At present, the possibilities for the use of the motor truck for logging
are just beginning to be realized. What effect their use will have upon
the future methods of logging remains to be seen. It is certain,
however, that the advent of motor truck transportation will have a
marked effect upon the science of forestry and will bring about a closer
utilization of our timber resources.
The motor truck and the portable band mill seem likely to furnish a
combination which will do away with the old wasteful circular mill
because it supplies the cheapness and efficiency of railroad
transportation and is applicable to small and scattered tracts and to
stands of low-grade lumber. The fact that the portable band mill may be
moved for a cut of a million feet assures adaptability. This is not only
an industrial advance but also a silvicultural advance in that it
affords the possibility of cuttings at frequent intervals without
greatly adding to the cost.
A closer utilization of our present stands of timber may be practiced by
the use of the motor truck. In the northwest, only the larger material
is taken from the forest, leaving a large amount of good timber on the
ground in the form of poles and piling and chunks too short to be made
into saw lumber but from which high grade ties can be made. The truck,
in connection with a band mill, will furnish a means of utilizing this
present waste at a profit to the operator.
The motor truck will be a valuable aid in the working out of a sound
national forest policy for the proper use of our timber resources so
that the timber will be utilized to the greatest possible extent and at
the same time methods taken to provide for the perpetuation of the
forest for future generations. This suggests a way of opening the timber
for the market on some of our national forests. Most of the government
owned forests are situated in more or less rugged country back from the
regular routes of travel. The timber on a great many of these forests is
over-mature and should be cut but at this time it is inaccessible. The
problem confronting the country is how to make it accessible.
The plan for opening these forests is to build permanent concrete or
asphalt roads from the nearest commercial centers thru these tracts
taking into consideration the aesthetic value of the location as well as
the possibilities of logging the timber from them. The timber, then, is
to be taken out, under some silvicultural system and under government
supervision, by motor truck operators who build their own roads from the
nearest concrete road to the timber to be cut. Under this system of
management, the state and federal government pays a part of the expense
of building the permanent road and the operator pays a small sum for the
use of the road by being taxed additional stumpage.
The system of management has many advantages. In the first place, the
mature timber will be logged, the older decadent material coming out
first, in small bodies and at the same time care being taken to
reproduce a new stand. The total area is divided so that as the timber
is logged in rotation a continuous cutting will be assured. Due to the
use of the trucks and on account of the timber being cut in rotation,
the fire danger will be greatly lessened. In case a fire gets beyond
control, the roads thru the forest make an excellent way to bring in men
and supplies to fight the fire. In this way, a fire is readily
accessible in a few hours where formerly it took perhaps several days to
organize the fire fighting party and reach the scene of action. The
concrete roads themselves make good fire lines. By means of the good
roads, the forest is opened to campers and tourists each of whom pays a
small sum as they enter the forest to help pay for the cost of building
the roads and to provide funds for more extensive highways. In this way
the forest is opened for the timber, the best methods of utilization and
forest regeneration are practiced, fire hazard is reduced, and the area
is opened as a recreational ground so that the greatest possible value
is obtained from the tract.
A great many other uses of the motor truck for logging and scientific
forest utilization are being recognized, as example, for transporting
pulpwood, veneer stock, cordwood, rosin and turpentine, and other forest
products. Suffice it to say that this method of transportation has
found a place in the industry and is here to stay. Its value has been
recognized beyond doubt and in the future will play an important part
in the further development of this country.