2. Description of Area (2)

The Fort George Forest District is 50,257,400 acres in extent
and includes the area from Endako east to the Alberta boundary and from
Seda Creek north to the Yukon boundary. The main lumbering development
has taken place along the Canadian National Railway and in the vicinity
of Quesnel. In the past decade the Peace River area also has been
developed considerably. Productive forest land makes up 46 per cent of
the area in this district, consisting of 19 per cent mature timber, 46
per cent immature timber, and 35 per cent not satisfactorily restocked.

The mature timber has been estimated at 32,909,500 M ft.b.m.
with 75 per cent in that part of the district east, south, and immediately
north of Prince George. The total volumes and the percentage distribution
by species are shown in the following table:

Species: Volume (M ft.b.m.) %

Spruces 21,202 ,000 64.
True firs (balsam) (3) 5 5277, 000 16
Lodgepole pine 4,062,000 12
Douglas fir 1,495,000 5
Western red cedar 743,000 2
Western hemlock 132,000 aL
Total 32,909,000 100

The main forest type is spruce-balsam with spruce comprising
the bulk of the cut. Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia (Poir.) Britton
var. glauca (Nayr) Sudw.) is found in pure stands and in mixture with
spruce in the Quesnel area and in certain limited areas west of Prince
George. Large areas of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var.
latifolia Engelm.) are found in the district but this species has not
been cut for lumber to any great extent in the past. In the eastern
part of the district, spruce is associated with decadent western red
cedar (Thuja plicata Donn). There are minor quantities of western hem-
lock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) in this latter region.

East of Prince George, the topography is characterized by broad
valleys between high mountain systems. The western part of the district
is mainly rolling plateau country with numerous lakes and rivers. Logging
chances are usually not too difficult as far as topography is concerned
but soft ground and muskeg frequently complicate transportation problems.

(2) Pigures from "The Forest Resources of B.C.", B.C. Forest Service, 1937.

(3) abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt. and Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forb. are
both found in the area.