1184 A NATIONAL PLAN FOE AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Several forest schools at other State institutions conduct research 

 projects and contribute materially to forestry knowledge, but data 

 are lacking as to the exact amount of such work and the portion which 

 constitutes a form of State aid to private owners. 



FOREST AND ECONOMIC SURVEYS 



In order to plan an adequate forestry program intelligently it is of 

 greatest importance that a State know the character and extent of its 

 forest lands and resources. Some States are taking steps to inven- 

 tory their forest lands and resources. The Federal Government is 

 engaged in a project of this kind which contemplates a survey covering 

 all forested States in the Nation. The Lake States of Michigan, Min- 

 nesota, and Wisconsin have undertaken land economic surveys of their 

 own to find out the present character and use of wild lands and to aid in 

 determining the best use of such areas for permanent development 

 This economic inventory is still under way in Michigan and Wisconsin 

 but has been temporarily discontinued in Minnesota. Of the total 

 amount spent, $41,000 is estimated here as the 1932 fiscal year expendi- 

 ture by the State on forest land surveys in aid of private owners. These 

 economic surveys are of principal value and are of direct aid to the 

 States themselves in formulating public policies and programs. The 

 aid of these surveys to private owners is of very indirect nature and it 

 is therefore difficult to set a true valuation of such aid to them. 



In California the State in 1932 contributed approximately $9,500 

 for a forest-cover map, and this amount is included as a State-con- 

 tributed aid to private forest owners. Both Oregon and Washington 

 have allotted small amounts to the Federal forest survey, primarily for 

 the preparation of forest-cover maps. The total amount of money 

 listed under the present heading is $50,500, which represents the Lake 

 States and California items. Several other States, in the past and in 

 various manners, have conducted surveys or inventories of their 

 forest resources, but the work has seldom been complete. There is a 

 distinct need for more work of this nature. 



SUMMARY 



The following recapitulation shows the regional distribution of an- 

 nual expenditures for State aid : 



Percent 



Pacific Coast 7. 4 



North Rocky Mountains .4 



South Rocky Mountains . 2 



Total_. . 100. 



Percent 



New England 30.2 



Middle Atlantic 25. 6 



Lake 25. 1 



Central 4. 1 



South __ 7.0 



Figure 2 shows by regions and figure 3 by States, the total amount 

 of State aid in forestry extended anually to private owners for all 

 projects. To give some idea of the size of areas needing aid in each 

 region, this amount is contrasted with the area of privately owned 

 forest lands in need of protection from fire. Since certain States ma- 

 terially promote accomplishments in fire protection through legislation 

 affecting private owners, this graph includes also the amounts ex- 

 pended by all private forest owners for fire protection. The amount 



