At present, the possibilities for the use of the motor truck for logging are just beginning to be realized. What effect their use will have upon the future methods of logging remains to be seen. It is certain, however, that the advent of motor truck transportation will have a marked effect upon the science of forestry and will bring about a closer utilization of our timber resources.
The motor truck and the portable band mill seem likely to furnish a combination which will do away with the old wasteful circular mill because it supplies the cheapness and efficiency of railroad transportation and is applicable to small and scattered tracts and to stands of low-grade lumber. The fact that the portable band mill may be moved for a cut of a million feet assures adaptability. This is not only an industrial advance but also a silvicultural advance in that it affords the possibility of cuttings at frequent intervals without greatly adding to the cost.
A closer utilization of our present stands of timber may be practiced by the use of the motor truck. In the northwest, only the larger material is taken from the forest, leaving a large amount of good timber on the ground in the form of poles and piling and chunks too short to be made into saw lumber but from which high grade ties can be made. The truck, in connection with a band mill, will furnish a means of utilizing this present waste at a profit to the operator.
The motor truck will be a valuable aid in the working out of a sound national forest policy for the proper use of our timber resources so that the timber will be utilized to the greatest possible extent and at the same time methods taken to provide for the perpetuation of the forest for future generations. This suggests a way of opening the timber for the market on some of our national forests. Most of the government owned forests are situated in more or less rugged country back from the regular routes of travel. The timber on a great many of these forests is over-mature and should be cut but at this time it is inaccessible. The problem confronting the country is how to make it accessible.
The plan for opening these forests is to build permanent concrete or asphalt roads from the nearest commercial centers thru these tracts taking into consideration the aesthetic value of the location as well as the possibilities of logging the timber from them. The timber, then, is to be taken out, under some silvicultural system and under government supervision, by motor truck operators who build their own roads from the nearest concrete road to the timber to be cut. Under this system of management, the state and federal government pays a part of the expense of building the permanent road and the operator pays a small sum for the use of the road by being taxed additional stumpage.
The system of management has many advantages. In the first place, the mature timber will be logged, the older decadent material coming out first, in small bodies and at the same time care being taken to reproduce a new stand. The total area is divided so that as the timber is logged in rotation a continuous cutting will be assured. Due to the use of the trucks and on account of the timber being cut in rotation, the fire danger will be greatly lessened. In case a fire gets beyond control, the roads thru the forest make an excellent way to bring in men and supplies to fight the fire. In this way, a fire is readily accessible in a few hours where formerly it took perhaps several days to organize the fire fighting party and reach the scene of action. The concrete roads themselves make good fire lines. By means of the good roads, the forest is opened to campers and tourists each of whom pays a small sum as they enter the forest to help pay for the cost of building the roads and to provide funds for more extensive highways. In this way the forest is opened for the timber, the best methods of utilization and forest regeneration are practiced, fire hazard is reduced, and the area is opened as a recreational ground so that the greatest possible value is obtained from the tract.
A great many other uses of the motor truck for logging and scientific forest utilization are being recognized, as example, for transporting pulpwood, veneer stock, cordwood, rosin and turpentine, and other forest products. Suffice it to say that this method of transportation has found a place in the industry and is here to stay. Its value has been recognized beyond doubt and in the future will play an important part in the further development of this country.