EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT ON CHIPPEWA

H. BASIL WALES.

The great pineries of the Lake States helped tremendously in the industrial and agricultural development of the Midwest. But because sawmills were operated on the basis of cut-out-and-quit, timber was harvested without thought of the future; stands were cut over and burned without giving heed to the new crop that otherwise would have followed. The sawmills on the pine stands in the Lake States were on their way out by 1900, with little prospects of future production of the prized pine construction lumber.

The story of the Chippewa National Forest illustrates what could have been done throughout the Lake States to insure future productivity and how the crude measures to secure a new forest developed into extensive management and then intensive management.

At the close of the nineteenth century some of the best pine timber that remained in the Lake States was on Indian reservations in Minnesota. Pressure by lumbermen for more timber to clear cut and the pressure by women's clubs and other organizations to save the timber by placing it in a national park finally led to a compromise. Congress instructed the Secretary of the Interior to sell timber on Indian reservations and hold the money for the benefit of the Indians.

The Morris Act of 1902 included a feature unique among land laws in that 5 percent of the timber stand on certain lands in north-central Minnesota was to be reserved from cutting and held for seed-tree purposes as the pinelands were cut over, they were to be dedicated to forestry. Thus, one of the first large-scale efforts in forest management in this country was a harvest of virgin white pine and red pine, with a provision for regeneration of the stand. Nearly 200,000 acres of such forestry lands were to be selected and the timber sold. The law directed also that timber on the islands of Cass Lake and Leech Lake, and on Sugar Point and Pine Point that extend into Leech Lake, and on a unit equivalent to 10 sections of pine timber be reserved from sale.

The law was amended in 1908 to create the Minnesota National Forest within definite boundaries, including the forestry lands and all other lands, except individual Indian allotments (which had already been made) and swampland which was claimed by the State of Minnesota under the acts of 1850 and 1860. The amendment raised the seed-tree reservation on the pine areas remaining to be sold to 10 percent of the stand.

Not all the land within the exterior boundaries of the Minnesota National Forest supported merchantable white pine and red pine. Areas of heavy soil carried mixed hardwoods the sugar maple, basswood, yellow birch, oak, and others. There were also areas of aspen, with other species in mixture, and second-growth stands of jack pine and red pine. Those areas of second growth are probably explained in the accounts of aged Indians of the "fire of two summers," which burned in northern Minnesota and which, according to ring counts, occurred in the early 1860's. The second-growth pine was too small to be merchantable under the terms of the Interior Department sales; other species were small and valueless, besides.

Thus a new national forest was born. It was comprised of about 190,000 acres, which included some 10 sections of virgin white pine and red pine, about 3 townships of second growth ( which followed the early fire), a township of hardwoods and other valueless species, and the cut-over land that had standing seed trees among the stumps.

EARLY RECORDS indicate that the seed trees were relatively wind-firm and stood up well despite some heavy winds. Post-logging decadence, induced by the sudden opening of the stand and consequent drying of the soil, was prominent and cumulative.

In 1930, seed trees, particularly of white pine, had all but disappeared from many parts of the cut-over area. Red pine seed trees were more prominent, especially in the part of the forest that was cut over in the later years of the harvest, but decadence was evident among them, too. Nevertheless, the red pine trees showed good diameter growth.

Many foresters have studied regeneration of the pine stand following cutting. All seem to agree that about two-thirds of the reproduction was present as small seedlings when cutting was done. Good seed yields occurred in 1904, 1910, 1914, 1917, and in 1920 within the cutting period, and since then in 1924, 1927, 1930, 1937, and 1943. There has been considerable seed fall, but apparently the conditions were not right for the successful establishment of pine.

FOR THE SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISHMENT of a new forest of red pine or white pine, a good seed fall, exposed mineral soil obtained by summer logging, and favorable weather conditions for a year or two following germination of the seed seem to be required. If the seed finds a favorable seedbed, a hot, dry sun may kill the tender seedlings. The establishment of grass, weeds, bracken, brush, or low-value hardwoods is another deterrent.

Despite the adverse situations, possibly one-third of the established red pine second growth has come in as a result of the preservation of seed trees. On good white pine sites, white pine reproduction often is conspicuously absent. That does not mean that seedlings of white pine were not present at the time of logging or did not come in later, but, rather, that such seedlings generally could not survive. White pine sites are generally more moist and more fertile than those of red pine and hence are quickly reclothed by nature with dense competing vegetation. The white pine is relatively tolerant of shade, but dense shade will kill the young seedlings. White pine is a favorite food of the snowshoe hare, which builds up to tremendous populations at cyclic intervals. The hare is regarded as the final adverse factor in precluding the natural regeneration of white pine over most of this particular project area.

Under the terms of the timber-sale contract, slash had to be piled and burned. That was a new and rather onerous requirement to the purchasers, who had been accustomed to leaving slash as it fell. Much established reproduction, therefore, was lost by the careless burning of slash. The burned places usually came back to weeds, grass, or aspen, although if jack pine trees remained in the stand, the heat of the fires caused the serotinous cones to open and disperse seed ; consequently, jack pine became established to a considerable extent along with red pine.

The seed-tree method of obtaining regeneration cannot be said to be fully successful. But that method plus a reasonable success in fire protection and the fact that seedlings were already established when the logging was done brought in a substantial acreage of second-growth red pine, considerable jack pine, and some white pine.

UPON COMPLETION of the logging and milling, the sawmill at Cass Lake, which had bought most of the merchantable timber, blew its whistle for the last time another big mill had exhausted its accessible timber supply, just as hundreds of other mills had done; it had cut-out-and-quit.

That, however, was quite a different quitting. Not so much devastation was left behind. Slash had been disposed of to reduce the hazard of slash fires. Much of the area was covered with young seedlings. Other parts had reforested naturally to jack pine and aspen. There were older age classes of jack pine, aspen, and other hardwoods, even if nobody wanted to buy them.

After all the merchantable pine had been cut in 1923, the forest was largely on a custodial basis. Protection against fire was the main item, although the men in charge tried to develop new markets for the little-used aspen and the overmature jack pine. They established a forest-tree nursery that had an annual production of about a million 2-year seedlings, but planting was not eminently successful. A box mill came in to utilize jack pine lumber for box and crating production, but it did not last long. It was succeeded by a more adequately financed company, which produced box lumber for shipment to their main box plant at Cloquet, Minn. It put in a small box unit to furnish supplemental employment to a stranded people. A few other sales were made, and a couple of small portable mills were brought in to work in the hardwoods.

In cooperation with the University of Minnesota, the Lake States Forest Experiment Station was established in 1926 to investigate forestry problems in the Lake States. Raphael Zon, the director, recognized the opportunity and the necessity of solving the problems connected with the reestablishment of a new forest. He established plots for the study of release and thinning and, in the older stands, plots for the study of growth and reproduction.

SUCH WAS THE SITUATION in 1930 in the new national forest that now is called, through Presidential proclamation, the Chippewa National Forest.

It had been discovered that aspen, which has no odor to taint food products, was suitable for box lumber. The aspen that followed the fire of two summers had reached maturity, and a sale of some 40 million board feet, about two-thirds aspen, to be cut over a period of 12 years, was advertised. It was bid in at a dollar a thousand board feet; other species and products likewise were priced low. The purchaser contracted to deliver at least 3 million feet of aspen to the box mill at Cass Lake each winter.

Logging operations started in the fall with a crew large enough to deck the minimum required delivery by the middle of February. Hauling started as soon as the ground was frozen solid. The product was delivered in 100-inch and 200-inch lengths.

The long lengths were recut to 100 inches, and the bolts went up the bull chain through a circular saw, which split the logs in half. The halves were then sent through a horizontal band saw, which took off a board from the flat side. The slab was returned by moving chains for additional runs through the band. The mill procedure is mentioned because it is said to be the first mill built on that principle.

The sale of aspen opened a new market for a previously unused species that forest devastation and fire had made available in large volume throughout the Lake States. The sale also seemed to mark the transition point from a custodial and protective job to one of active management of the resource, extensive at first but gradually moving forward to a high degree of intensity. The logging operation continued throughout the depression, and, when the Cloquet sawmill closed because of timber exhaustion, the main box plant was moved to Cass Lake to augment facilities there. The mill now uses other species as well as aspen.

Although the use of aspen for box lumber augured well for the future, it was not possible to extend sales appreciably during the depression. Only low-value material was available, and most of it was relatively inaccessible. Markets and accessibility control the intensity of management which may be given a forest stand. Extensive management could be applied only on the areas where sales could be made.