Timber

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Due to the amount of rain forest that covers the state of Alaska, the timber industry contributes much beauty to the state while providing millions of dollars to the state economy. Alaska has two distinct forest ranges that are used primarily in the timber industry. First, the interior forest and second, the coastal rain forest. There is a noticeable difference between these two regions. The coastal trees are much more mature and larger due to being in the rain forest.

Until the mid-1980s, almost all of the export volume of Alaskan wood products originated from the coastal rain forest of Southeast Alaska. In the past decade the Southcentral forest, also a coastal rain forest, has supported an increasing volume harvest and export of logs and lumber.

The vast interior forest covers 115 million acres. The coastal rain forests has 13.6 million acres of forested land, while only 5 million acres are classified as timberland. Western hemlock and Sitka spruce provide most of the timber harvest for domestic and export lumber and pulp markets. Other types are Western red cedar, Alaska cedar along with mountain hemlock and lodgepole pine.

In 1994, more than 27.5 million board feet of timber were harvested on state lands, adding 784,000 dollars to state revenues. Approximately 82 percent of the harvest was sawtimber. Timber harvested on federal lands was 291.3 million board feet. Timber exports in 1994 were valued at 566 million dollars.

Video Clip by: Alaska Video Postcards
Text by: AK. Divison of Trade and Development
The Alaska Almanac 19th Edtion,
Adventuring in Alaska (Pg. 195-197)
Photo by: AK Division of Tourism

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