Category: All News
After doing this for so long we sometimes forget to answer the most common questions. A common question we get is, “So, what exactly is standing timber?” Dead-standing trees refer to trees that have been killed in the forest by a naturally occurring event. The majority of dead-standing trees in Montana are a result of […]
Photo compliments of: Big Sky Country Photos Question: What country has about the same amount of timber land as Montana, has a population of 83 million compared to Montana’s 975,000, and produces 12 billion board feet of lumber per year compared to Montana’s 400 million board feet? Answer: Germany
Douglas Fir Timber Properties: Wood Strength and More Description: Douglas Fir has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any wood species. Primarily found in the western US and Canada, Douglas Fir is frequently used for structural dimension lumber and for interior finish work in upper grades. Douglas Fir clears are renowned for their strength, durability, […]
Source: Salt Lake Tribune Photo compliments of: Big Sky Country Photos Putting wood chips to work could be the West’s best hope at saving its forests. Right now, there are too few profits to persuade the too few loggers to prune trees from tens of millions of sickly acres, government foresters believe. But turning overabundant […]
Photo compliments of: Big Sky Country Photos Question: The largest number of Indians ever gathered together for a single battle fought which battle in Montana? Answer: Battle of the Little Big Horn, known as Custers Last Stand. Indian numbers were estimated from 10,000 to 15,000. Question: How many of General Custer’s unit of 215 […]
Source: The New York Times WISE RIVER, Mont. — The trees spanning many of the mountainsides of western Montana glow an earthy red, like a broadleaf forest at the beginning of autumn. But these trees are not supposed to turn red. They are evergreens, falling victim to beetles that used to be controlled in part […]
Source: Missoulian Photo Compliments of: Big Sky Country Photos LUBRECHT EXPERIMENTAL FOREST – Somewhere between the clearcut practices of 30 years ago and today’s debate over the proper size of wood chips, forest sustainability and management has absorbed some major changes. “We’ve had to work on regaining trust,” Montana State University extension forestry professor Peter […]
Photo compliments of: Big Sky Country Photos Question The 19 million acres of national forest in Montana are about the size of what eastern seaboard state? Answer South Carolina
Source: Helena Independent Record By Julie Altemus This week marks the first “Montana Forest Products Industry Week.” The third week of October was set aside by the 62nd Montana Legislature in conjunction with the National Forest Products Week dedicated by Congress 51 years ago, to observe the importance of forests and their products. Congress recognized […]
Source: Missoulian Chemical war. Biological war. Scorched earth. Having watched mountain pine beetles blitz the Continental Divide forests east of here for the past decade, leaving practically no mature pines living near the state’s capital, western Montanans are primed for a fight. “In Helena and Butte, they’ll have a whole generation that won’t know what (Montana) […]
Photo compliments of: Big Sky Country Photos Question: Montana is 550 miles across (east to west). Is that greater than, less than, or equal to the distance from Chicago to New York City? Answer: About equal to, as the crow flies
Source: Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences – University of Florida A breakthrough in pine tree breeding will lead to forests better adapted to climate change and bioenergy use, University of Florida researchers report. The improved forests will stem from a genetic technique the researchers have developed that can create new tree varieties in half the […]
Source – Rapid City Journal Battle lines in the war against the mountain pine beetle are shifting north in the Black Hills, as hordes of the burrowing bugs emerge from dying pine trees to infect whole new sections of forest. The spread of the beetle, which has already been estimated by U.S. Forest Service specialists […]
Picture from: Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Question: The paddlefish, found in the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers in Montana, is found in what one other place in the world? Answer: The Yangtze in China
By Rob Chaney of the Missoulian After several years of contractions and downturns, what remains of Montana’s timber industry may find a sustainable level of work. “All the mills have their log prices in line with what the lumber prices are,” said Craig Rawlings, publisher of Smallwood News and owner of Timber Buy-Sell.com. “They’ve curtailed, tightened […]