The Wrangell sentinel., 1926-09-30
THE FOREST SERVICE
 OF ALASKA


 aalaaent lslauus ol soulneaste1n alaska ana lhe tr1nee William zouaa region are covered from tne sass oI aaeWaler to all al1tuue O. z.vU0 IeeI or more With dense tot- gsLs oL V esLeru hemlOck. olthd spruce, anu eeuar. The pupaiC Ianas or Inese tNo seeuons nave accordingly been iueIoded very 4argely ln the national forest sys- 1em where they are managed pfl- marily Tor their umper-sfo@1 value and on basis of providing A continuous output of timber pro ducts.
 There are two national forests the longass in southeastern Alas ka and the Chugaeh in the Prince William Sound and henai Pen1n- sula regions. and on AfOgnak isl and These forests cover an area of 20.700,000 acres or about live per cent of the total area Of Alaska. About three-auarters of this area is included in the Tongass forest, which is of the greater special i'm portance. The estimated total tim Der stand in the two forests Is 84,000,00 LOGO board feet and about 90 per cent of this is in the Tongass forest. About "A per cent of the timber is western hemlock, 20 per cent Sitka spruce, and the remainder western red cedar and Alaska cedar and others.
 Of these the spruce is by far the most important, and eomposes the greater bulk of sawtimber being cut for local use and for export. It is used almost exclusively fol airplane construction and has oth- CT uses ranging from packing boxes to interior finish The fiber is un- equalled by any other Pacific Coast tree for the manufacture of wood pulp. The trees are large and beautiful. frequently attaining diameter of seven feet and height of 225 feet. Hemlock is valuable chiefly for the manufac- ture of pulp and paper. The trees range in diameter from Is inches to three feet. The cedars are prfn- elpally valuable for shingles, tele- phone poles, and specialized forms of lumber.
 The national forests possess an abundance of water power in units of suitable size for individual in- dustrial plants. Twenty-Five of these sites have been surveyed and mapped in the Tongass forest. The best sites range form 5000 to &C., 900 horsepower and can be eco nomically developed. High hang ing lakes' provide ample storage for the water power, and as these lakes are usually only a short dis tanee from tidewater short con duits can connect the lakes with the power house on the coast and the power used directly without the necessity of long transmission lines.
 The timber on the forests now supports a considerable sawmill industry which is growing con- stantly. The timber but not the land on which it stands may be purchased from the Forest Service as needed. or a unit capable of pro- viding a supply for a number of years can be contracted for. The material is paid for as the cutting proceeds and the basis of a log scale made by the local rangers The price being received for tim Der now averages about S1.75 per thousand feet for spruce and cedar, and about S1.00 per thousand feet for hemlock. Seven sawmills are nov cutting for the local trade and for export. Last year the lumber cut in the national forests was about 55,0O0,000 feet, and the to- tai cut since 1909 has been about 590,000,000 board feet. The local sawmills first entered the export lumber markets several years ago, making full cargo shipments di- rectly to trans-Pacific ports, and there is every indication that this business will expand rapidly.
 It is generally recognized that the great future forest industry of Alaska is the manufacturing of plup and paper. especially news print paper. The predominant spe- cies. spruce and hem1ock, are both excellent pulping woods and the trees are largely of a size more suitable for pulp than for 1um- Der. And there is practically an inexhaustible supply of trees.
 It is estimated that the national forests are capable of producing about 100000 tons of newsprint annually, about one-half Of the to- tai requirements of the United States at present. The abundant water power, second in importance only to the timber supply, Is avail able close to good industrial sites.
 The long sinuous coast line makes practically all parts of the forests accessible for operations, and the water offers means of transporting timber from the log ging camps to the mills, and from the mill to the market. Freight rates on pulp from Alaska to the large centers of population is not such an Imposing factor as for lum- Der of a much lower unit value.
 Timber depletion in established production regions is forcing pa- fNa Fs,a A,,..