830 JOURNAI, OF F0RE;STRY 



lished across them; fire may sweep from them onto adjacent com- 

 munities (as in Minnesota) and so they need protection. They need 

 also some police supervision. Whether or not, therefore, they produce 

 anything of value, still they are an expense to the State and county. 

 Taxes to meet this expense must be levied upon surrounding regions, 

 for as a rule the amount of taxes obtainable from the lands themselves 

 (5 to 8 cents an acre) is not sufficient to care for them. (Many 

 counties on cut-over pine lands in Michigan are bankrupt. They take 

 more money from the State treasury to pay for county improvements, 

 schools, etc., than they get from the lands in the counties for taxes, 

 that is, the State pays more than it gets.) - ~ 



It vi^ould appear that if the owner of such a property gives to it good 

 fire protection and builds roads, etc., such as would be done if a forest 

 business were established, that he is bearing his expense of the land 

 whether or not he pays taxes to the county. For he has actually saved 

 the surrounding communities tax burdens imposed to care for the land. 



When such a forest comes into sustained annual yield, then it can be 

 taxed in the same manner as farm land is taxed. 



3. The third form of forests is that one which is composed of stands 

 of timber ready for market. The yield and the money return are at 

 hand if desired. Owners of such a forest complain because they are 

 taxed on a property that is yielding no returns, and which probably is 

 not increasing much in value; the people of the county complain that 

 the owners are holding a vast store of merchantable stuff which cost 

 little in comparison to its value and on which no work is done. A com- 

 promise between the two is not easily effected under present methods of 

 handling forests. 



When the owner does log, under present methods, the land, because 

 of the devastated condition following logging, becomes of low value and 

 taxes received are small, and will continue small for a great many 

 years whether or not the area is cared for until the forest again becomes 

 merchantable. The system gives periods of feast in taxes and then of 

 dearth; and the period of dearth is many years in length. 



Obviously such a system is not good ; and it would appear the part of 

 wisdom for the State to insist that the forest owner practice forestry on 

 a sustained annual yield basis in order that the taxes, based upon the 

 quality of the land to produce timber, may be returned regularly. 



