Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-06-19
ALASKA, LAND OF TREES
Woodland Area in Southeast is
Large.
PRECIPITATION NINETY INCHES
Along the Coast Climatic Condi-
lions Are Favorable, some
thing Like Puget Sound
| ff4 Country.

WASHINGTON, June ls-On the south
eastern coast of Alaska the average annual
precipitation is about ninety inches and
trees grow to a large size; in the central
plateau, the precipitation Is less than fif-
teen inches, including the melted snow, and
the average size Of timber Is SMALL while
on the arctic slope, north OF the Rocky
mountains. and the region adjacent to the
Behring Sea, climatic conditions make for
est growth altogether impossible, and those
vast tundras are covered chiefly with moss,
sedges and few small shrubs; hence the
discussion of Alaska forests in Forest
Service Bulletin No. 81. recently issued by
the United States Department Of Agri-
culture, IL necessarily confined to the south
eastern coast region and to the central
plateau, lying between the Pacific mountain
system on the south and the Rocky noun
tain system on the north and east, and
drained principally by the Yukon and the
Kuskokwin rivers.
1t 10 estimated that the total forest and
woodland area Of Alaska is approximately
loo,0oo,00O acres, or about q per cent Of the
land area Of the territory OF these about
2O,oooooO acres may possibly bear timber of
sufficient size and density to be used as
is woodland which bears some saw timber.
but mostly only firewood.
The coast region has mild climate, not
colder than the northern part of Puget
Sound or Of Scotland. The stand OF trees
is dense, averaging for considerable areas
$500 feet per acre; sitka spruce forming
about 20 per cent OF the stand and western
hemlock about 7t per cent. Although by far
the most abundant species. western hem
lock does not produce as large Individual
trees as the spruce or western red cedar
the former occasionally showing a diameter
Of six feet with height Of l5o feet, and the
cedar attaining dimensions of from three
TO four feet
The usual lumber cut in the coast forests
Of Alaska is about 1900 900 board feet, al
most entirely spruce, as hemlock is but
little used. a large part OF this output,
probably one-third, being used for salmon
cases, and much of the best lumber is used
In this way. The southern and southeast
eYn coast having a much larger timber sup
ply than will be needed locally for long
time to come much of the hemlock should
be cut and the spruce be given an oppor-
tunity to increase The cutting that has so
far taken place on the coast of Alaska has
had but little effect upon the forest, the
bulk is yet untouched and as it is now
overmature, utilization for other purposes
than lumber should be encouraged as much
as possible Both spruce and hemlock are
good pulpwood and taken together they
comprise almost the entire forests, There
is faint prospect that, so far as the coast
lumber is concerned, 1t will ever be needed
for use in Alaska The permanent indus
tries Of the coast region are fishing and
4gv.Vg H..
country will forever prevent agricultural
operations and the natural barriers pre-
vent this lumber from being OF present
benefit to the interior where the need is
greatest and The price high. Besides the
timber itself is not suitable for the struc-
tural work that will be needed in the in
terror when that region is more fully de-
veloped and made accessible By railroads
The annual growth OF the coast forests is
in excess OF the local needs, and unless
methods Of utilization which will result in
expectation are developed, these products
cannot be rightly handled or properly con-
served.
But the interior conditions tell a differ
ent story There the forest stand varies
from practically nothing, in areas OF
serubby black spruce, to twenty or more
cords per acre In the birch-aspen type, and
several thousand feet per acre in the best
white spruce forests. The best timber OF
spruce, birch and poplar grows in the vail
leys. particularly along the Tanana in the
Fairbanks district. Black spruce predom-
mates in the more poorly drained situa-
uons, The average OF timber IL small
white spruce rarely, and balsam poplar
sometimes attaining eighteen TO twenty
four inches in diameter; the white birch
and aspen average eight inches in dame
ter, though maximum Of eighteen inches
on unusually favorable sites are noted, and
black spruce rarely attains a diameter Of
SIX inches; while the heights of the differ
eat species run from twenty feet for the
black spruce 20 seventy-fve feet for the
best white spruce. Naturally II is impos-
sible for timber TO grow rapidly or TO large
size in soil permanently frozen. Unlike the
coast forests, those of the interior have
suffered much from fires; in some cases ten
times as much timber has been killed by
fire than has been cut for fuel or lumber.
The bulk OF the timber cut in the forests
Of the central plateau 10 for firewood, sew
eral times as much being used for that
purpose as for lumber, Nor is this sur
prislng, as the interior OF Alaska depends
entirely upon wood for heat, light and
power, Wood is burned by the Tanana
Valley railroad which has forty-fivs miles
81 track out from Fairbanksi the river