Seward daily gateway., 1925-12-05
AUTHENTIC INFORMATION REGARDING THE FORESTS OF ALASKA COMPILED
 BYU.S. DISTRICT FOREST OFFICIAL

opment, fox farming and other spec ial purposes may be leased under appropriate laws and regulations.
 Timber Resources.
 The estimated stand of commercial timber is as follows:
 Tongass 70, ,0O0, ,00O. .OO0 feet B. M Chugach ................. 6,000, 900 feet B. M
 The commercial timber fringes the shore of the mainland and the hund- reds of adjacent islands, rarely ex- tending inland for greater distance than or miles or to a greater elevation than 1500 feet. A very sin uous coast line makes much of the timber readily accessible. The two Forests have 12,00O miles of shore line and 75 per cent of the timber is estimated to be located within g. 1-2 miles of tidewater. The average volume per acre of the merchantable stands is about 10000 board feet Much higher volumes are found on limited areas and tracts now being cut for sawlogs contain from 3O,OOO to 100000 board feet per acre.
 The tree species with the relative importance of each in the total stand are as follows:
 Western hemlock 70 per cent Sitka spruce 10 per cent rod Alaska cedar ..--.".''...'''.''''''''' per cen. Others per cehI
 The typical forest of the Tongass is a mixture of hemlock and spruce as the predominant trees in about the percentages given above with small quantity of either one or both kinds of cedar. On the Gnu zach Forest the amount of cedar is negligible and the percentage of spruce is somewhat higher.
 Sitka spruce is the most valuable tree of Alaska and one of the fore most in the United States for general utility. Its almost exclusive use in airplane construction is criterion of it's qualities. The lumber is in good demand for a great variety of uses ranging from packing boxes to | interior finish and the fiber is un- equalled by that of any other Pacific Coast tree for the manufacture of wood pulp.
 Although Sitka Spruce largely oc- CUTS in combination with hemlock, areas of pure spruce are quite com mon and these furnish the great bulk of the sawtimber now being cut for local use and for export to the States and foreign countries. The trees are very large, frequently at- taining a diameter of 7 feet and a height of 225 feet.
 Western hemlock of Alaska is chiefly valuable for the manufacture of pulp and paper as the smaller trees here and the greater distance from markets prevent Alaska from competing with Puget Sound in hem lock lumber, which is a low-grade pro- duct as compared with paper and cannot stand the cost of a long freight haul. Hemlock makes a very satisfactory grade of newsprint pa per and the trees found here, which range from IS inches to 8 feet in diameter, are especially we'll adapt ed to this use. The newsprint mills of the Pacific Coast use more wood of this species than of any other because of it's satisfactory qualities and it's comparatively low cost.
 The cedars are principally valuable for shingles, telephone poles and specialized forms of lumber.
 Water Power.
 The National Forests possess an abundance of water power in units of suitable size for individual indus trial plants. The best sites range from 5000 to 3O,OOO horse power in capacity and can be economically de- veloped for a year-round power SUD- ply. A typical power site has high