Texas Almanac, 1947-1948 Page: 173
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PLANT LIFE REGIONS
Annual Production.
Actual administration of these lands began
In 1936. During the past ten years the forests
have been approaching their goal, that is, an
increasing continuous yield capable of aiding
in the support of the local lumbering indus-
tries. The annual cut of timber products from
the Texas national forests has increased
from 1,488,000 board feet in 1936 to approxi-
mately 41,000,000 board feet in 1946. The
annual revenue has increased from approxi-
mately $2,000 per annum in 1936 to $440,000
per annum in 1946. The counties in which
these forests are located are sharing in these
increasing returns because 25 per cent of the
gross receipts of these national forests are
returned to the state each year for distribu-
tion to the counties. This past year the check
to the state amounted to $109,928.72. In some
counties where the lands were not severely
denuded prior to federal acquisition the allot-
ment from this fund will surpass the amount
that would have been realized from taxation
had the land remained on the tax rolls.
Recreational Facilities.
About 940 miles of road have been built
and maintained by the United States ForestService, using local crews for this work
Recreation areas such as Boykin Springs Lake
on the Angelina, Ratcliff Lake on the Crock-
ett, Double Lake on the Sam Houston and
Red Hills Lake on the Sabine are artificial
lakes constructed for the use of local and
transient people. Numerous recreational de-
velopments such as shelters, fireplaces.
tables, bathhouses, water and toilet facilities
have been developed at these areas. These
areas furnish swimming, fishing, picnicking
and camping facilities, free to the public.
An intensive fire-fighting organization has
been built up for the protection of these
national forest lands. Seventeen 100-foot look-
out towers have been constructed. Over 500
miles of telephone line and 20 radios have
been constructed and installed. Thirty-six
thousand acres of barren land have been
planted with approximately 35 million trees.
Much of this construction and development
work was done by the former CCC, but is
now being maintained by local employees.
There are over 300 special use areas used
by the local people for their individual bene-
fit. These areas include cultivation, pasture
and residence permits.Secondary Forests and Woodlands
While probably 97 per cent of saw timbers
and 90 per cent of all other forest products
for direct commercial sale originate in the
East Texas Pine Belt, the secondary forests
and woodlands are of great economic signifi-
cance. In addition to the production of lum-
ber, posts and poles, crosstles and firewood,
they afford a browsing range for the South-
west Texas goat-raising industry and are of
economic value indirectly as conservers of
soil and moisture, regulators of stream flow.
equalizers of climate, as cover for game, and
as sites for parks and places of recreation.
The secondary forest and woodland areas of
Texas are as follows:
Post-Oak Belt.-Thls area lies between the
Pine Belt and the Blackland Prairies, extend-
ing from the Red River to a point east of
San Antonio. (E on map, page 168.) Pqst oak
is the principal timber though there is a
miscellany of other hardwoods. There is
considerable production of posts, poles and
crosstles with some saw timber from the red
oak and other trees in this area.
East and West Cross Timbers.-The East
Cross Timbers is a narrow belt running south
from the Red River through Denton, Tarrant
and Johnson Counties. Its large companion,
separated from it by the Grand Prairie,
the West Cross Timbers belt, runs southward
from the Red River through a tier of counties
west of Fort Worth and extends into Central
Texas. (J cn map.) Post oak, blackjack and
mesquite are interspersed with a good deal of
prairie land, with pecans along the streams
which traverse the belt. It is partly co-exten-
sive with the Cedar Belt.
Cedar Belt.-The Cedar Belt extends from
North Central Texas southward to the Burnet-
Llano area and thence southwestward over
the central and eastern parts of the Edwards
Plateau. (Central and eastern parts of I,
southern and eastern parts of J and western
part of F on map.) In the northern portion
the growth is irregular, found principally in
the broken land and on the hilltops and
sides. In the Burnet-Llano and Lower Ed-
wards Plateau area, its growth is general.
There is production of posts, poles and fire-
wood with a small production of cabinetwork
and cedar oil. The cedar has spread rapidly
across the former prairie lands of Southwest
Texas in recent years and in many places
ranchmen, with Federal Government aid in
some instances, have burned and otherwise
destroyed the growth in an effort to restore
the grasslands.Live-Oak Belt.-The Live-Oak Belt is not
easily defined, being in scattered growths in
Middle Western, Central and South Central
Texas, extending to the coast southeast of
San Antonio and on to the Rio Grande Valley.
(Scattered through I, J, F, G and H on map.)
Most intensive growth is along the coast
north of Corpus Christi. It is of no great
commercial value because of its scarcity,
though of excellent wood composition. An
evergreen, it is prized as a shade tree.
Mesquite Belt.-The mesquite has spread
rapidly northward during the last fifty years.
Originally its growth was primarily in the
Rio Grande Embayment and the Lower Ed-
wards Plateau, but it has spread across the
West Texas prairies to the Red River and is
even found on the higher plains in places
(K, J, F, I, G and H on map.) As a rule the
stature of the tree declines with northern and
western extension. This expansion of habitat
is from the same cause as the spread of the
cedar, namely, the closer grazing of the
range and the laying of prairie fire barriers
in public roads and cultivated fields. In the
native state, it was the wide-ranging grass
fire that kept this marginal territory treeless
The mesquite is of little commercial value,
though its bean is eaten by livestock and it
is frequently of great assistance to cattlemen
in dry years. Some firewood is produced and
there is a limited production of furniture
and cabinetwork from the wood which takes a
high polish.
Trans-Pecos Mountain Timbers.-Texas is
unique among the states in having within its
bounds native growths representative of both
the Eastern and Pacific timbers. The latter
are limited in quantity and of little or no
commercial value, but a variety of Pacific
Coast oak, pine, fir and juniper is found in
the Guadalupe, Davis, Chisos Ranges of the
Trans-Pecos area. Probably the best growths
are in the high altitudes of the Chisos Range.
(N on map.)
Miscellaneous Native Trees.-There is a
wide growth in relatively undefined tree
areas throughout Central and Eastern Texas.
Across the Coastal Plain along streams there
are corridors of hardwoods, including a
variety of oaks ash and hickory, which
attain considerable size and are cut and
sawed. The pecan, the state tree of Texas,
is found only along streams, but in a fairly
well-defined belt aong the upper and middle
courses of the Trinity, Brazos, Colorado.
Guadalupe, Nueces and tributaries. (See p.
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Texas Almanac, 1947-1948, book, 1947; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117136/m1/175/?q=%22oil-gas%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.