Western Forestry & Conseryotion Associqtion Celebroting Golden Anniversory This Yeqr

Arthur M. Roberts, McCall, Idaho, director ern Idaho Forest Protective Association. was dent of the Western Forestry & Conservation closing session of the orginization's recent mejting in San Francisco.

Spokane, Washington, was selected as the site for Western Forestry's golden anniversary meeting, with E. C. Rettig, Potlach Forests, Inc., Lewiston, named program chairman.

J, M. Brown, Jr., Pack River Lumber Co., Sandpoint, aho, was named a vice-president. as were Corvdon Was- Idaho. were Corydon Wagner, Tacoma, Washington; Robert F. Dwver. Portlan-d.

Hr LrruLrrL, @J vv Er s vut J uutr vv d5Dwyer, Portlan-d, Oregon, and O. B. Calvin, Kalispell, Montana.

First Vice-President is Hugh J. Hodgins, Irlrst Vlce-President Hodgins, Vancouver, B.C., with Jlardin R. Glascock, Ji., Porfand, Oregon, re- appolnted l:orest Lounsel.

inted Forest

A sustained-yield timber production of 25 billion board feet a year-S or 6 billion feet more than todav's harvest a year-S than today's rate-is predicted for the West by E. L. Kolbe, Portland, chief forester of the \Mestern PinC Association.

Speaking December 12 at the annual conference of the Western Forestry and Conservation Association, Kolbe said an expanded forest economy is possible for the 12 western states where the manufacture of lumber, paper, plywood and .other forest products forms one of the hainstiys of employment.

"The trent "The trend of timber growth is up," he said, pointing to findings in official surveyi of past and present. As a new-e*ample he cited the CaliforniJ strrdies made in fhe nine and am_ple California studies made in the pine and redwood regions which shorwed en increasc f"^- 4{i ro \64^ hich showed an increase from 40 to 561o reqwooo whtch zl0 between 1954 and 1957 ln "high order" forestry practiced on private timberlands.

Reporting^"measurable progress" in logging practices, in the war_on hre, rn pest control, planting and seeding, thinnrng, salvagrng of tree mortality and in utilization of forest growth, Kolbe drew a positive picture of the \Mest's forest future.

He showed a slide picture of. a 7}-year-old stand on an 9rygq" industrial tree farm that is growing at a rate of 1,300 board feet per acre per year andiontainls about 70,000 te-et per,acre now after three thinnings. Another picture was of a redwood tree farm in Californla where th-e timber is 77 years old and totals 70,000 feet per acre after two thinnings that harvested 35,000 feet pei acre.

Lumber Future Safe in Young Growth

and we will look to the non-industrial private lands for much of the small-tree production."

Resolutions affecting forest recreation, Columbia river development, animal damage to trees, wilderness administration, and timber loss to insects and disease were adopted by the 49th Western Forestry Conference.

The 500 forest managers and tree farmers from eleven western states and British Columbia pledged support of 'reasonable expenditures for developmenf of additional forest campgrounds and other facilities on public lands which are in harmony with the objectives of multiple-use forest management" to provide for -the fast-growing popn- lation with its increasing leisure time.

- _flq conference opposed proposals for setting up a Columbia River Developmint Corporation whose br:oa.i authority in recreation development, watershed management, and preservation and propagation of fish and wildlife would be superim.posed on existing state and federal agencies now responsible for conservation and land management.

Urge Congress to Fight Wilderness Bills

The forestry group pointed to serious mounting damage to timberlands by rodents and larger animals and called upon the federal government for research to combat the severe economic losses being caused.

Another resolution spotlighted the huge annual loss of saw timber, an estimated five billion board feet annually, caused by insects and diseases in the eleven western states and urged stepped-up federal research to control and prevent such losses.

The Conference urged western Congressional delegationsto oppose currently proposed wilderness preserva- tion bills in Congress as premature, since the -National Outdoor Recreation Resouries Review Commission set uo recently by Congress will not complete its survey of thl nation's recreational resources until late 1961.

Another resolution cited the danger of fire, windthrow, and insect and disease epidemics in roadless wilderness areas to forests there and on adjoining managed lands, and urged "that this important consideratibn be weighed in any proposal dedicating federal lands to roadless *ilderness.t'

Conversion of old-growth forests to young stands changes of the Southnamed presiAssn., in the 49th annual West make up l3/o of all commercial stands in the West, will tribute 20/. ol the sawtimber growth, while federal other p_ublic lands, comprising 007" of the total, will duce 65/o. Non-industrial privlte iands will contribute remaining l5/o, he estimated.

.loss to gain, Kolbe &plained. A receni stu"dy showed sjme over-ripe stands to be losing from 1,000 to 3,000 board feet per acre annually due to natural forces. Converted to young forests through harvesting, they average 500 feet oi *ori pe:^ac-re in growth, which means a total gain of 1,500 to 3,500 feet per acre per year, he said.

"Increasing foreit production," he said, "is a rucr€asrng'. rorest proouctron," .'ts apparent everywh-ere.. As the present trend of intensive forestry spreads further over our western areas and as the 46 millioir acre_s of old-growth forests are made productive, we should reach a net growth production level oflbout 25 billion board feet a year. And this estimate may well prove conservative if unforeseen technological advantes take place."

He said the total commercial forest aiea in the comes to about 117 million acres.

Kolbe forecast that industrial timberlands. which conand prothe

"Large--tree forestry," he predicted, "will for the most part be the management role of industrial and public lands,

The Keep Green efforts, the resolution said, and the cooperation of the general public were a major factor in keep- ing fi-re losses at a relatively low figure d-espite the hazardous fire weather prevailing throughout the western states and Canada during the 1958 season. Public and private forest protection agencies were also commended. -

The most serious threat to beneficial forest conservation policies is any proposal like the Wilderness Bill introduced 9uring the last session of Congress, which would impose by regulation a single purpose use on many of the public lands of the West, declared Wendell T. Robie. head of Auburn Lumber Co., and chairman of California's State B_oar{ of Forestry, in opening the three-day session of the 49th Western Forestry Conference.

Lumber Dealer Wendell Robie Heard From

It was a lumberman, James Marshall, who in 1849 brought 100,000 people to California in the big Gold Rush. The migration of people has continued. Today in California one new resident comes to the state every 55 seconds. looking for other riches

Lumber which helped build the early-day cities continues as a necessity in today's civilization, said Robie. He predicted that in the next few decades Reproduction Forests would not only support the state's present forest industries but would also protect the valuable watersheds. Young forests already supply much of the timber output.

"All other national hopes and aspirations aie secondary to a successful program of conservation. Without pure

Tree Fcrming Neqrs 'Golden Milestone' Of 50 Million Acres

Washington, D.C. (Special)-This years marks a golden milestone in American forestry. Some time around mid-summer, the American Tree Farm System of growing trees as a crop on taxpaying lands will certify its 50 millionth acre. Thus, 18 years after its humble beginning, the Tree Farm movement has flowered into probably the greatest voluntary forest management program on private lands the world has ever known.

The state having the honor of certifying the 50millionth acre in the Tree Farm program will be determined in the normal course of inspections and certifications by Tree Farm committees in the various states. Only after the records 'have been filed with Americdn Forest Products Industries, the national sponsor, rvill the locale of the "golden milestone" be known.

water, fertile soil and self-renewing forests, our cities would be bankrupt and there would be no homes," declared Robie.

The lumber dealer warned of the growing problems concerned with another natural resource, a continuous supply of pure air. The Smog problem is increasing in seriousniss by a geometric progression. A recent U.S. Public Health Service Conference in Washington, D.C. emphasized that a great layer of carbon dioxide and contaminants is growing ove-r this continent, which could in time become smothering to fauna and human life.

The excessive volume of carbon dioxide created by millions of combustion motors can best be removed from the air by vegetation, which uses it in its growth process. It has been suggested that ten trees be planted for every automobile exhaust to capture the deadly monoxide. This would create more tree areas.

But this would create other problems. Vegetation draws upon available water supplies. Tests show that a blue oak 15 feet tall may yield 5 gallons of water per hour if there is moisture in the soil. A redwood of similar size will yield about twice that amount. The water yield is proportional to the leaf area. There's one rewarding aspect to such water withdrawals : tests show a fermentation tendency of the water, which could foster an alcohol industry rivaling Kentucky's famed product.

Grow Trees to Fight Air Pollution

Thus air pollution, water shortages and tree growing may be very much related in future years, predicted Dealer Robie, who pointed out that water consumption by trees affects water flow appreciably by reducing it- quantity.

The problem of managing people will equal ihat of-managing forests several decades hence, predicted President Waller H. Reed of the Western Forestry Conference.

"If we seem crowded today in Califoinia with 14 million people, think what it will be like in 1975 with 28 million people. Forty percent of the future U.S. population is expected to set up housekeeping in the West. This will mean less acreage available for forests, plus intensifying pressures for water, timber supplies, recreation, mining and grazing," summarized Reed.

."We must demonstrate tolerance of multiple use. We must inform the public about basic forest valu-es. We must not lock up timber for single-use groups, to the economic detriment of an entire area," recommended Reed. He predicted that unless foresters solve the people-forest relationship satisfactorily, much of the effort being expended toward permanent timber production could piove-to be less advisable.

Despite a vigorous year of outstanding accomplishment in w^estern .forestry, storm clouds looming on the horizon in 1959 include a growing timber taxation problem, some resurgence of insect attacks and renewed attacks by groups seeking_to zone forest areas for single use or restriit6d use, reported Forestry Counsel H. R. Glascock, Jr. to the membership of the 49th Western Forestry Conference.

Santa Claus gets 40,000 Christmai trees out of the an- nual timber harvest from Southern Pacific Railroad Co.'s 4&,W acres of managed commercial forest land in California, reported Kermit Cuff, chief forester, Southern pacific Land Co., S. F., one of four men on a panel discussing the management of railroad lands before 50O foresters as-sembled here for the 49th Conference. The comoanv currently is bringing the virgin forests into growth iegulation for future years. About 50/o of the volume is being rimoved in the first cut. It will take 23 years to cover the iirgin forests at this rate.

Forest recreational users may be asked to pay a fireinsurance fee to cover costs of-the damage they-do each year through their carelessness with fire, suggesied Henry J. Vaux, dean, School of Forestry, lJniv. of CiJif., Berkeley.

In California alone, travelers, hunters, fishermen and recreationists in recent years have started 38/o ol all mancaused fires. On this ratio, about 1500 fires Der year are due to public forest use in Ore., Wash. and Calif.

^ Vaux gave credit to the Keep Green and Smokey Bear fi.re-prevention programs for holding down number of fires. But he believed thai even in the facJof continued educational programs, fires .due to public use will increase at least SO/o in numbers during the hext decade.

This is becausJ a population surge that will double the uumber of people in the eleven western states by 1980. compared to 1955. plus a shortened work week, will pour millions of .asphalt-jungle refugees into forested areai on long weekends.

Men to Match the Mountains

."Bringing men to match the mountains is being done with a vengeance in California. Her forests alone cu"rrently provide.nearly 6O million man days per year of public u.. of all kinds. Recreational uses of Cflifoinia na?ional forest lands will expand 70/o between 1955 and 1965," prophesied \raux.

He declared that a public user of the forest must be made aware that it is a valuable asset and that he should have a sense of personal responsibility for protecting it. Because the pocketbook is tl-re most directly nerve-connected to all human motivations, the fee idea offers possibilities.

Vaux suggested that a fire-insurance fee of twenty cents per man day of public use in California's federal forests would cover the cost. and damage associated with public use of these forests. An actuariaf basis for damage aisessment could be rvorked out. The fee could be varied vearlv irr proportion to the incidence of damage, as an inceniive t-o spur caution in the timber.

"Whether we like it or not, direct public use of the forest is going to be a fact of life in managing public and private forest lands. During the next l5 yeais wd will put ai much emph-asis on whole forest use as we have in the last l5 years on whole log utilization," predicted Vaux.

. First- and second-prizewinning essays submitted by seniors of western forestry schools-were named at the annual session of the 49th Western Forestry Conference. First prize of $100 went to Robert R. Ziemei, IJniversity of California, Berkeley, for his "Logging Upon Forested'Areas of High R_ec-r,eatjonal Value" essay.-Secbnd prize of $75 went !9- R.jd M. Kenady, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, for his essay "Justifying Thinniigs in young Stands of Douglas Fir."

Ziemer cited the work of the Big Bear Timber Co. of Redlands, California and other west&n area logging shows which considered preservation and enhancemeni oirecreational values. Kenady urged the investment of time and money in thinning and cleanings in immature stands to increase their value.