A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 941 



As against the surplus over regional requirements of nearly 8 billion 

 feet of lumber and large volumes of other forest products should be 

 considered the requirements of a great belt of States stretching from 

 the prairies of the upper Mississippi Valley through the Lake and Cen- 

 tral States to the coast of New England and the Middle Atlantic 

 States. The forests of these States lack nearly 15 billion feet of pro- 

 ducing sufficient lumber for local use, not to mention other forest- 

 products requirements. Moreover, the forests of these States now 

 consist mostly of hardwoods, while the South produces great quantities 

 of conifers. Numerous railroad lines, together with water routes, 

 provide adequate transportation between the regions. 



This situation has been so favorable for the southern forest indus- 

 tries that production has gone on as a matter of course without much 

 thought of the continuity of the supply. The certain evidences of 

 decline in production justify a change in policy by all agencies con- 

 cerned. The need is for organized forest management, which in com- 

 parison with chance or hit-and-miss methods produces just as superior 

 results as organized effort does in other fields of business. 



FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF FOREST USE 



Because of its vast land area, the South has a potential productivity 

 for its characteristic agricultural crops that far exceeds market possi- 

 bilities. Diversification of industry into other fields is thus peculiarly 

 necessary. The wide distribution of forest stands has made the forest 

 industries the outstanding supplement of agricultural activity. For- 

 est industries have supplied employment, and an oulet for timber from 

 farm woodlands, the loss of which would be calamitous to the region . 

 The region's naval-stores industry, its recently developed pulp indus- 

 try, and its outlets for posts, poles, and piling make for balance hi 

 demand for forest raw material; it cannot be said, however, that the 

 possibilities of such balance have been worked out with much refine- 

 ment. The naval-stores industry is destroying timber unnecessarily 

 in its operations. The pulp industry, though using considerable mill 

 and forest waste, is responsible for the premature cutting of consider- 

 able areas of young growth, destroying the stands as they enter the 

 period of greatest increase in value. At present the pulp industry is 

 obtaining material at very low cost, the forest owner receiving prac- 

 tically no return for the use of his property. If pulpwood material 

 were taken in thinnings the landowner, though receiving only labor 

 costs or slightly more, as at present, would be compensated by the 

 production of higher-priced material to be cut later. Under this 

 procedure the pulp industry would perpetuate its command of low-cost 

 raw material. 



Information accumulated by the Forest Taxation Inquiry indicates 

 that the value of the forest land and stumpage in the South totals 

 about $1 ,595,477,000 (24). Accurate data on mill and logging invest- 

 ments are not available. Much of the cut is now being made by small 

 mills. In recent years investments in larger mills have declined in 

 value. The future of both types of investments depends directly on 

 the foresight and skill with which forest owners, managers, and tech- 

 nicians handle the forests. Beyond these factors public attitudes are 

 of great importance in establishing a favorable setting for forward- 

 looking policies. The forest as a resource is so exposed to public 



