LAND CIvASSlFlCATlON 233 



(b) Local or county land utilization plans, based on detailed land 

 classification work and economic factors, in which work Federal and 

 State forestry agencies should co-operate with agricultural and other 

 agencies, especially various local agencies and individuals. To make 

 any scheme of economic land utilization of practical use in a given com- 

 munity it must gain the intelligent approval of the community. The 

 object is to bring scientific economic land utilization plans, including 

 the use of land for forest, down to the people. 



4. Work along the first of the above two lines, that of public forests, 

 is already under way and will not be discussed here. The following 

 are suggested as some of the important features to be included in work 

 on local or county land utilization plans by Federal or State agencies, 

 bearing on the classification of lands for forests : 



(a) Collection and use of all available soil and physiographic maps. 



(b) Present land utilization map. 



(c) Mapping of extensive areas of absolute forest land, and of land 

 of the less valuable agricultural types (actual or potential). 



(b) Determination of the amount of good agricultural land not 

 needed for agriculture because of lack of population and danger of 

 overproduction of agricultural crops. 



(e) Classification of relatively large areas, if any, which should be 

 in public forests because of general economic considerations. 



(/) Analysis of the economic possibilities in timber growing on 

 dift'erent classes of land based on yield tables for different qualities of 

 site. 



(g) Analysis of needs for forests and recommendations regarding 

 their location for a County as a whole and for the individual land 

 owners: (1) For supplying demands of local market or home needs; 

 (2) for water supply protection, and erosion and streamflow regula- 

 tion; (3) for protection of crops and buildings from winds, etc.; (4) 

 for recreational and esthetic purposes, including the question of recom- 

 mending areas for county and State forest parks; (5) as the best crop 

 to grow on areas not needed for agriculture. 



It is easy to see how such local land utilization plans would be useful 

 in promoting forestry locally and in securing local sentiment for State 

 and National forestry legislation, but not along compulsory private 

 forestry lines. 



If foresters fail to aggressively enter this field of land classification^ 

 it is likely that the development of this subject will become distorted 



