A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



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breakdown. It is evidenced by tens of millions of acres of tax- 

 reverted lands, by millions more of acres which are in long-term 

 delinquency, by a frequent shifting of ownership through tax sale 

 and mortgage foreclosures, by gift to the public of large areas of 

 cut-over land, and by sales and offers of great tracts at merely nominal 

 prices. 



TABLE 1. Estimated present and possible future ownership of forest land 



No figures on tax reverted lands are available for the whole 

 country, but in the three Lake States they amount to about 10 million 

 acres; in the Pacific Northwestern States of Idaho, Washington, and 

 Oregon to 3 million acres; and in eight Southern States to nearly 10 

 million acres. In addition there are millions of acres of cut-over 

 forest lands in various stages of delinquency which have not yet 

 reverted to public ownership. 



The acreage of land with long-term delinquency and of lands that 

 are actually reverting to public ownership is increasing. The process 

 has been going on for years. The situation points to the conclusion 

 that there is a maladjustment of forest ownership an unwise division 

 between public and private ownership. (See section entitled "The 

 Breakdown of Private Forest Land Ownership.") 



2. The abandonment of agricultural lands creates many difficult 

 social and economic problems. Bringing the lands already abandoned 

 into productive condition through forestry is a problem the solution 

 of which will depend in large measure upon public ownership. As 

 agricultural abandonment reaches an advanced stage in any locality 

 it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the local government and 

 ordinary social services. Costs of maintaining roads and schools rise 

 out of all proportion to the number of people benefited; churches are 

 abandoned and the standard of living may become fully as low as in 

 city slums. (See the section " Agricultural Land Available for For- 

 estry.") Public acquisition of land in submarginal communities in 

 advance of actual abandonment is the logical solution of these 

 problems. New York is the only State which has thus far recognized 

 the public responsibility in this situation by comprehensive action. 



3. The great areas of devastated and deteriorated forest land 

 should be reclaimed. Fire and cutting supplemented by grazing and 

 insects have made 63 million acres of timberland nonproductive of 

 valuable timber crops. A certain portion of this vast area of unpro- 

 ductive land, long ago devastated, is gradually coming back to forest 

 each year, but this gain may be more than balanced by current 



