A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 889 



breakdown of private ownership is centered largely in clean-cut land, 

 but some commercial timber and well-stocked immature timber is 

 involved as well. 



Present local political policy is generally wholly inadequate to 

 solve this economic problem, though in a few States steps are being 

 taken. There is a wide-spread policy to try to keep the land in 

 private ownership by laws framed to that end or administered with 

 a laxity that prevents delinquent areas from definitely becoming 

 public property. This results in a great acreage of "no man's land" 

 which private owners do not want and to which the public does not 

 claim title, creating a serious problem of land idleness and of neglect 

 and deterioration, as well as acute social and financial problems in 

 the community. 



In the process of abandonment, forest lands become more and 

 more deteriorated, and more difficult and expensive to put back 

 into production by whoever ultimately undertakes the job. This 

 is one of the most serious consequences of instability of ownership. 



The problems created by the breakdown of private ownership 

 are many and complex, as are also the remedies, which are further- 

 more associated with other phases of the forestry enterprise. The 

 solutions of the problem are discussed, along with those of inter- 

 related problems, in other sections of this report and will therefore 

 here be merely suggested by a brief formulation of the problem. 



It is perhaps needless to mention the very obvious problem in 

 public finance that is created by tax delinquency. Whenever taxes 

 are not paid on a tract, the county, the school district, and the other 

 taxing bodies must either trim their budgets or increase taxes on 

 the land that remains on the rolls. Neither of these things are 

 easy to do without causing distress, especially in the "backwoods' 7 

 counties. Not only does land abandonment cut into county receipts, 

 but it creates an expense for the care of these lands. The result 

 in many instances has been county bankruptcy. 



In a word, the crux of the problem is to get into stable ownership 

 of some sort the forest lands of the country and to keep them there, 

 so that they may be cared for and made productive. The approach 

 to this end must be from two directions: 



First. To stem the tide of land abandonment, so that land which is 

 so physically and economically situated that it is proper for per- 

 manent private ownership will be protected and managed for con- 

 tinuous production. This will be primarily brought about on lands 

 yet to be logged by encouraging the employment of such methods of 

 forest management as will leave the land in good condition. Accept- 

 ance of the principles of sustained yield and of selective logging, 

 backed up by more intensive forest protection, will automatically 

 bring this about. To stem the tide of land abandonment on cut-over 

 lands and immature timber a modification of present tax systems or 

 proper application of present laws, where such land is now unjustly 

 or illegally taxed, is indicated as one of the solutions. Zoning of areas 

 predominantly suited for forest production by a broad land-use classi- 

 fication will help to stabilize ownershp, both of forest areas and of 

 agricultural colonies, by concentrating schools, roads, and other 

 services in areas where they are needed and lightening this expense 

 and tax burden where they are not appropriate. Coincident with this 

 it appears that further public assistance in fire protection would 



