30 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Recreational use jumped from about 300,000 to 3 million visitors 

 in national parks and from 3 million to 32 million visitors in national 

 forests between 1917 and 1931. 



There is good reason to anticipate a great increase in the future. 

 The factors which will cause this growth include an increasing popu- 

 lation, shorter working hours, a probable rising standard of living, 

 the increasing ease of transportation, and the increasing necessity, as 

 society becomes more and more mechanized, for some possibility of 

 escape to the primitive. 



The use of the forest for recreation seems therefore to be in its 

 infancy. We probably as yet have only a limited conception of the 

 ultimate possibilities and needs for this social service in a highly 

 industrialized nation. 



Practically all forest land which has not been severely damaged by 

 fire and logging has some recreational value. Sustained yield timber 

 growing will preserve much of the attraction for recreationalists. 

 Since even the best silvicultural practice does not conserve all recrea- 

 tional values, it is necessary to set aside a limited area exclusively for 

 recreation. 



One phase of the problem is to anticipate the full range and volume 

 of needs and possibilities. 



Another is to decide what kind of forest areas are needed, whether 

 superlative, primeval, wilderness, roadside, camp site, residence, out- 

 ing, or others; how many of each there should be, how large, and how 

 they should be distributed. 



Still another phase is that of ownership. Forest devastation or 

 deterioration for immediate income, which has characterized private 

 ownership, does not conserve recreational values. A further question 

 is whether permanent preservation can be insured except in public 

 ownership. It may be questionable whether lands in private owner- 

 ship will be open to permanent use by the general public. 



THE PROBLEM OF FOREST WILD LIFE 

 THE DEPENDENCE OF WILD LIFE ON THE FOREST 



The forests of the United States provide all or part of the habitat 

 for a large percentage of our remaining wild life, important for food, 

 fur, and hunting, or for esthetic purposes. 



The streams and lakes dependent upon forest land also constitute 

 the most favorable habitat of many valuable game fishes and the 

 temporary habitat during early life of some of the important com- 

 mercial anadromous fishes such as salmon and shad. 



ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL VALUES 



The Senate Committee on Conservation of Wild Life Resources 

 places the total hunters and fishermen in the United States in 1929 at 

 13 millions, and estimates that this is a 400 percent increase in a dec- 

 ade. The number promises to increase along with the increase of put- 

 door recreation which will come with increased leisure and facilities 

 for travel. 



The direct values of wild life include the sale of hunting licenses, 

 the value of meat and fur, the sale of hunting and fishing equipment, 



