merchantable timber in the above classification, it is esti-
mated that 7,500,000,000 board feet or over 90 per cent is
tributary to the Prince George locality, being principally
located in the numerous river valleys that unite to form
the main Fraser River at that point.

It will be noted that the greatest volume of merchantable
timber is in the Parsnip Valley and that this, in spite of
its geographical proximity to the railway and to the saw-
milling centres in the vicinity of Prince George, has been
tegarded—being in a north-bearing watershed—as entirely
inaccessible. It may be expected that early developments
in the area involving improvements in land transportation
will bring a large part of the Parsnip Valley timber, as
well as much other merchantable timber, into economic
utilization under forest management.

Of the merchantable timber in the Fort George district,
about 67 per cent is spruce, 12 per cent silver fir (balsam),
8 per cent Douglas fir, and 7 per cent lodgepole pine; the

remainder or 6 per cent consists mainly of Western red cedar
and Western hemlock.

These interior areas are more vulnerable to damage by
forest fires—of which dry lightning is the apparent prime
cause—than the more humid and more accessible coastal
areas. The penetration of the southern sections of the
area by railway lines adds to the hazard. Concerning the
fire-hazard in the Fort George district, the 1942 report of

the Forest Service, Province of British Columbia, has the
following to say:

Here (in the Fort George District) dry lightning storms started
many fires that could not be controlled because of lack of transporta-
tion facilities and efficient labour. The situation emphasized the
need for more lookouts,. roads, trails and—especially for that type
of country—air transportation. Many fires that subsequently
destroyed hundreds of sections of timber could have been controlled
in their incipiency if air transportation had been available. Pontoon
planes can land fire crews and supplies on many of the thousands of
lakes and ‘streams in the province which are so thickly scattered
that any fire is usually within easy reach. A few minutes to an
hour or so needed to fly a crew from any forest district headquarters
to any part of the area administered would make the difference
between control of a fire when compared with the days frequently
needed to take a crew in overland. There will be room for air
transport in the post-war organization of the forest branch.

NortrHern Forest District oF
British COLUMBIA

The forests in British Columbia lying to the north of
the Prince Rupert and Fort George districts through to
the Yukon boundary have been considered by some author-
ities as a southward extension of the Yukon forests, a part
of the great northern forests of Canada. The British
Columbia Forest Service has recently undertaken a revision
of an earlier forest inventory in this remote area and an
extensive reconnaissance was made during the summer of
1944 covering about 25,000,000 acres, principally in the
northeast corner of the Province, tributary to the Alaska
Highway and to the Liard River drainage area. Of the

total area examined and covered by ground survey and air
photography, productive forest land was found to constitute
only about 4,000,000 acres, or 16 per cent, of the whole.
The productive area is, in the main, restricted to valley
bottoms, the remainder of the land being muskeg, highland
barrens, or land covered with scrub timber not suitable
for commercial use. The revision of the estimate of the
forest resources in the area, which has been divided (see
key map) into regions A, B, C, and D, is based on more
reliable information than has been previously available.

Region A comprises part of the valley of the Liard
River, together with the valley of the Fort Nelson River,
with its various tributary streams: the Fontas, Sikanni
Chief, Prophet, Muskwa, and Toad Rivers. This is the
section traversed by the Alaska Highway.

Region B takes in the upper Liard, Kechika, and Turn-
again Valleys and the valley of the Dease River.

Region C covers the valley of the Stikine (in Canada),
with its main tributaries, the Iskut and Klappan Rivers.

Region D covers the Atlin section to the International
Boundary.

Estimates in detail, of merchantable timber in these
four regions are as follows:

Taste III*

Suasies p Reece Region Region Region Total
/ 1,000 ft./| 1,000 ft. | 1,000 ft. | 1,000 ft. 1,000 ft.

\) b.m. b.m. b.m. b.m. b.m.
SDLUCe ane 511,800 | 801,900 814,600 | 280,100 | 2,408,400
Lodgepole pine. .\; 67,800 \, 139,100 113,300 | 48,400 368,600
Hemlock... = = | 836,400 | 239,000 | 1,075,400
Balsamiee ceed 7,600 = | 190,100 | 47,400 245,100
Total regions. .}' 587,200 941,000 | 1,954,400 | 614,900 | 4,097,500
(It will be noted that none of this timber is classified as presently

accessible.)

Some of the findings of the British Columbia Forest
Service in connection with this survey are quoted as follows:

It has been found that the more productive forest land in this
northern territory is confined for the most part to the Coast water-
sheds of Regions C and D, to the westerly drainages at the northern
boundary and to the area east of the Rocky Mountains tributary to
the Nelson and Liard Rivers. In the latter area the site index for
white spruce was found to be between 80 and 90 at 100 years which
is comparable to the better lowland sites of the upper Fraser valley,
east of Prince George.

The reserves of standing timber are relatively large and the
productive forest sites have a fairly high potential yield; however,
the prospects for greatly increased exploitation are not bright.
The stands of timber are located in long, narrow fringes along the
river, streams and water courses and not only will the transportation
of the products to any market be a major item of cost but the logging
operation itself will probably be more expensive than if the timber

“The Forest Resources of British Columbia, Department of Lands,
BiG:

{51 ]