A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



473 



virgin forest cannot be found the largest available area will have to 

 be sufficient. A tract of 1,000 acres, while well adapted for research, 

 is too small for satisfactory recreation. The person with a yearning 

 for the beauties of the primeval wants to do more than just stroll into 

 a virgin stand of timber and squat. He desires to be able to walk 

 around in it for a considerable period, losing himself entirely for a 

 while in its timeless beauty, forgetting that there is such a thing as a 

 machine-age world. This is extremely difficult to do in 1,000 or even 

 5,000 acres. While the figure varies considerably with timber type, 

 a primeval area should contain not less than 5,000 acres, which is, 

 after all, scarcely 8 square miles. Wherever possible, tracts of at 

 least double that area should be set aside. 



Table 3 shows the major timber types in the United States and the 

 number of primeval areas of even 5,000 acres which have been set 

 aside in each. It will be observed that little progress has been made 

 in reserving primeval areas of even the minimum size. It is vitally 

 important that any additional areas which are to be preserved should 

 be set aside right away, for without early action the possibility of 

 maintaining primeval areas in a number of important timber types 

 will be lost, if, indeed, it has not been lost already. 



TABLE 3. Number of 5,000-acre primeval areas reserved in each major forest type 



i The Forest Service has established 16 smaller areas, between 160 acres and 4,230 acres, and averaging 

 about 1,250 acres each. 



This list of forest types excludes several distinctive minor types 

 which are so limited in distribution that it would be impossible to 

 attain the minimum standards of either number or size which were 

 set for the major types. In each minor type at least one primeval 

 area, as large as possible should be set aside. These minor types 

 include the pitch pine, southern white cedar, mangrove, port orford 

 cedar, Jeffrey pine, monterey pine, and mountain hemlock types. 

 Provision is already being made for the reservation of all existing 

 stands of Bigtree. 



WILDERNESS AREAS 



" Wilderness areas" are regions which contain no permanent 

 inhabitants, possess no means of mechanical conveyance, and are 

 sufficiently spacious that a person may spend at least a week or two 



