Estimates in detail for merchantable and accessible

merchantable timber in the Prince Rupert district are
as follows:*

Tasie |
Drainage Basin or Section Merchantable Ee
Merchantable
= |
1,000 ft. bm. | 1,000 ft. b.m.
Coastal Section— :
Bella Coola—Ocean Falls........... 3,262,000 1,698,000
Bella Coola—Banks Island.......... 7,584,000 4,868,000
Lower Skeena, Work Channel, Lower °
INE GEA aaeete ate aol earn tents 3,131,000 1,382,000
Interior Section—
Middle and Upper Skeena......... 7,219,000 1,191,000
lO ppensNass atten crane eee 4,463,000 Inaccessible
Bulkley Wallerian a. salient 5,676,000 1,982,000
Francois Lake-—Endako............. 741,000 548,000
WipperuNechakojans-o-owerenaen sree 677,000 Inaccessible
Queen Charlotte Islands.............. 12,121,000 9,254,000
44,874,000 | 20,923,000

The climatic conditions of the coastal section are
peculiarly adapted to the culture and rapid growth of
trees of the “wet belt” type, especially certain particularly
valuable species such as Sitka spruce and Western red cedar.
Western hemlock, the qualities and utility of which are
being increasingly appreciated, reaches a high development
in this section. The humid climate minimizes the hazards
of forest fires, and this part of the district has the added
advantage of proximity to ocean transportation. These
factors combine to make the coastal section of the Prince
Rupert division the most important source of accessible
timber in the North Pacific Region.

In discussing this section, mention might be made of
a physiographic feature favourable to the development of
the forest and other natural wealth of the district. This
feature is a “through valley” which, starting at the head of
the Kitimat Arm of the Douglas Channel, crosses the
Skeena Valley near Terrace, extending thence northward
to join the valley of the Nass.

Such cross valleys are
characteristic of the coast area.

Where they are sub-
aqueous they form a labyrinth of channels separating the
coastal islands. Where they are sub-aerial they furnish
glacialscoured entries through the coastal mountains,
along which, as in the lower Skeena Valley, channels of
transportation may develop.

An unfavourable feature in the coastal section of the
mainland is the rocky and precipitous character of the
shorelines, which makes logging operations, excepting in
the more open valleys, difficult.

As indicated in the above table, nearly 45 per cent of
the accessible merchantable timber of the Prince Rupert
district is in the Queen Charlotte Islands, and in late
pre-war years about two-thirds of the production from the

*The Forest Resources of British Columbia by F. D. Mulholland
British Columbia Forest Service, Department of Lands.

[ 50}

district was from this source. About 635 per cent of this
production was spruce, which was sold principally for
pulp, with some high-grade spruce going to “Lower Coast”
sawmills.

It will be noted that large timbered areas in the interior
of the district, notably in the upper Skeena and upper
Nass Valleys, are presently classed as “inaccessible”.

Of the merchantable timber in the Prince Rupert
district, about 32 per cent is Western hemlock, 26 per cent
spruce, 16 per cent Western red cedar, and 16 per cent
silver fir (balsam); the balance or 10 per cent is made up
mainly of lodgepole pine, yellow cedar, and Douglas fir.

Forr GrorGe District ‘

Merchantable timber of the Fort George district is
fairly well concentrated in the valleys that converge on the
Prince George section; viz, the headwaters of the Fraser
River (above the Nechako), the valleys of the Bowron,
Willow, and McGregor Rivers, the upper Fraser River
(below the Nechako) and the Nechako and Salmon Rivers.
To these should be added the Stuart Lake and Parsnip

River stands. Although the latter is situated in the Peace

River drainage basin and is not classified as at present

accessible, it would appear to be ultimately tributary to
the Prince George area.

Estimates of merchantable and accessible merchantable
timber in the Fort George district are as follows:

Taste II*
F Bie Accessible
Drainage Basin Merchantable | )forchantable
1,000 ft. bm. | 1,000 ft. b.m.
Fraser River (headwaters)............ 3,656,000 2,008,000
[soa AN Seanouuansaceneaneonces 3,617,000 1,491,000
IMeGreson Rivechees a: terse 3,344,000 1,530,000
WillowsRiver ae-otke. aa seer phere ee 1,959,000 525,000
[Wjayslee liege INI eG hee be oe 2,521,000 1,341,000
West Road-Chilako River........... 327,000 107,000
Thee nl) RVR! goa Bes Gn oo ees 515,000 415,000
Salmone Ruivensn erie te career an 696,000 101,000
Stuantelca ken min aew sae cee er ns 1,506,000 209,000
alec aM ak esace nh isin astern ae seeae S56 OOO Wise ceretatast a ee
PRI ats) GRUNGE; adic douaooausneeson 45323 OOO aren tone ene
IMU IRIE. coe he 6 oes dsneetasae 7470000 Sanna eee ae
Finlay Forks-Hudson Hope.......... 2-510! O00} Mi liaaasueseeeee ea
@imnimecaweennen sie reat nee ee 208,000
Irie yy MN Oer ce mae oe naa ey secey Uercls TROSOLOOO Nea eerie reset
Halfway and Beatton Rivers.......... 462000 5ei| Seoaeeepe een ys
Reaces in Cg OC Ke wsree et res aera 3,851,000 668,000
32,910,000 8,395,000
About one-third of the total merchantable timber

and about 27 per cent of the accessible merchantable
timber of the North Pacific Region is within the Fort
George district of British Columbia. Of the accessible

*The Forest Resources of British Columbia, Department of Lands,

B.C., and the Lands, Parks and Forests Branch, Department of Mines
and Resources, Ottawa.