296 PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 



the city forest of Forbach in Germany with a net profit of over $12.00 per 

 acre pays all the communal taxes. But more than that, the city forest is 

 the playground of the people. The German is taught to love the forest. 

 As a schoolboy he spends much of his time there. Likewise, mothers 

 with children, factory workers, and shop girls, all find rest there on Sun- 

 days and holidays. For it is truly a place for rest with the cool, fresh 

 air, the pure sparkling water, the flowers and the birds. But the instinct 

 and the love of woodland and wild life is universal. Probably each one 

 of us can think back to one or more pleasant days spent in the woods. 

 It is truly a vacation. There is a place in the rural community for the 

 park and forest for that majority of people who will never visit our state 

 and national parks and forests. 



Then, too, the county park or forest will play a most important part in 

 the conservation of wild plants, birds, and game. Foremost among the 

 reasons for the destruction and subsequent disappearance of our native 

 plants is the clearing of woodlands, the grazing of live stock and the 

 burning of slash and underbrush. The plant's environment is thus 

 changed and it quickly perishes. The lovers of birds and the sportsmen 

 also know the value of forests as bird and game sanctuaries. They are 

 most important in increasing the scarce or almost extinct species. 



Finally the establishment of county parks and forests will tend toward 

 a proper utilization of all our lands. Iowa is, and always will be, essen- 

 tially an agricultural state. But there are thousands of acres of land that 

 can be bought at a price much less than what has been paid by cities in 

 Europe for land for forestry purposes. If just 1% of the area of Iowa 

 was used for forests and parks it would constitute an area of more than 

 a third of a million acres or an average of 3,600 acres per county. Few, if 

 any, counties there are that do not have that much land already forested or 

 that much land of poor quality that could be planted to trees. The ma- 

 jority of counties have much more. Who can doubt that the remaining 

 acres would not be more valuable for the presence of these wooded 

 areas? 



The false idea prevailing in some sections of the country that to be 

 (profitable the land must be cleared of forests and put to other purposes, 

 is doing much mischief towards the proper use of our resources. The 

 deception may prevail for a time as it did in eastern states, but sooner or 

 later a proper balance will be reached. 



Then there is another phase to the question. Iowa is located at a con- 

 siderable distance from the great forest regions of the country and is a 

 heavy consumer of wood. For these reasons the markets here will be of 

 the best. We can, therefore, afford to use better lands than is used in 

 other sections simply because of supply and demand of forest products. 

 But the revenues derived from forests are by no means to be disregarded. 

 Well managed forests in Euroipe are yielding as net profit $5.00 to $12.00 

 per acre per year. Forest plantations here in Iowa have given equally 

 as large returns. 



But, however profitable the growing of forests on long rotations, it is 

 not a private proposition. It is essentially a business of a long-lived 

 organization. Few individuals are willing, even though financially able, to 

 invest today with the idea of harvesting fifty or one hundred years hence. 



