476 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



possible to cut them up with additional roads. But once roads are 

 built, it will be very difficult to restore the wilderness. In table 4 

 are listed the 38 established, partly established, or potential wilderness 

 areas i 



4. Forest wilderness areas, established and potential 



ROADSIDE AREAS 



The great majority of people who visit the forests for recreation do 

 so by automobile. While most of these visitors do not penetrate into 

 the forest, they are very much concerned with the part which they can 

 see from the highway. If this were destroyed or seriously damaged, 

 their enjoyment of touring would be immeasurably impaired, and 

 indeed many of them would largely give up their vacation journeys. 

 Consequently, it follows that for these people it is of great importance 

 to preserve from serious scenic damage the timbered strips adjoining 

 the more important roads. These strips will be referred to as "road- 

 side areas." This classification will include also strips of timber left 

 along lakes, rivers, and all other boat and canoe routes. 



Obviously it would not be feasible to preserve scenic strips along all 

 the 3,009,000 miles 9 of highways in the United States. Many of the 

 highways receive only occasional use, and the great majority are 

 rarely visited by people in quest of recreation. However, it would 

 seem that the 324,500 miles of State highways receive sufficient use to 



9 Estimate given in Facts and Figures of the Automobile Industry, National Automobile Chamber of 

 Commerde, 1932. 



