WOOD FOR THE NATION 153 



after the virgin timber was removed, we should 

 now be one of the richest countries in the world 

 in forest resources. Instead, they left barren 

 stretches and desolate wastes where dense woods 

 once stood. It is time that the present owners 

 of the land begin the reclamation of our 326,- 

 000,000 acres of cut-over timberlands. Some of 

 these lands still are yielding fair crops of timber 

 due to natural restocking and proper care. Most 

 of them are indifferent producers. One-quarter 

 of all this land is bare of forest growth. It is 

 our duty as citizens of the United States to aid 

 as we may in the reforestation of this area. 



Fires are cutting down the size of our forests 

 each year. During a recent five-year period, 160,- 

 000 forest fires burned over 56,488,000 acres, an 

 area as large as the state of Utah, and destroyed 

 or damaged timber and property valued at 

 $85,715,000. Year by year, fires and bad timber 

 practices have been increasing our total areas of 

 waste and cut-over land. We are facing a future 

 lumber famine, not alone because we have used 

 up our timber, but also because we have failed 

 to make use of our vast acreage of idle land 

 adapted for growing forests. We must call a 

 halt and begin all over again. Our new start 



