Report on the lands of the arid region of the United States, with a more detailed account of the lands of Utah

by John Wesley Powell; Willis Drummond; Clarence E. Dutton; Grove Karl Gilbert; A. H. Thompson

TIMBER LANDS.

The timber regions are on the elevated plateaus and mountains.

The timber regions constitute from 20 to 25 per cent. of the Arid Region.

The area of standing timber is much less than the timber region, as the forests have been partially destroyed by fire.

The timber regions cannot be used as farming lands; they are valuable for forests only.

To preserve the forests they must be protected from fire. This will be largely accomplished by removing the Indians.

The amount of timber used for economic purposes will be more than replaced by the natural growth.

In general the timber is too far from the agricultural lands to be owned and utilized directly by those who carry on farming by irrigation.

A division of labor is necessary, and special timber industries will be developed, and hence the timber lands must be controlled by lumbermen and woodmen.