgepole increased tenfold from 1966 to 1975. However, much 

 of the lodgepole resource is not accessible by existing roads and will 

 require careful harvest to protect other resource values, particularly in 

 high elevation fragile areas. 



The lodgepole pine resource could provide employment to small 

 logging operators or part-time loggers, particularly if a convenient' 

 market outlet such as a concentration yard were developed. 



Increased use of lodgepole in the Bitterroot depends on location of 

 the stands, economic conditions, harvesting technology and feasibility, 

 and the level of harvest allowed in land management plans. 



