A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1071 



Forest fires on unprotected areas are mainly a problem of the 

 South and Central regions, and actually 97 percent of the unprotected 

 areas burned were in the South. In two States of this region, a 

 special effort has been made to determine acres burned in unprotected 

 areas. In one of these States 20 percent of the unprotected area was 

 estimated as having been burned over in 1931, as against %% percent 

 of the protected area. The corresponding figures for the other State 

 were 14.6 percent and 3K percent. In a third State an 8 percent 

 burn on protected units in 1931 is contrasted by the State forester 

 with a 50 percent estimate of burn on areas that are unprotected. 

 It must, of course, be borne in mind that fires do less relative damage 

 in the pine woods of the South, where the bulk of unprotected area 

 lies, than in many other regions. 



The last column of table 5 indicates, for protected and unprotected 

 areas together, the standard of fire control attained to date. From 

 the total of this column it appears that, for the country as a whole, 

 we are burning more than 11 times as many acres of State and 

 private land as we should if standard forest growing conditions are 

 to be maintained, the ratio of actual to allowable burn being 1,100 

 percent. 



SIGNIFICANCE OF FEDERAL COOPERATION BY REGIONS 



NEW ENGLAND 



In the New England region, Federal funds have not been needed to 

 initiate or insure State forest-fire protection activity. If these funds 

 were discontinued, however, their complete replacement by the 

 States might, according to the regional inspector, take as long as 10 

 years. In Maine, effective participation by the State in the protec- 

 tion of about 5 million acres of forest land outside a defined forestry 

 district has been undertaken largely as the result of Federal coopera- 

 tion. 



There is no doubt that protection standards have been raised in the 

 Northeast as elsewhere on account of Federal cooperation, although 

 the States would have functioned fairly satisfactorily without Federal 

 participation. 



MIDDLE ATLANTIC 



The situation -in the Middle Atlantic region is similar to that in 

 New England. A good standard of protection would be main- 

 tained in most of these States with or without Federal aid. Federal 

 money of course contribute to the efficiency of the work, and 

 during seasons of maximum difficulty it is of vital importance in sus- 

 taining the State's efforts. There has been mutual gain through 

 contact with Forest Service personnel and, through this medium, 

 with the work going forward in other States and regions and on the 

 national forests. In one State, the initiation of State forestry activi- 

 ties was very directly contingent upon assistance by the Federal 

 Government. 



In another, Federal cooperation can be credited with the initial 

 extension of protection and with current supervision of protection on 

 an area of about 8 million acres of cut-over lands. 



In other States of this region and throughout the country, Federal 

 aid has undoubtedly contributed to the financial ability of States to 



