NOTEvS 



Many New Jersey Woodland Owners Are Practicing Forestry 



A survey of the progress of forestry in New Jersey, conducted dur- 

 ing the past winter to determine the extent that woodland owners have 

 actively engaged in forestry practice, has shown most gratifying results. 

 Since the State itself owns less than one per cent of the forests within 

 its borders, it has been the policy of the State Forester to support and 

 encourage the interest of private owners in the practice of forestry, 

 and in this way serve the public interest. Many owners who have 

 taken advantage of this aid, have found woodland management and 

 forest planting both practicable and profitable. 



The replies received to questionnaires sent to all persons who have 

 indicated an interest in forestry in the past, show that 114 active 

 cooperators, including 11 municipalities and public institutions, have 

 practiced intensive forestry methods — including improvement cutting, 

 close utilization of products, as well as fire protection — on approxi- 

 mately 10,000 acres, while 40,000 acres more under the same owner- 

 ship have been protected and improved to some extent, and definite 

 plans made for more intensive management. The same cooperators, 

 together with 41 others, are planning to extend forestry management 

 to more than 12,000 acres of woodland that have received no special 

 attention up to this time. 



Progress has also been made in forest planting. While natural 

 reproduction is usually adequate and satisfactory in most parts of the 

 State, it is often advisable to reestablish forest growth by planting 

 on land unwisely cleared and unfit for agriculture, or where all re- 

 production has been destroyed by fire. More than 1600 acres have 

 been planted by persons cooperating with the State Forester, and nearly 

 300 acres more will be planted within a short time. 



Believing that a number of State forests are valuable as public 

 demonstrations of the methods and results of forestry practice, the 

 State has acquired six public forests with a total area of 16,591 acres. 

 Upon these lands 50 acres of forest plantations have been set out for 

 the purpose of experiment and demonstration. 



Altogether there are 80,000 acres within the State, approximately 4 

 per cent of the total woodland area, upon which forestry practice is 

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