BULLETIN OF THE 
H 
No. 234 
Contribution from the Forest Service, Henry S. Graves, Forester 
July 12, 1915. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER. 
UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF LODGEPOLE 
PINE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 
By D. T. Mason, Assistant District Forester, District 1. 
Ownership and supply 
Characteristics of the wood . 
Uses 
Fire-killed timber 
Size and contents of various products. 
Annual cut 
Methods of lumbering 
Costs and selling prices 
Charcoal making 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
1 
3 
Page. 
Management of lodgepole stands 21 
22 
23 
32 
35 
Rotation 
Methods of cutting 
Brush disposal 
Regulating the cut 
Reforestation 
Protection — 
Summary 
Appendix — Volume tables. 
OWNERSHIP AND SUPPLY. 
Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) is the most important timber 
tree of that portion of the Rocky Mountains lying between northern 
Colorado and central Montana. Once considered practically worth- 
less, it now brings the Federal Government a revenue of from $10 to 
$100 an acre in National Forest timber sales. 
By far the greater part of the present supply of lodgepole pine is 
included within the National Forests. As will be seen from Table 1, 
it is the most important tree species on a number of Forests in 
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah, forming in such 
cases from 30 to 92 per cent of the total stand of timber, and is of 
commercial though not primary importance' on still other Forests in 
these States and in Washington, Oregon, and California. The principal 
privately owned bodies of lodgepole pine of any size are in Montana, 
where the State and the Northern Pacific Railroad hold considerable 
tracts. The total stand of lodgepole pine on those Forests where it is 
commercially important has been estimated at about 40 billion board 
feet (Table 1). Figure 1 shows by National Forests the regions 
where lodgepole pine occurs, either commercially or botanically. 
89546°— Bull. 234—15 1 
