A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1195 



character and extent of forest and other lands. Such inventories 

 are very desirable and should prove a valuable basis for planning land- 

 use programs. It is estimated that these States during the fiscal 

 year 1932 spent a total of $41,000 on economic survey work of forest 

 lands, all of which constitutes a form of aid to private owners. The 

 survey work in Minnesota has been temporarily discontinued. 



CENTRAL STATES REGION 



The central group of States comprises Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 

 Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. 

 Annual State expenditures in aid to private forest owners in the 

 region are given in table 7. 



Fire protection. No fire-protection activities are carried on in 

 Iowa, Nebraska, or Kansas. The remaining six States are all in some 

 form of protection which aids some forest-land owners, and all except 

 Illinois are cooperating with the Federal Government. 



TABLE 7. Annual State aid to private owners in the Central States, by projects 



The following summary, by States, shows the proportion of the 

 forest area needing protection which is now being protected from fire : 



Percent 



Illinois 20. 1 



Indiana 16. 7 



Kentucky 14. 7 



Ohio 47. 3 



Tennessee 67. 9 



West Virginia 67. 



Ohio ranks high in this group in its achievements in well-organized 

 fire protection and other forestry work. In this State all protection 

 funds are provided from public sources. Part of the effort is devoted 

 to the protection of State forested areas. In Indiana, forest-land 

 owners do not, in general, contribute funds for fire protection, but 

 in a few counties and townships owners voluntarily contribute com- 

 paratively small amounts for local fire-suppression purposes. Indiana 

 centers protection on the State forests and extends aid to private 

 holdings located in the same region of the State forest areas. In 

 Kentucky a compulsory patrol law is on the statute books, but it is 

 practically inoperative. Virtually all protected areas in the State 

 are those in private ownership. In Tennessee private owners con- 

 tribute some $3,816 a year, which is a negligible amount, the State 

 furnishing fire-protection aid amounting to more thn $25,000. Most 

 of the Tennessee forest areas protected are privately owned, a minor 

 acreage of State forest areas being included. West Virginia has a 

 compulsory patrol law, but it is not actively enforced. There are two 



