890 A NATIONAL PLAN FOE AMERICAN FORESTRY 



ameliorate the problem in some regions where the owner is not able 

 to cope with the fires for which not he, but the general public, is 

 responsible. 



Second. To remedy the evils of tax abandonment by aggressive 

 action on the part of the public to take care of the lands already 

 reverted and those which will not stay inprivate ownership even if 

 reasonable steps are taken to stem the tide of land abandonment. 



For the lands which have already reverted or are in the unsettled 

 status of "no-man's land" the public should make definite provision. 

 This may mean revising the laws and procedure for foreclosures and 

 public acquisition. It means that the public must squarely face the 

 situation that a certain amount of land is not going to be on the tax 

 roll and must adjust its local and State finances accordingly. It 

 involves setting up the machinery to put these lands under manage- 

 ment in State, county, or Federal forests, so that they can be pro- 

 tected, rehabilitated if necessary, and kept productive in perpetuity. 

 This requires money which the public must be prepared to provide; 

 this is sometimes difficult, for it comes on top of the loss of tax reve- 

 nues, and where tax delinquency is worst the public finances are apt 

 to be the lowest, but in many instances it is justified by the necessity 

 for preventing greater deterioration and a chronic bankruptcy of the 

 community. 



For lands which have not reverted, but which are likely to, the 



Eublic should anticipate the situation. A classification of forest areas 

 y zones, differentiating between what should logically go into public 

 control and what should remain in private hands, will give a plan- 

 wise program for building a new public domain, instead of allowing 

 a hit or miss breakdown of private ownership to continue. 



The problem is not merely one of taking care of tax delinquent 

 lands. This must be supplemented by a program of public acquisi- 

 tion, by purchase or exchange, for county, State, or Federal forest 

 purposes. It should not overlook the desirability of acquiring lands 

 before they have deteriorated in the process of abandonment or 

 under terms which will prevent their devastation. Thus the public 

 may be saved the delay and expense of rehabilitation, and the 

 destructive and wasteful process of land abandonment may be 

 forestalled. 



