966 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



within easy reach of transportation facilities of the Great Lakes or 

 of centers of population be restored to productivity. This job will 

 require public assistance through many if not all of the channels dis- 

 cussed elsewhere in this report. No single method will solve the 

 problems involved. 



FORESTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND AND MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES 



(Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, 

 New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland) 



PRESENT CONDITIONS AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES 



The New England and Middle Atlantic States include most of the 

 centers of early settlement by British and Dutch colonists in North 

 America. Since virtually all the land surface was covered with 

 forests, it was necessary to destroy considerable forest growth in 

 order to clear agricultural land. As in the case of other eastern 

 forest regions, industrial use of the forest began at the tune of settle- 

 ment by whites and has continued down to the present day. Partly 

 because of the mixed character of the stands, which included species 

 of high, medium, and low value, the forest in much of these regions 

 has never been devastated to the degree that has occu red in regions 

 having forests of a few high-value species. The fact that the pre- 

 cipitation is well distributed is another large factor in preserving the 

 forest growth. Owing to the early development of the industry, the 

 devastation that did occur in such types as the white pine and hem- 

 lock culminated in the latter part of the nineteenth century. On 

 the whole, the value of the forest stands shows considerable recovery 

 from its extreme low point. The types in which cutting has been in 

 progress for centuries, and the types that were clean cut and now have 

 young stands reestablished, are to a considerable extent still in a 

 deteriorated condition from the standpoint of the character of the 

 growing stock present. This condition, together with the steps 

 necessary to correct it, will be discussed later. 



According to the best available estimates (table 1) these regions 

 have 50,909,000 acres of privately owned forests, including 15,863,000 

 acres of farm woodlands. Of this total, 5,286,000 acres is rated as 

 poor to nonrestocking, 10,923,000 acres as fair to satisfactory re- 

 stocking, 14,239,000 acres as bearing cordwood stands, and 20,461,000 

 acres as bearing saw-timber stands. In addition to these areas now 

 in forest, there are large areas of abandoned nonf ores ted farm lands 

 available for afforestation. 



More detailed information is available for Pennsylvania than for 

 the other States of these regions. Here large areas were cut over on 

 a nonselective basis. This occurred principally in two types the 

 northern white pine-hemlock, which yielded sufficient values to 

 encourage clear cutting, and the hardwood types, clear cut because 

 of the demand for mine timbers and distillation wood, both of which 

 can be obtained from small-sized trees. These clear-cutting opera- 

 tions, followed by repeated fires for many years, have resulted in 

 considerable devastation. With the establishment of State fire pro- 

 tection in recent years the devastated area has diminished materially. 

 The Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters within the last 

 few years made a rather careful survey of the condition of the forest 



