LETTEKS OF TRANSMITTAL, VH 



From these abandoned agricultural lands have arisen many of the 

 most acute erosion and watershed problems in the East, as well as 

 economic and social maladjustments of first magnitude and similar in 

 character to those resulting from forest devastation and transient 

 forest industries. 



The unsolved problem of unmanaged forest lands in public owner- 

 ship has both Federal and State aspects. The Federal problem lies 

 in the unreserved, unmanaged, overgrazed, and too largely unpro- 

 tected remnant of the public domain, about 23 million acres of which 

 are forested. The State problem includes the forested portion of 

 Federal grants which have never been given a legal status as State 

 forests and placed under management and the much larger area in 

 various stages of reversion to public ownership because of tax de- 

 linquency. Both classes are in a twilight zone. Tax delinquency is 

 creating a new public domain not of forested land but largely, instead, 

 of devastated forest land, and of such size that it promises to be a 

 heavy burden. Few States have legislation that provides for a solu- 

 tion, and still fewer take advantage of the legislation they have. 



The unbalanced character of the constructive efforts to solve the 

 forest problem as between private and public ownership and as 

 between relatively poor and relatively good land for timber growing 

 is shown by the fact that nearly 90 percent of the constructive effort 

 as measured by recent expenditures has been made by the Federal 

 and other public agencies, and two thirds of this effort has been con- 

 centrated on publicly owned lands. 



Private ownership has contributed only about 10 percent, and about 

 half of this has gone into research, much of which is aimed at uni- 

 formity of product. Only about 5 percent of the total constructive 

 effort has therefore been made by the owners on 80 percent of the 

 forest land available for timber growing, which has 90 percent or 

 more of the potential growth capacity. 



From the timber growing standpoint and disregarding ownership, 

 the concentration of some 60 percent of current expenditures, which 

 totaled nearly $43,500,000 in 1932 on 10 percent or even less of the 

 possible timber production and of around 5 percent of expenditures 

 on 90 percent or more of the possible timber production, is exceed- 

 ingly poor national economy, regardless of the fact that the present 

 effort on public lands should be strengthened. 



The relation of constructive effort to other forest products than 

 timber is similar. 



The inquiry makes it more clear than ever before that the solution 

 of our forest problem is one of our major national problems. This is 

 indicated in part by the brief references to findings already made. 



But, in addition, the solution is the only means for utilizing our 

 forest and abandoned agricultural land, which constitutes more than 

 one third of the total land area of the continental United States. 

 The only other possible use is for agriculture and the area needed for 

 agriculture has been decreasing. 



The solution is the only, or the best, means for supplying wood 

 and other renewable resources. Wood is one of the natural resources 

 on which our civilization has been built. 



Under many conditions the forest probably offers the best and 

 cheapest method available for erosion control and stream-flow regu- 

 lation. One half, or 308 million acres, of the total area of forest is 

 classified as having a major influence on watershed protection and 



