784 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



in forest management these activities serve both purposes, it will not 

 do violence to the general situation to regard them as conducted 

 primarily to promote private forestry. 



Initially, many of the State forestry organizations were created as 

 agencies for gathering and diffusing information that would acquaint 

 forest owners and the public generally with the methods of, the need 

 for, and the returns obtainable from forestry. This was particularly 

 true prior to the passage of the Weeks Law in 1911, which offered 

 Federal cooperation in maintaining organized protection against forest 

 fires. Following the pattern set up for them by the Bureau of Foresty 

 in Washington before it was placed in charge of the national forests, 

 the State foresters undertook to gather information on the forest 

 resources and forest industries of their several States, the requirements 

 and markets for the various classes of forest products, the damage 

 done by forest fires, rates of growth, desirable practices of forestry, 

 and the like. 



Since the science and art of silviculture as applied to American con- 

 ditions had hardly begun to be built up, they had to learn as they 

 went along. Partly as a means of gaining experience, partly as a 

 means of diffusing knowledge of the principles of forestry, they com- 

 monly offered to give private owners advice on the care of their 

 woodlands. In this also they were influenced by the example of the 

 Federal Bureau of Forestry. Above all, they had to quicken public 

 sentiment into vigorous life against uncontrolled forest fires. Thus 

 functions of research (if the early unsystematized fact gathering may 

 be so termed), of public education, and of extension either preceded 

 or developed along with the assumption of administrative responsi- 

 bilities. This was true particularly in the East. 



EDUCATION AND EXTENSION 



Public education in forestry is still and will continue to be an 

 important function of a State forestry organization. An intelligent 

 public opinion based on widely diffused knowledge of the objectives 

 and methods of forestry is essential for the best use of the forest 

 resources. The story of what forestry is and of its aims and public 

 welfare aspects must be told over and over. The scope of the State 

 work, what and where its current activities are, what more it might 

 do, the problems confronting it, how the public can help, desirable 

 legislation, and regulatory provisions of the forestry laws are all 

 subjects of real public interest. In proportion to the degree that the 

 purposes served by a State forestry organization are of public benefit, 

 public support will be accorded if the facts are generally known. 

 The rate of progress in State forestry is largely dependent upon how 

 successfully the State forester can take on a function of leadership. 

 Educational activities are of vital importance in meeting the problems 

 of State forestry. 



Numerous means are open. The State forester must use many 

 avenues of approach if all classes of the public are to be informed. 

 There are great differences in the amount of attention given to educa- 

 tional activities by State organizations. In part this is because some 

 have more resources to work with, either in money or in the form of 

 better speakers and writers in their organization. In part it is be- 

 cause of a better appreciation of the value of educational effort. 



