Graham guardian., 1912-01-05
A NEW DEPARTURE
By the Government in the
Sale Of Timber on Nation
al For ests

The government is advertising for
bids on large body of timber on
the Tahoe National Forest, in Cali
fornia, with an offer of terms which
inaugurate an important departure
from the policy of the past.
About 100000 board feet of
saw timber is offered for sale. with
a ten-year period for the removal
of the timber. The national forests
contain vast supply of merchantable
timber, estimated at the equivalent
of over 5O0,0OO,000 feet board
measure, a great part of the
purchaser has to make a very heavy
initial investment in transportation
facilities. To have this pay, he
lst be able to figure on a large
operation, requiring a number of
years TO carry through.
The timber sale policy Of the For
est Service recognizes that, in view
of the general upward tendency of
stumpage prices, long contracts bas-
ed on present prices would be a
strong incentive to speculation, and
might turn out to be highly disad-
vantageous to the public. To pro-
tect the public, as consumers,
against monopoly prices and also
against exhaustion of local supplies
through overcutting, sales of timber
are carefully proportioned to the
existing supply and demand, and
sales to small purchasers, who are
vastly in the majority, are encour-I
aged. To protect the public, as
owners, against sales at what may
prove to be too low a price, it has
been the policy in the past to allow
no operations extending over more
than five years. A plan has, how
ever, now been devised for allowing
longer operations, with periodic
revision of the stumpage rates.
At the end of the first five years
of the Tahoe sale the price to be
paid for the timber cut in the fol-
lowing five years will be determined
by the prices of lumber which have
ruled in the locality during the pre-
ceding year. Since it is recognized
that present stumpage prices are
rather high in proportion to present
lumber prices, if lumber prices do
not show an increase of $500 per
thousand feet, the stumpage price
will not be changed. On any in
crease above $500 per thousand,
three-fourths of the amount of the
increase may be added to the stump
age price.
The Tahoe sale will call for the
construction of twenty miles of rail
road, which will be a common car
rier and therefore decidedly bene-
fetal to the community another
reason for making the sale which is
taken into account. A minimum
price. of $3.50 per thousand feet
for yellow pine, the amount of which
is estimated at 100000 feet, and
also for sugar pine. and of $1.00 per
thousand feet for all other species,
is specified in the rtisement.
The interest which has been shown
by lumbermen in this sale leads the
Forests officers to believe that one
or more bids will undoubtedly be
received. The usual conditions of !.
cutting national forest timber, to
insure renewal of the forest and
close utilization of what is cut, will
be Incorporated in the contract Of
sale.
That national forest timber is in
demand is evidenced by
the fact that over 830,00O,000 feet
were sold during the year which
ended on June 80, 1911, as against
less than SIS, 100000 feet in the
previous year. The current year is
likely to show q still hiuhar total