Our national forests

by Richard H. D. Boerker

The methods of logging used in the National Forests are essentially the same as those used on private lands, with the exception of certain details, such as the protection of young growth, the cutting of snags, and the disposal of the brush. The methods used, of course, vary with the locality; they are different for the Pacific Coast, where donkey engines are used, than for the Rocky Mountains, where horses are largely employed. They vary with the climate, the topography, the size of the timber, and the kind of product to be harvested. But a typical logging operation, as carried on in the Sierras of California, will give an idea of how logs are taken from the forest.

Figure 53. A large storage reservoir used to irrigate the ranches in the valley below. Elevation 10,500 feet. Battlement National Forest, Colorado. Photo by the author.

Figure 54. A sheep herder's camp used temporarily by Forest Service timber cruisers. Elevation about 10,000 feet. Battlement National Forest, Colorado. Photo by the author.

In the particular operation which I have in mind the timber was located on the western slope of the mountains between 3,500 and 5,000 feet in elevation. The slopes were of medium steepness and much of the timber was on level benches. The large sawmill was located at the lower edge of the timber and the logging camp was in the woods near the cutting. The felling of the trees, which were from 3 to 6 feet in diameter, was done by two men with a two-man saw. These men are the "fallers." Two men then cut the tree into logs and still other men called "swampers" cut the brush and fallen trees away so that the newly cut timber can be "skidded" to the railroad. This "skidding" is done by a powerful, steam-driven stationary donkey-engine, which is fitted up with a long cable and a drum. After the log is attached to the cable out in the woods by means of a "choker," the man in the woods gives the signal and the engine starts, revolving the drum and winding up the cable at the same time pulling the log towards the engine. Just beside this engine is a platform from which the logs are loaded directly on flat cars. When six or eight flat cars are loaded in this manner a locomotive hauls them to the sawmill where they are sawed into boards. In this case as soon as the boards were cut they were placed in a flume in which there was a strong stream of water. In this they floated about 40 miles to a town in the valley below directly into the company's lumber yard.

In the Rocky Mountains one of the main forest products derived from the National Forests is railroad ties. On the particular operation with which the writer is familiar the Government had sold to a tie operator about 3,000,000 railroad ties under a long term contract. This tie operator had a large contract with a railroad company. The area of the sale, several thousand acres, was divided or surveyed into long strips each 100 to 150 feet wide and from one to one and a half miles long. A large camp and commissary was established on the area. There were about 100 tie choppers and each man was assigned to a strip. On these strips the trees to be cut were marked by a Forest officer. Trees too small to make ties were left as a basis for a future tie operation in from forty to fifty years.

The tie choppers usually worked alone. They first felled the tree with a saw, cut the lower limbs off, and marked off the ties on the bark to see how many ties could be cut from the tree. The tree was then "scored" with an ax on both sides in order to start making the two flat faces of the tie. These sides were then chipped with a "broad ax," thus making two smooth faces. The bark was then peeled from the other two faces and the tree was then cut into finished ties. After the ties were made the top of the tree was lopped, that is, the branches were cut from the trunk. In this operation these branches were scattered evenly over the ground. The tie chopper then cleared a road through the middle of his strip and "parked" his ties on the road. He then stamped his private mark on each tie. In the winter the ties were "hauled" on large sleds to the river bank. Each tie chopper's ties were put in a separate pile so that the company's scaler could count them and credit them to the man that made them. In the spring, when the river's banks were full, the ties were "driven" down the river to the shipping point, usually a town on a railroad line.

A Forest officer is detailed to an operation of this kind to inspect the choppers' work and count and stamp the ties. He sees to it that all trees that have been marked for cutting are cut, that no trees not marked have been cut, that young growth is not unnecessarily injured, that the stumps are not left too high, that the tops are fully utilized, that the slashing or brush is disposed of according to the contract, and that the operator is keeping all his agreements in the contract.

The First Step in Purchasing Government Timber. After the desired body of timber has been located, the first step for any one desiring to purchase government timber is to communicate with an officer of the National Forest in which the timber is located. If only a small amount is desired—less than $50 in value—the local Ranger can arrange to make the sale without delay. Amounts valued at more than this can be sold only by the higher officials of the Service, that is the Supervisor, District Forester, or the Forester, according to the size of the sale. The Supervisor can sell up to two million feet; larger sales are made by the District Forester or the Forester. All sales exceeding $100 in amount must be advertised, except those made to homestead settlers and farmers in a private sale. Sales are advertised in order to secure the largest number of bidders possible and thus prevent the monopoly of large bodies of timber by large timber operators.