6 BULLETIN 1494, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
THE WESTERN WHITE PINE TYPE 
IMPORTANCE OF WESTERN WHITE PINE 
The lumber industry of north Idaho is built largely around the 
white pine type. In 1923, 42 per cent of the cut north of the Salmon 
River was western white pine (Pinus monticola), 27 per cent was 
western yellow pine (P. ponderosa), and the remaining 31 per cent 
was principally western larch (Larix occidentalis), Douglas fir 
(Pseudotsuga taxifolia), western red cedar (Thuja plicata), low- 
land white fir (Abces grandis), and western hemlock (Z'suga hetero- 
phylla) cut in conjunction with white pine operations. Of the other 
species cut Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmann?) has a slight im- 
portance, but northern black cottonwod (Populus trichocarpa has- 
tata) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) are negligible. Lumber- 
ing in the greater part of north Idaho, with the comparatively high 
logging costs encountered, is made possible only through the high 
value of the white pine. 
In view of the limited distribution of western white pine, figures 
on the available supply in north Idaho (Table 1) are of particular 
interest. These estimates, compiled from various sources, are the 
best obtainable at present. 
TABLE 1.—Timber stand in Idaho north of the Salmon River 
[Millions of board feet — i. e., 000,000 omitted] 
Douglas 
Western | Western 
. fir and Other 
Ownership wie yenew western | species Total 
Pp pas larch 
Nationalsforest 30 e Ek est yi tie ee si Et ee eh eee 3, 868 1, 909 5, 953 9, 995 21, 725 
Otherebed eral sae ee een esa ae ae ee 165 149 245 214 773 
State eases uae ener a as ae a Sn a eae 2, 255 411 1, 687 1, 907 6, 260 
IPE VabOe eae nc ate ore ee ee eer BES ee eR oe 7, 246 3, 086 6, 563 5, 699 22, 594 
PP OTE fan tea rr es EE aa iS SEE ee 13, 534 5, 555 14, 448 17, 815 51, 352 
In addition to the 13,534,000,000 feet of white pine in Idaho, 
1,482,000,000 feet is estimated to be in northwestern Montana and 
300,000,000 feet in northeastern Washington, making a total of 
15 316, 000, 000 feet in the entire region. 
The rate of depletion of the timber in Idaho is a matter deserving 
serious consideration by the people of the State. Table 2 gives the 
1923 cut for north Idaho mills as 883,000,000 feet. In addition to 
this, approximately 114,000,000 feet was cut in mills located in 
Washington and drawing all or most of their cut from Idaho, making 
a total cut from the State north of Salmon River of 997,000,600 feet. 
Of this quantity 58,000,000 feet was cut from the national forests. 
The drain on the private and State timber was, therefore, about 
939,000,000 feet. When this figure is applied to the estimated total 
of 29 000 ,000,000 feet for private and State timber the result would 
indicate exhaustion of supply in a period of 382 years, assuming 
that the 1923 rate of cutting is not increased. However, with the 
proposed construction of new mills in the Clearwater region, there is 
every reason to expect that the rate of cutting will be increased. 
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