FUTURE ADJUSTMENTS IN LAND USE AND OWNERSHIP 



By JOSEPH C. KIRCHER, Regional Forester, Eastern Region 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Anticipated shifts in land use 1241 



Anticipated shifts in forest land use and ownership 1242 



The need for immediate action 1245 



Land classification 1246 



Means available for effecting immediate adjustments 1248 



Public domain adjustments 1248 



Federal acquisition by purchase 1248 



State acquisition by purchase 1249 



Tax delinquency 1250 



Exchanges 1250 



Gifts 1251 



Adjustments by private owners 1251 



Conclusion 1252 



ANTICIPATED SHIFTS IN LAND USE 



Estimates summarized in figure 1 of the preceding section show 

 the present forest area of 614.6 million acres to consist of 108.7 million 

 acres of noncommercial forest, 11 million acres of commercial forest 

 set aside for parks and other reserves, and 494.9 million acres commer- 

 cial forest available for timber production. In addition, 54.7 million 

 acres of agriculture land is shown as available for forestry. 



The shifting of land use between agriculture and forestry is an 

 exceedingly complicated and variable process. In the section, ''The 

 Agricultural Land Available for Forestry," it was stated that in 

 most sections in the East clearing of new land for agriculture is going 

 on at the same time that other lands are being abandoned. In the 

 Northeast agricultural land has been abandoned on a tremendous 

 scale during the past few decades, whereas clearing of new lands has 

 been quite insignificant. In the Central States, an excess of aban- 

 donment over clearing has developed much more recently. In portions 

 of the lower Mississippi valley the agricultural area has shown a net 

 increase up to the 1930 census. The agricultural area now available 

 for forestry represents an estimate of that portion of the lands aban- 

 doned in the past two decades which was not already classed as forest, 

 together with land on existing farms that is now idle and not likely 

 to be used again for agriculture. 



Although the rate of abandonment may have been greatly reduced 

 by the present economic depression, there is every reason to believe 

 that a constant shifting of lands between agriculture and forestry 

 will continue in the future much as it has in the past. The Bureau 

 of Agricultural Economics estimates that by 1950 another 25 to 30 

 million acres of agricultural land in the East will become available 

 for forestry. This cannot, however, be taken as a net increase in 

 the forest area of the country because it is probable that the total 

 area devoted to agriculture cannot be further reduced. In fact, it is 

 estimated that the needs of the population may by 1950 require a 



1241 



