122 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



It includes also some 1 1 million acres of commercially valuable lands 

 in the form of parks, preserves, etc., withdrawn from timber use; 

 and 109 million acres of open-grown pinon-juniper lands in the West, 

 chaparral in southern California, remote and inaccessible alpine 

 ranges, and other areas which because of low productivity or extreme 

 inaccessibility appear to be permanently out of the commercial 

 timber-producing class (table 1). Much of this latter noncommercial 

 land, which is inferior for timber production, has, however, a high 

 value in terms of stream-flow control and prevention of erosion. 

 The chaparral lands, for example, are extremely important in con- 

 serving the water supply for highly intensive agricultural projects. 

 Figure 2 shows diagrammatically the arbitrary State groups which 

 are used for statistical purposes. It shows also the principal types 

 of forest. 



TABLE 1. Forest areas of the United States, by broad classes and regions 



1 Land capable of producing timber of commercial quantity and quality, and available for commercial 

 use. 



2 Fair to good timber-producing land withdrawn from timber use, as in parks. 



8 Land characterized by scrubby or very inaccessible forest, such as pinon-juniper stands of the South- 

 west, scrubby mountain or alpine stands, and chaparral. Over 60 percent is publicly owned, some of 

 which is withdrawn from timber use. Much of the area has an important value in protecting the water- 

 sheds of navigable streams, preventing or reducing soil erosion, protecting wild life, providing game 

 cover, etc. 



Forest land constitutes a basic and indispensable national resource. 

 Upon its continued productivity depend a permanent and economi- 

 cally available supply of timber products, the maintenance of forest 

 industries, and in turn the local prosperity based largely upon these 

 industries. To grow the timber for lumber, pulp wood, fuel wood, 

 fence posts, and the many other timber products demanded by modern 

 civilization constitutes what we may term the timber use or timber 

 supply function of forest lands. It represents their more tangible 

 economic value or use. 



Forested land affords benefits of far-reaching importance through 

 its favorable influence in regulating stream flow, in preventing exces- 

 sive erosion, and in providing shelter against wind and drought for 

 homes, crops, and livestock. The sum of these protective influences 

 constitutes one of the major uses of forested land. 

 ^ Recreation, using the term broadly to include the entire range from 

 simple picnicking and sight-seeing to prolonged wilderness camping, 

 and the spiritual and inspirational stimuli afforded by nature's 



