PUBLIC REGULATION OF PRIVATE FORESTS 



By W. N. SPARHAWK, Senior Forest Economist 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction _ 993 



Public regulation of private property is not unusual. _ 995 



Existing restrictions on forest owners in the United States I ~_ 997 



Public control over private forests in other countries 1005 



Is further public regulation desirable in the United States? I. II 1038 



INTRODUCTION 



The numerous ways in which our forests contribute to the well- 

 being of communities, States, and Nation have been described in pre- 

 ceding sections of this report. They are the source of indispensable 

 raw materials which support great industries and afford means of live- 

 lihood to millions of people. They help to conserve water supplies 

 without which our cities and villages, many of our industries, and an 

 important portion of our agriculture could not exist. They help to 

 maintain the navigability of our streams and harbors. They protect 

 our soild from washing away. They ameliorate the climate. They 

 are the home of many kinds of wild life which are useful or afford 

 pleasure to man. In many ways, they promote the health and hap- 

 piness of our people. 



WITH UNRESTRICTED FOREST EXPLOITATION, THE PUBLIC HAS 



LOST 



Among these multiple services of forests, private owners in most 

 cases derive direct personal benefits from only a few. Under the 

 existing system of profit economy, they naturally seek to derive the 

 maximum immediate benefits, without regard to the less tangible 

 public values which are involved. This would not be objectionable 

 if there were no conflict between what individuals conceive to be to 

 their immediate interest and the long-run public welfare. 



Unfortunately, such a conflict does exist in the majority of in- 

 stances. In seeking immediate profit, great injury has been done 

 both to individuals and to the public. Many communities and re- 

 gions have been impoverished by the devastation of their forests. 

 Millions of acres of fertile land from which the forest cover was re- 

 moved have been worn out and rendered utterly worthless by erosion. 

 Water supplies have become irregular, streams have been muddied by 

 heavy burdens of silt, and channels have been obstructed, necessitat- 

 ing huge public expenditures to keep them open and to control the 

 ravages of floods. In many places, forest destruction has resulted 

 in excessive depletion of our fish and of upland game and fur-bearers. 

 Burned snags and stumps have replaced the cool shade of green forests 

 along many of our highways, and the beauty of lake shores and river 

 banks has been destroyed. 



993 



