A POLICY OF FORESTRY FOR THE NATION 



BY HENRY S. GRAVES 

 UNITED STATES FORESTER 



AMERICAN FORESTRY MAGAZINE HEREWITH PUBLISHES SOME MORE OPINIONS REGARDING THE NEED OF A NATIONAL 

 FOREST POLICY AND THE KIND OF A FOREST POLICY PROPOSED BY UNITED STATES FORESTER HENRY S. GRAVES. COL. 

 GRAVES' OUTLINE OF THE PRINCIPLES OF SUCH A POLICY WAS PRINTED IN THE AUGUST ISSUE OF THE MAGAZINE 

 AND A FURTHER OUTLINE IS PUBLISHED HEREWITH. FORESTERS, LUMBERMEN AND TIMBERLAND OWNERS THROUGHOUT 

 THE COUNTRY HAVE BEEN INVITED BY THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS ON THIS 

 VITALLY IMPORTANT SUBJECT.— EDITOR. 



A NATIONAL i)olicy of forestry seeks the protec- 

 tion and beneficial utilization of our present forest 

 resources, the renewal after cutting of forests on 

 lands not needed for agriculture and settlement, the sta- 

 bility of forest industries and of satisfactory conditions 

 for forest w^orkers, and the restoration of forest growth 

 on lands nOw unproductive and idle. 



The public interests in the continuance of forests jus- 

 tify and require direct ownership of extensive areas, 

 and also participation by the public in working out the 

 problem of protection and renewal of private forests. 

 A program of forestry for the nation should include 

 action by the public through the Government and the 

 States, action by land owners and operators, and the 

 means of uniting the efforts of all for the achievement of 

 a common purpose. 



The service of forests is not alone local ; it is national 

 as well. For the products are widely distributed without 

 reference to State lines, the industries are engaged in 

 interstate business, and the protective benefits of forests 

 often extend far beyond the localities where they are situ- 

 ated. It is the function of the Federal Government to 

 take the leadership in formulating a national economic 

 policy that gives consideration to the relationship of 

 all forests to the industrial life of the country. The 

 central Government alone can bring about concurrent 

 and harmonious action within given regions. Its re- 

 search and educational work may be directed to the 

 problems of the nation and of regions that comprise 

 more than one State. Representing the whole Nation, 

 the Government can stimulate and guide local action 

 where individual States by their own efforts would fail. 

 The Government can act to organize all agencies affected 

 by the forest problem in a united undertaking to in- 

 augurate and carry out a program of forestry. 



The States have not only the function of handling 

 the public forests owned by them, but they have also 

 a direct responsibility in the protection and continuance 

 of private forests. In this, the Federal Government 

 should take part to meet interstate and national prob- 



lems, to stimulate action by the States, and to bring into 

 harmony the efforts of the different States. In the prob- 

 lem of private forestry, the Government would work 

 through and in cooperation with the States. The leg- 

 islation affecting the private owner in the matter of pro- 

 tection and continuance of forests should be by the 

 States. The Government should help the States in 

 formulating plans and developing methods and by direct 

 assistance in carrying them out. The assistance offered 

 by the Government should be contingent upon the States 

 taking legislative and administrative action to provide 

 for the protection and renewal of their forests. 



A national policy must recognize the problems of the 

 private owner of forests. Greater security of forest 

 property from fire, better returns from timberland in the 

 long run, and more stable industrial conditions must be 

 sought. A program in which the public participates and 

 recognizes industrial jjroblems, like taxation, would 

 enable private proprietors to handle their forests in a 

 way not to be a public injury but to serve in building up 

 the localities in which they are situated. 



Public Forests. 



There should be an extensive program of public 

 forests, owned by the Nation, by the States, by muni- 

 cipalities, and, too, by quasi-public institutions and or- 

 ganizations. The public forests today comprise about 

 25 per cent of the total forest area of the covuitry. They 

 should be extended to include ultimately from 40 to 50 

 per cent. 



In any plan of extensive public holdings, whether 

 Federal or State, provision should be made for return- 

 ing to the communities a share of the receipts, as is done 

 in case of the National Forests, or otherwise to com- 

 pensate them for withdrawing the lands from taxation. 



The Federal Government should not only provide 

 adequate support properly to protect and develop its 

 forest properties ; it should also rehabilitate, by planting 

 if necessary, the depleted and wasted cut-over and 

 burned lands. 



DURING THE LAST SIX MONTHS THERE HAS BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF DISCUSSION REGARDING THE NEED OF A NATIONAL 

 POLICY OF FORESTRY AND WHAT SUCH A POLICY SHOULD COMPRISE. DURING THAT PERIOD I HAVE HELD MANY CONFER- 

 ENCES WITH FORESTERS, LUMBERMEN AND OTHERS INTERESTED IN THE QUESTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, 

 AND HAVE PRESENTED CERTAIN PRINCIPLES WHICH I BELIEVE SHOULD UNDERLIE SUCH A POLICY. 



I HAVE RECEIVED MANY INQUIRIES REGARDING VARIOUS POINTS IN THE POLICY AS I HAVE SET IT FORTH. I HAVE 



THEREFORE PREPARED A STATEMENT MORE COMPREHENSIVE THAN HERETOFORE IN ORDER TO CLARIFY THE OBJECTIVES 



AND WHAT STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO ATTAIN THEM. THIS STATEMENT MAY BE OF INTEREST IN CONNECTION WITH THE 



DISCUSSION OF A NATIONAL POLICY OF FORESTRY. 



HENRY S. CRAVES. 



