1104 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



The contributions made by the national forests during the period 

 of the study are matters of detailed record. It is more difficult to 

 measure the results obtainable under the second method. However, 

 the fact that the national-forest lands had previously been classified 

 in detail permitted reasonably correct comparisons with the lands in 

 private ownership and defensible deductions as to the degree to which 

 the national-forest lands would have been privately appropriated had 

 they not been reserved, the values at which such lands would have 

 been assessed if in private ownership, and the probable tax returns on 

 such assessments. It is necessary arbitrarily to assume the prob- 

 able revenues obtainable from the residual lands and the probable 

 costs of protecting such lands. 



As to the third method it might logically be argued that the 

 net gain or loss under State management w T ould not be greatly different 

 from that actually occurring under Federal management. As a 

 means of minimizing doubts, the comparisons are based upon the 

 assumptions that under State management revenues would be 10 per- 

 cent greater and costs of protection and administration 20 per cent 

 less than those actually obtained under Federal management, although, 

 as hereinafter indicated, no valid grounds exist for such assumptions. 



THE FINANCIAL STATUS OF NATIONAL FOREST 

 ADMINISTRATION, 1923-27 



Table 1 is a summarized statement of the financial aspects of na- 

 tional-forest administration during the period of July 1, 1922, to 

 June 30, 1927, as determined by the study above described. The 

 data do not include the costs of national-forest administration in 

 Alaska or in certain counties where the national-forest acreage was 

 too small to warrant the inclusion of the counties in the study. 

 Neither do they include the large previous expenditures for improve- 

 ments, equipment, and other facilities which tended to minimize 

 administrative costs during the period covered by the study. 



TABLE 1 . Summary of total and net average annual Federal expenditures for local 

 national-forest administration l 



1 All figures shown are yearly averages for period from July 1, 1922, to June 30, 1927. 



