A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1099 



are constructed at Federal expense, except where special circum- 

 stances warrant cooperative contributions of State, county, or other 

 funds. The Federal expenditures not only relieve the State and 

 counties from proportionate drafts upon their funds but release in 

 each region sums which contribute markedly to that region's eco- 

 nomic security. The benefits from these expenditures are not con- 

 fined exclusively to the federally-owned lands but are reflected over 

 such State, county, or private lands as are situated within or con- 

 tiguous to the national-forest boundaries, thus aiding appreciably 

 in promoting the effective and economical protection and management 

 of such lands. 



All privately owned improvements or other property on national- 

 forest lands are subject to State or county taxation, but the national- 

 forest lands are not. As an offset, however, Congress has provided, 

 Act of May 23, 1908 (35 Stat. 260), that 25 cents out of every dollar 

 collected from the sale of national-forest resources or use of national- 

 forest lands shall be paid to the State in which collected, for pro- 

 portionate distribution to the counties embracing the national forest 

 in which it was earned, for the support of schools and roads. This 

 payment, in effect, is equivalent to the form of taxation known as 

 the severance tax, but is a larger proportion of gross revenues than 

 most taxes of that character. 



Congress also has provided, Act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 843), 

 that 10 cents out of every dollar derived from the sale of national- 

 forest resources or uses of national-forest land shall be expended by 

 the Secretary of Agriculture for the construction and maintenance 

 of roads and trails within the national forests of the State in which 

 the revenues were derived. The roads and trails constructed and 

 maintained with this fund are of substantial benefit to the counties 

 in which they are situated and otherwise largely would be provided 

 at public or private expense, consequently this additional 10 percent 

 of national-forest revenue properly may be regarded as a further 

 offset to the taxes which might be collected if the national-forest 

 lands were subject to private appropriation and attendant local and 

 State property taxes. 



In addition, Congress, since 1916, has made large appropriations 

 for road and trail construction on lands within or adjoining the na- 

 tional forests. At the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1932, 

 the total expenditures for road and trail construction, improvement, 

 and maintenance, including the 10 percent of national-forest receipts 

 (exclusive of Alaska) amounted to $116,095,330, an average of 83 

 cents for each acre of land now reserved in the States for national- 

 forest purposes. One provision of these appropriations is that the 

 larger proportion thereof shall be expended upon roads of primary 

 importance to States, counties, and communities which in the absence 

 of Federal funds necessarily would be constructed and maintained 

 wholly at State or local expense. The availability of these Federal 

 funds thus has enabled State and county governments to extend and 

 improve their road systems more rapidly and at less cost to the local 

 taxpayers than otherwise would have been the case. 



Upon these lands thus reserved from the Federal domain or ac- 

 quired by purchase, the United States has established administrative 

 organizations, systems of protection against damage by fire, insects, 

 disease, etc., and effective machinery for the regulation of logging, 



