AUTHENTIC INFORMATION REGARDING
THE FORESTS OF ALASKA COMPILED
BY U. S. DISTRICT FOREST OFFICIAL
By CHARLES H. FLORY
District Forester.
In discussing Alaska’s timber re
sources it is necessary to differen
tiate between the forests of the
Coast and the forests of the Inte
rior as these two sections of the Ter
ritory carry entirely different types
of tree growth.
The southern coastal region of the
Territory as far north and west as
Cook Inlet has a luxuriant forest
growth which is a northern extension
of a type found along the coast of
Oregon, Washington and British Co
lumbia. Its occurrence here is made
possible by the moderating influence
on climate of the "Japan Current”
which reaches the shores of the Am
erican Continent in this vicinity. Its
principal species are western hem
lock and Sitka spruce, with which
are associated in various localities
western red cedar and Alaska (yel
low) cedar.
The coast forests are largely in
cluded within the National Forests
and are described under this head
ing.
Forests ot tne interior.
The forests of the broad interior
river system are of the open wood
land type and largely confined to
the valley floors and the adjacent
lower slopes. The principal species
are white spruce. White birch, bal
sam, poplar, black cottonwood, aspen,
black spruce and larch. White spruce
and white birch are by far the most
important trees. The .stand per acre
is always very light and in the main
the trees are too small for sawtimber
and are principally valuable for fuel.
Very little is known about the ex
tent of these interior forests. Their
gross area has been estimated as
high as 150,000,000 acres, but it can
safely be said that the area bearing
trees of sawtimber size is compara
tively small. One authority esti
mates the interior to have 5,500,000
acres of merchantable sawtimber with
an average stand per acre of 5,000
board feet or a total sawtimber stand
of 27,500,000 board feet.
It is unlikely that much of this
interior timber will ever reach the
genreal markets but it has a high
potential value for local use in con
nection with the development of the
mining and agricultural resources of
the vast region over which it occurs.
These forests are on the unreserv
ed public domain and so far have
been given little organized protec
tion. They have suffered severely
from the ravages of fire, millions of
acres having been burned within re
cent years.
The National Forests.
Alaska has two National Forests
comprising a total area of 20,700,000
acres. The Tongass National Forest
consists of 15,500,000 acres and in
cludes the greater part of the region
popularly known as Southeastern Al
aska. The Chugach National Forest
covers the timber belt on the shores
of Prince William Sound and has
an area of 5,200,000 acres.
These Forests were set apart from
the open public land area and plac
ed under the supervision of the For
est Service for development and man
agement by methods that will insure
continuous forest productivity. All of
their resources are available for use.
Standing timber can be purchased
for manufacture in practically any
quantity desired; lands valuable for
agriculture, mining, industrial plants
and town sites can be patented un
der the general public land laws and
areas needed for water power devel
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 .70,000,000,000 feet B. M
Chugach . 6,000,000,000 feet B. M.
The commercial timber fringes the
shore of the mainland and the hund
reds of adjacent islands, rarely ex
tending inland for a greater distance
than 4 or 5 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 12,000 miles of shore
line and 75 per cent of the timber
is estimated to be located within 2
1-2 miles of tidewater. The average
volume per acre of the merchantable
stands is about 20,000 board feet.
Much higher volumes are found on
limited areas and tracts now being
cut for sawlogs contain from 30,000
to 100,000 board feet per acre.
The tree species with the relative
importance of each in the total stand
are as follows:
Western hemlock . ^0 per cent
Sitka spruce .-....» 15 per cent
Western red cedar . 5 per cent
Alaska cedar . 5 per cent
Others ... 5 per cent
The typical forest of the Tongass
is a mixture of hemlock and spruce
as the predominant trees in about
the percentages given above with
a small quantity of either one or
both kinds of cedar. On the Chu
gach 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
mast in the United States for general
utility. Its almost exclusive use in
airplane construction is a criterion
of its 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
curs 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
canjiot 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 18 inches to 3 feet in
diameter, are especially well adapt
ed to this use. The newsprint mills
of the Pacific Coast use more wood
of this species than of any other
because of its satisfactory qualities
and its 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 5,000 to 30,000 horse power in
capacity and can be economically de
veloped for a year-round power sup
ply. A typical power site has a high
HOMESTEAD ON KENAI LAKE
SITKA SPRUCE AND WESTERN HEMLOCK
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND REGION
“hanging lake” a short distance in
land that provides excellent water
storage facilities, short conduits can
connect the lakes with power houses
located at tidewater and the power
can be used directly where developed
so that transmission lines are un
necessary. In many cases power from
a number of sites can be concentrat
ed readily at one industrial plant.
All water power sites are public
ly owned and can be leased under
the Federal Water Power Act for a
50-year period.
Fox Farms.
The propagation of blue foxes has
tent are made free of charge to the
homesteader.
Industrial Plants.
Ninety-eight fish packing establish
ments and many other industrial
plants have been constructed under
permit on the National Forests. Un
der a regulation promulgated by the
Secretary of Agriculture sites of in
dustrial plants, which represent a
considerable investment and have the
appearance of being permanent indus
: tries, will be recommended for elim
! ination from the forest so that patent
| can be secured under the Trade and
Manufacturing Site Act for Alaska.
BEAUTY SPOT IN CHUGACH NATIONAL FOREST
developed very intensively on the
National Forests in the last three
years. Many of the smaller islands
offer excellent locations for this in
dustry as they can be turned over
to the exclusive use of the fox ranch
er, no fencing is required, their iso
lation assists in discouraging poach
ing, and fish, which is the principal
article of food for the foxes, can be
secured near at hand.
The islands are occupied under an
indefinite termed lease granted by
the Forest Service. These leases car
ry a nominal yearly rental fee.
One hundred and forty islands are
now being used in this new indus
try.
Agriculture.
Although the National Forests
largely comprise mountainous areas
that are unsuitable for agriculture
there are isolated small areas suf
ficient for one or a small group of
homesteads that are valuable for this
use. Three hundred and six home
steads have been initiated on such
areas to date. Greatly increased in
terest has been shown in farming
in Southeastern Alaska since the
spring of 1922, following a period
of depression in this feature of devel
opment, which started with the begin
ning of the war.
The examination of lands applied
for and the survey of claims for pa
Roads and Trails.
An extensive road and trail pro
gram is in progress to make the For
ests more accessible. It is financ
ed from direct Federal appropria
tions for this purpose and from funds
made available from Forest receipts,
ten per cent of which under the law
can be so used. The roads connect
isolated agricultural settlements,
small towns and mining districts with
the principal towns and the water
highways. The trails largely open
up new regions for mineral pros
pecting and other kinds of develop
ment.
Townsites.
When a new community center is
formed the Forest Service subdivides
the locality occupied into streets and
lots to insure an orderly develop
ment of the town. The lots are rent
ed for a nominal yearly fee until the
population is sufficient to maintain,
a town government when the area is
eliminated from the National Forest
to permit of titles being secured un
der the general town-site laws. Plank
ed and graded streets have frequent
ly been built to stimulate the growth
of these new communities.
Three such towns were eliminated
for patenting in 1922.
Local Lumber Industry.
Practically all of the timber used
locally on the coast of Alaska is tak
en from the National Forests, includ
ing the requirements of seven saw
mills cutting for the local trade and
for shipment from the Territory. The
two principal forest products are
sawlogs and fish trap piling.
The timber may be purchased a3
needed, or a unit capable of provid
ing a supply for a number of years
can be contracted. The material is
paid for as cutting proceeds and on
the basis of a log scale made by the
local rangers. The prices being re
ceived for timber now average about
$1.75 per M feet for spruce and ce
dar, and $1.00 per M feet for hem
lock.
The local sawmills first entered
the export lumber markets several
years ago making full cargo ship
ments direct to trans-Pacific ports.
There is every indication that this
business will expand materially.
About sixty million feet of tim
ber will be sold from the National
Forests in 1925. 550,000,000 board
feet has been sold since 1909.
Development Pulp and Paper
The great future forest industry of
Alaska is the manufacturer of pulp
and paper and especially newsprint
paper. The extensive forests are
well suited to this use, abundant wa
ter power is available for the con
version of the raw material and
the region has other advantages that
will contribute to the success of thi3
industry.
The National Forests are capable
of producing 1,000,000 tons of news
print paper annually in perpetuity.
This amount is almost one-half of
the present total requirements of the
United States.
Cheap and abundant power is sec
ond only in importance to the tim
ber supply in the development of the
newsprint industry and this exists
in Alaska in the form of wrater power.
350,000 horsepower is required for
an annual production of 1,000,000
tons of paper and investigations made
to date show this amount of power
to be readily available.
Other favorable factors for the in
dustry include water transportation
for logs from the woods to the mills
and for paper from the mills to mar
ket, low logging costs as ito timber is
readily accessible and the volume per
acre is high; a climate which per
mits of mill operations and shipping
thruout the year.
Changing conditions in the paper
industry indicate that Alaska should
become an important source of sup
ply for newsprint in t.ie near future.
Timber depletion in the established
production regions is forcing paper
manufacturers to new sources of raw
material much more distant from the
large consuming centers and thi3 ex
panding production zone is now reach
ing the forests of Alaska. A small
pulp mill is now in operation and a
number of large newsprint paper pro
jects are in prospect.
Extensive investigations are' being
made by the Forest Service of the
possibilities for industry on the
Tongass Forest. 600,000 acres of pulp
timber have been cruised and mapped
and all of the larger power sites
(Continued on Page Forty-four)
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ANDERSON TIE CAMP, KNIGHTS ISLAND