A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 883 



though he wants to hold the land. In this case it is to be expected 

 that there will be a private purchaser for this land and that it will 

 not go into public ownership before the timber is removed. 



However, there is some private timber in the Northwest so inaces- 

 sible for immediate exploitation that to carry it until it becomes 

 " economically ripe" may be unjustified for a private owner in the 

 light of present stumpage price forecasts. Appreciating this fact, 

 certain owners, mostly small and financially weak, are recognizing 

 that a poor speculation was made and are abandoning their invest- 

 ments. Land of this category is likely to revert to public ownership, 

 unless there be much greater optimism in timber speculation than 

 at present, or unless the counties or the States make extraordinary 

 provision to get the land back on the tax rolls. 



In California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and some other States, a 

 compulsory fire patrol law requires the owner of forest property to 

 protect his land, otherwise the State does so at his expense. When 

 an owner abandons his land, he escapes not only the taxes, but also 

 the burden of protecting it; this must be considered in explaining the 

 reasons for permanent tax delinquency. In the above-mentioned 

 States the current liability for fire patrol may amount to as much as 

 the taxes on cut-over land or more. 



THE REASONS WHY SOME LAND IS NOT GOING DE- 

 LINQUENT 



There is a considerable cut-over forest acreage which, by compari- 

 son with land of similar physical conditions and tax burdens, should 

 be tax-abandoned but is not. Its actual value for forest production 

 in the condition in which it has been left does not apparently justify 

 its carrying charges, yet its owner continues to pay the taxes. It 

 may be said to be in the balance between private ownership and 

 reversion to the public. Some of this is now in private ownership 

 purely because of temporary considerations and will almost surely go 

 delinquent; other areas may or may not stay in private ownership 

 depending upon the trend of tax laws, economic developments, etc. 

 Some of the considerations postponing or preventing abandonment 

 of land which could be expected to be delinquent are as follows : 



1. The value which cut-over land contiguous to active logging 

 operations may have to the operator for rights of way and for control 

 of his property as a unit. 



2. The fact that failure to pay taxes on cut-over land may have the 

 effect of increasing taxes on adjoining standing timber, with no net 

 gain to the owner and a possible danger of incurring disfavor with the 

 taxing authorities. 



3. Hope that land hunger may make a market for the stump land, 

 if it has any agricultural or any form of recreational possibilities. 



4. Speculative possibilities that oil or minerals may be found 

 beneath the stump land. 



5. The chance that the Federal or local government, as a part of a 

 program of expanding public forests to safeguard the future timber 

 needs of the people for watershed protection, etc., may desire to 

 acquire these lands either by exchange or purchase. 



6. A faith in the future that, where the land has been left reason- 

 ably productive, the ultimate value of stumpage will justify holding 



