. A descriptive analysis of Montana's forest resources. Forests and forestry Montana Statistics; Timber Montana Statistics. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Decades in the future Figure 24.—Preliminary estimate of harvesting program for the Flathead National Forest (excluding overstory removals). allowable harvest will steadily increase for 60 to 80 years and then stabilize. This is illustrated for the Flathead National Forest in figure 24. Acreages were generated by the Forest Service's computerized Resource Allocation Model (RAM), which most National Forests in Montana are now using in long-range
. A descriptive analysis of Montana's forest resources. Forests and forestry Montana Statistics; Timber Montana Statistics. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Decades in the future Figure 24.—Preliminary estimate of harvesting program for the Flathead National Forest (excluding overstory removals). allowable harvest will steadily increase for 60 to 80 years and then stabilize. This is illustrated for the Flathead National Forest in figure 24. Acreages were generated by the Forest Service's computerized Resource Allocation Model (RAM), which most National Forests in Montana are now using in long-range plan- ning. Within 70 years, it is expected that twice as many acres will be commercially thinned as will be undergoing final harvests. Although much higher total yields are likely, such a program will also be more expensive to administer. On the average, thinning will produce between one-third and one- half as much wood per acre as final harvests; the sale preparation and adminis- tration costs per unit volume will be substantially higher. The historical trend has been toward utilizing more and more of the available wood. Diameter limits for harvest have gone from 13 inches or more, to currently 8 inches or even 7 inches. Top-diameter limits have gone from 8 inches or more to 2-1/2 inches in some species. In the early days, trees were often cut selectively. This took only a few of the choicest trees and left everything else growing, so direct "loss" cannot be estimated with confidence. When clearcutting became widespread practice, often 50 percent or more of the original fiber volume was left on the ground. Several recent studies indicate that virtually all (97 percent) of the available wood, live or dead, could be recovered for fiber use (Gardner and Hann 1972). Soon, up to 25 percent more wood might be recovered for sawlog or other solid wood use 39. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced
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