A NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR FORESTRY

LYLE F. WATTS.

Our greatest tasks in forest conservation lie ahead.

The conservation idea has won general acceptance, but it has yet to be applied on the ground to most of our forest lands. The downward trend of our forests has yet to be reversed.

We need to restore millions of acres of depleted forest land to productivity.

We need to build up our growing stock of timber. We have to increase the growth rate of all timber by one-half, and double the growth of saw timber.

We need to bring about good forest management on all forest lands. Our national forests and most other public forests are or will be managed for sustained yield. The crux of the problem is the forest lands in private ownership; to them we must look for the bulk of our supply of forest products.

We will have to be on the alert to safeguard the watershed values on forest and range lands.

We shall need to check further range deterioration and build up and wisely manage wild-land ranges for permanent productivity.

We shall also wish to maintain the wildlife in forests, in balance with the natural food supply; preserve scenic values in the forests; develop opportunities and facilities for recreation.

To attain those objectives, a broad program of action is needed both on public and private forest lands. We believe 10 elements are essential in such a program.

Extend and improve protection against fire.

Millions of acres of forest land in the United States still lack any form of systematic fire protection. Fire-control forces and facilities on many other areas are still far from being adequate. Organized protection should be extended as rapidly as possible to all areas needing it, and strengthened wherever it is now inadequate.

Provide more adequate protection against destructive insects and diseases.

An effective attack on the insect and disease problem will require a detection system, with surveys and observations by competent technicians, for prompt location of potential danger centers and incipient outbreaks; a control organization equipped and ready for immediate action; and intensified studies to discover and develop the best methods of control.

Eliminate overgrazing and other abuses of forest range lands.

Many ranges, both public and private, have been heavily overstocked. On national forest ranges, we have attempted to bring grazing into balance with forage growth, with as little hardship as possible to holders of grazing permits who are dependent on these ranges. At least half of the national forest ranges are now in good condition. On some areas, however, further action is necessary to prevent progressive range deterioration. Similar problems exist on many other public and private ranges, and encouragement should be given to sound management of all range lands.

Reduce forest waste.

Of all the wood cut or destroyed in logging in the United States, it is estimated that only 43 percent winds up in useful products other than fuel. Twenty-two percent is used as fuel,much of it inefficiently; 35 percent is not used at all. More research is needed to develop new techniques for harvesting wood and making products with less waste, and new ways of utilizing what is now unused. We need also to get such improved methods into use, through increased technical assistance to woodland owners and wood processors and through encouragement of greater integration of timber-products industries. Reduction of waste can give us more wood products without increasing the drain on our forests. Of equal or even greater importance, it produces more employment and more wealth for each thousand board feet cut from the forest.

Regulate timber cutting and related forest practices.

An urgent need is to stop destructive cutting. The Department has recommended a Federal-State control plan, which includes: Prohibiting the stripping of every tree from the land, except under special circumstances; prohibiting the premature or wasteful cutting in young stands; providing for certain safeguards against fire, insects, and diseases; and providing for the reservation of sufficient growing stock of desirable trees to keep the lands reasonably productive.

Those five standards are aimed at protection and wise use of the forest values we still have. They would check further destructive exploitation and deterioration, and in some degree start our forest resources toward recovery.

But we need more than this. We need positive action to restore and build up the forests for full production and service.

Public aids to private forest-land owners, especially the small owners.

Commercial forest land in private ownership is divided among more than 4 million owners. Among the various classifications of private ownership, the highest percentage of good forest-management practice is found on lands in large industrial ownerships. Many industrial forest-land owners employ their own technical foresters or engage consulting foresters to help them develop good timber-management plans. But large ownerships (of more than 50,000 acres) cover only about 14 percent of the privately owned timberlands. Of the 345 million acres of private commercial forest land, the great bulk is in small holdings, averaging less than 62 acres each. Small holdings include 139 million acres in farms, divided among 3.2 million farmers. Another 122 million acres is held by nearly one million nonfarm owners. Many of these are absentee owners, with whom the problem of encouraging good forestry practice is especially difficult. Most of the timberlands held by farmers and other small owners are in an understocked condition; relatively few are handled with any thought of producing continuous crops of trees. Poor management is reflected in yields and financial returns that are far below potential levels.