968 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Owing to the prevalence of public fire-protection activities, con- 

 siderable growth is being produced on a great deal of forest land 

 which without such public fire protection would continue in a very low 

 state of productivity. Reports (32) as to areas being managed under 

 one or another of three grades of forestry practice are summarized 

 as follows: 



1. Fire protection by States, independently or with the cooperation 

 of landowners. On the basis of long experience in attempting to 

 control forest fires, landowners in these regions have generally come 

 to rely almost entirely upon public fire protection, to which the 

 Federal Government contributes as provided by the Clarke-McNary 

 law. Practically the entire forest area is protected. The basis of 

 fire protection in these States is fully covered elsewhere in this 

 report. Private owners assist in fire prevention and fire suppression 

 with their own forces. In the Maine forest district a millage tax is 

 levied for fire-protective purposes. 



2. Conservative cutting, planting, thinnings (including insect- 

 control thinnings), etc., aimed at prolonging the productivity of the 

 present stands but not definitely organized for sustained yield. 

 Forest areas to the extent of 5,497,300 acres, including farm wood- 

 lands, are reported to be held by owners consciously making efforts 

 to prolong or build up the productivity of their holdings. There is no 

 doubt that relative safety from fire, due to nearly adequate public 

 fire protection, has made it possible for private owners to improve 

 their forest practices and to feel financially secure in so doing. In 

 addition to the area consciously subjected to improved management 

 practices 3,583,000 acres of land is reported to be handled under 

 partial-cutting systems. 



3. Sustained-yield management. Reports (32) show 648,592 acres, 

 not including farm woodlands, now organized under definite sustained- 

 yield programs. As a whole, therefore, the progress in these regions is 

 encouraging. Vast areas remain, however, to be brought under 

 organized sustained-yield management. 



PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF FOREST PRODUCTS 



Since these regions contain the largest centers of population in the 

 United States, they are very heavy consumers of forest products. 

 Throughout a long period of their history they produced sufficient 

 forest products for their own needs, with the exception of a few kinds 

 of material not producible in the region. For more than half a 

 century, however, they have been importing increasing quantities of 

 forest products of all kinds, chiefly from other portions of the United 

 States and from Canada. The shortage in local production has 

 created a favorable market situation for most of the local forest raw 

 material. The wood-manufacturing industries have in many cases 

 suffered severely, however, from the inadequacy of supplies of suitable 

 material. Over a long period of time the raw material of better species 

 and grades has been approaching depletion. Consequently local 

 industries have had either to make use of poorer raw material or 

 import from a distance. The measures necessary to correct this 

 situation are discussed later. Table 22 shows the production and 

 consumption of lumber in each of these States and in the regions as a 

 whole in 1928. 



