The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-10
WORKING PLANS.
For Timber Sold From Forest Re-

For Timber Sold From FOrest hc- Washington. Nov. s-(speciai.)-- The, increased demand for the pur- chase of timber from the forest re- serves has called for detailed work ing plans for the more important tim | bered areas within them. In order to avoid delay without jeopardizing the future welfare of the forest, and that these working plans may be well con sidered, they are being made as rapidly as possible for those forest areas from which the sale of timber is probable in the near future. In many cases l they are made before the actual appii- cation for purchase is received.
 Those who purchase timber from the forest service regulations in logging, which guard against waste and pro- vide for the reproduction of the for est. Considerable variety exists in the character and requirements of the forests in any one reserve, so that each working plan must be based on a close study of local conditions.
 F When setting about the preparations of one of these plans the first ques- tion is, What areas in the reserve are adapted to the same scheme of man. agement? After these areas have been selected they are thoroughly studied from every aspect.
 The location of the timber is noted, and a rough estimate Is made of it's
 aomunt. Then the character and con- dition of the stand are carefully deter
 mined. Its age overripeness, injury from fire or insects, the possibility of improving it by logging, and the
 kind and amount of young growth are
 principal points, all of which must be
 taken into consideration in setting whether 1t is advisable or inadvisable to cut.
 The question of markets, and the logging facilities. are also taken in- to account, as well as the present To- cal demand for timber, the probable future demand, and the kind of tim
 Der required. In connection with these problems attention must be giv- en to the nature of the country, the
 accessibility of the timber, and the ex-
 istfng roads and drivable streams, be-
 cause the actual value of the timber
 is in large measure dependent upon
 the ease and economy of its removal.
 Reproduction, by which alone the
 forest can maintain itself, is essen
 tial where logging Is to be done. For
 this reason the reproductive capacity
 of the forest is noted with careful de-
 tall, and the effect which fire and
 grazing may have upon it becomes a question of the first importance.
 The data. therefore, which the work
 iuB- -pidH StuOy mas gathered form the
 basis of the terms of the contract
 in agreement with which the purchaser
 of government timber removes the timber which he has purchased. These
 terms include the diameter limit be- low which the timber may not be cut,
 the number of seed trees of various
 species which must be left to reseed
 the ground, the maximum height at
 which the stumps may be cut, and the diameter to which the tops must be utilized, and other stipulations insur-
 ing clear, conservative logging. Es-
 pecially, also. they provide for the disposition of the slash, so that the forest floor may safely be cleaned of tinflammable material. on which un- .controllable forest fires might feed The restrictions imposed by the for est service upon timber purchasers are meeting with the intelligent ap- proval of all who are performing log
 ging operations under them. It Is more and more clearly understood that they are necessary for the permanent good of the forest that they are of a purely practical stamp, and that their observance means the continued pro-
 ductivity of the forest and, there fore, the husbanding of the timber supply and all that depends upon it.