282 



CONSERVATION 



floods, and contributing to the streams 

 an enormous burden of silt and sand 

 which is deposited by the floods over 

 the farming land in the alluvial valleys ; 

 this sand likewise fills the reservoirs, 

 and chokes the channels of the navi- 

 gable rivers. 



It is proposed to interest landowners 

 in replanting this land as a profitable 

 investment. Small seed beds have been 

 established, which will soon be very 

 much enlarged ; from these it is ex- 

 pected to supply seedlings for planting 

 to the owners of such land. It is pro- 

 posed that the state should acquire some 

 reasonable rights in such plantations 

 respecting either the length of time be- 

 fore they can be cut or the method of 

 cutting. 



Eventually it is hoped to acquire 

 small areas of old forest in different 

 portions of the state for use as demon- 

 stration forests. These need not neces- 

 sarily be purchased, but the right of 

 exclusive use for a definite term of 

 years can be secured. These would be 

 used in much the same manner as the 

 demonstration farms of the South are 

 used at present. They should be se- 

 lected for accessibility rather than for 

 their value as commercial enterprises. 

 Their object would be to develop 

 methods of management and show the 

 results of such methods. 



Another measure provides for the 

 establishment of registered forests. 

 This permits forest land of a certain 

 grade to be listed in the county in which 

 situated, and in the office of the Secre- 

 tary of State as forest land. It must 



be non-agricultural land which, in the 

 opinion of the Forest Office, will not 

 be suited for farming purposes for at 

 least thirty years. In consideration of 

 certain privileges in regard to manage- 

 ment, which are given by the state, pay- 

 ing taxes on the timber only as it is cut 

 and granting police power to rangers 

 the owners agree to maintain registered 

 forest lands in forest for a fixed period, 

 managing the forest on lines approved 

 by the State's Forest Office. The in- 

 terest which this measure has created 

 indicates that it would be of much serv- 

 ice in permitting owners to regard hold- 

 ings as permanent investments. 



In this way the state of North Caro- 

 lina hopes to be able to secure far 

 greater benefits than would be possible 

 if the limited means which are now at 

 its command were used in acquiring 

 holdings in fee or in paying for labor 

 in planting. And the people of the 

 commonwealth must eventually derive 

 greater benefits from such a policy 

 which is directed entirely toward mak- 

 ing all the timberlands in the state pro- 

 ductive, and securing protective plant- 

 ing on the watersheds of all the streams 

 of the state, than would be possible if 

 the state, at the present time, were to 

 expend its entire resource in the pur- 

 chase of holdings which could never be 

 of great importance either as sources of 

 timber supply or as protective forests 

 on account of their comparatively lim- 

 ited extent. The salient features in this 

 policy would also seem to be well suited 

 to the conditions of the other Southern 

 Appalachian states. 





