70 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



much greater. This part of the task would probably fall primarily 

 on the Federal Government. 



The governing principle for the division of the task between the 

 States and the Federal Government should be for the latter to take 

 over only the part that the States and their political subdivisions can- 

 not or will not carry. 



On the assumption that the most wealthy States and their subdi- 

 visions will on the average be able to carry 80 percent of the full 

 program and the least wealthy only 20 percent, about 40 percent, or 

 90 million acres, would be the States' share, and the remainder, or 

 134 million acres, the Federal share. 



The cost of the total acquisition program will be materially influ- 

 enced by the area acquired by tax reversion, the way in which the 

 program is handled, and the prices paid for the land purchased. It 

 may amount to as much as $750,000,000, two thirds of which would 

 fall upon the Federal Government. 



Even under normal conditions an early start and the most rapid 

 possible consummation of the program would be justified to prevent 

 further forest devastation and the deterioration and their inevitable 

 results and to start the process of rehabilitation. 



The depression makes such action much more urgent to relieve 

 serious unemployment. The depression has made the national-land 

 problem much more acute, and thus emphasized the need for making 

 forest-land use contribute as fully and as soon as possible to its 

 solution. Present prices of land and timber would also greatly 

 reduce the total cost of acquisition. 



It is believed both possible and desirable for the Federal Govern- 

 ment at least to acquire cut-over land at the rate of 5 percent, or about 

 7 million acres a year, and western stumpage at the rate of about 9 

 billion board feet over a 10-year period. The yearly cost to the 

 Federal Government for the first 10-year period would average about 

 $30,000,000. f 



The time is ripe and the entire situation calls for an acquisition 

 movement equal in aggressiveness but greater in magnitude than that 

 which characterized the building up of the national forests from the 

 public domain from 1905 to 1910. The Federal Government and 

 most of the States must participate to make it a success. 



It should be the next great step in American forestry. 



With the acquisition of the land public obligations will only begin. 

 The real task is to make them productive. The intensity of public 

 effort on both lands now held and those to be acquired must be 

 greatly increased to offset what has not been done by private effort. 



THE COST OF THE NATIONAL PLAN AND HOW IT COULD 



BE FINANCED 



Expenditures for all forest activities in the United States in 1932 

 as previously indicated totaled about $43,475,000. Of this amount 

 about $24,375,000 was expended by the Forest Service, $2,600,000 

 by other Federal agencies, and $10,650,000 by State and other public 

 agencies. Quasi public and private agencies spent about $5,860,000. 



THE COST OF THE PUBLIC PROGRAM 



The most important steps in the public program call for increased 

 State and Federal effort in (1) enlarging and (2) managing public 

 forests and (3) strengthening public aid and research. 



