Our national forests

by Richard H. D. Boerker

All mature timber on the National Forests which may be cut with benefit and in accordance with certain well-established forestry principles, is for sale and is advertised and offered as demand arises. The outstanding feature of government timber sales is the fact that only the stumpage is sold, the title of the land remaining with the Government. The timber is sold in any quantity, so long as the sale is in accordance with well-established policy. Large sales require a large initial investment for constructing a railroad or other means for taking out the timber, and may even require the construction of a common carrier from the market to comparatively inaccessible regions.

Government Timber Sale Policy. The National Forest timber sale policy, first of all, aims to prevent the loss of this valuable public property through forest fires. This phase of the policy, however, is covered under the chapter on protection. Next, it aims to utilize the ripe timber which can be marketed and to cut it in such a way as to insure the restocking of the land with young timber and the continuance of forest production. The price at which timber is sold represents, as required by statute, the appraised market value and a proper return to the public which owns it. It is disposed of in such a way as to prevent its speculative acquisition and holding, and to prevent monopoly.

National Forest timber has found its way into both the general, far distant market, and the local market. But it is the aim of the Forest Service to first of all provide for the requirements of local communities and industries, including the free use and sale at cost to settlers as authorized by statute. It is also the aim of the Forest Service policy to make timberlands of agricultural value available for settlement under conditions which prevent speculative acquisition but encourage permanent and genuine farming. According to this policy, land which at the present time is covered with a good stand of timber and which has been shown to have a greater value for agricultural purposes is cleared as soon as a bona fide sale can be consummated. And, lastly, it is the aim of this policy to return as soon as possible the cost of protection and administration of the National Forests, and to yield a revenue to the States, since these are entitled by statute to 25 per cent. of all gross receipts as an offset to the loss of local taxes through the government ownership of the forests.

Figure 52. A view towards Mt. Adams and the headwaters of Lewis River. Council Lake in the foreground National Forest lands lie at the headwaters of practically every large western river. This means that the water supply for the western people used for domestic use, water power, and irrigation is being protected from pollution and destruction. View taken on the Rainier National Forest.

Annual Yield and Cut. Each year the amount of timber which can be cut from each National Forest, according to sound forestry principles, is authorized by the Secretary of Agriculture. This cut is based upon the best available data as to the amount of mature and over-mature timber needing removal, and the amount of annual growth on each Forest. At the present time only a small percentage of the authorized annual cut of the Forests is taken. Most Forests cut a very small part of their annual allotment, but a few Forests cut their full annual yield, or nearly so. On some Forests, the entire annual yield is used by local industries and no timber can be sent to the general market; on others a very small part of the annual yield is used by local needs and most of the cut can be sent to the general market. On the Cascade National Forest, in Oregon, for instance, the annual production is estimated at about 200,000,000 feet, while the present local needs can be supplied by approximately 1,000,000 feet. From such a Forest a large annual cut can be made for the general market. On the Deerlodge National Forest, in Montana, on the other hand, the annual yield is estimated to be about 40,000,000 feet, all of which is needed to supply the large copper mines near Butte. From Forests like this, no sales for the general market can be made.

Although the National Forests contain about six hundred billions of board feet of timber, or about one-fifth of the standing timber in the United States, only a small fraction of the available timber is actually disposed of. This is due to the comparative inaccessibility of this timber and the presence of large bodies of privately owned timber which lie between it and the market. The result of this condition is that the bulk of the salable timber on the Forests will be automatically saved until such a time when most of the privately owned timber has been cut. In this way, future generations will benefit and the public will receive a much better price for it years hence than they could possibly obtain now.

Timber Reconnoissance. Before any timber can be sold to advantage, however, it is necessary to take an inventory of the timber resources. In other words, it is necessary to know where the timber is, how much there is, and what can be done with it. This timber estimate, or timber reconnoissance, as it is called, is also needed to settle questions of title arising from the presence of patented lands or valid claims; to determine if cutting is advisable on a given area, and, if so, under what stipulations; and to fix the minimum price at which stumpage is to be sold. The annual yield, or the amount of timber grown or produced annually upon an area, must be the ultimate basis of the annual cut, and this yield can only be computed after an inventory of the timber has been made.

Timber reconnoissance (valuation survey or valuation strips) involves an estimate of the standing timber by small legal or natural subdivisions of land, with the necessary land surveys, the preparation of an accurate topographic and forest type map, and the compilation of detailed descriptive notes. These notes deal with the condition and character of the timber, the most practical methods of exploitation, the extent and character of the young growth, and many other factors which affect the management of timber lands. These data are secured at a cost of from 3 to 10 cents per acre, depending upon the accessibility and the topography of the region and the density of the timber. This work is carried on both in the summer and in the winter. Up to date, about 21,000,000 acres have been covered by intensive reconnoissance and about 48,000,000 acres by extensive methods.

Logging the Timber. In order that my reader may better understand various matters connected with the disposal of National Forest timber, it will be necessary to give a brief outline of how timber and other forest products are taken from the woods, and the different steps necessary before a green tree in the woods becomes a board or a railroad tie.