1250 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



programs of 89 to 90 million acres, some of which will come through 

 tax delinquency rather than purchase. In prosecuting plans of this 

 kind and in making selections for State forests, surveys for land 

 classification will, of course, be necessary. 



TAX DELINQUENCY 



Other sections of this report have shown that tens of millions of 

 acres of cut-over forest and submarginal agricultural lands are 

 long term tax delinquent or have actually reverted to counties 

 and States through failure of sales of tax-delinquent lands. Most 

 of the forest lands have been cut over and repeatedly burned. Pri- 

 vate ownership can see in them only heavy expense in carrying 

 charges with no opportunity for income for many years in the future. 

 It has lost interest in them, and they are lying there unmanaged and 

 further deteriorating. 



A few States have enacted laws under which tax-delinquent lands 

 may become State, county, or town forests, but in general it has 

 been local public policy to return such lands to the tax rolls through 

 sales or otherwise. The rapidly growing acreage of these tax- 

 reverted lands shows that this policy is not suited to the handling of 

 forest lands. 



Within their financial ability, it would be a constructive adjustment 

 in land use if local political units in States in which they get title to 

 such forest lands would retain ownership, consolidate the lands where 

 necessary, and manage them as community forests. It is recognized, 

 however, that local political units would not be able to absorb large 

 areas of such lands. 



Most of the devastated forest lands which have become or are 

 becoming tax delinquent will stay in public ownership whether they 

 are wanted or not. Some form of public management must therefore 

 be devised unless these lands are to be permanently nonproductive. 

 Where local political units come into possession of them and cannot 

 or will not manage them, consideration should be given to the pos- 

 sibility of their transfer to States for State forests, or as a last resort to 

 the Federal Government as national forests. Primarily, the problem 

 of tax-reverted lands is one of determining the form of public owner- 

 ship. Responsibility for the proper administration of these lands is 

 divided between local political units, the States, and the Federal 

 Government. The necessity is for careful consideration, based largely 

 on surveys, as to which unit should manage them; and as far as pos- 

 sible it is desirable that they be managed by local units or States. 

 On the other hand, when these units are unable to assume this respon- 

 sibility, when they desire to convey such land to the Federal Govern- 

 ment, and the lands fall logically into the national forest system, the 

 United States should stand ready to accept them. Under such a 

 policy large areas of forest lands which private owners do not desire 

 and cannot afford to hold would become publicly managed forests 

 instead of remaining a " no-man's land" rapidly degenerating into 

 absolute waste. 



EXCHANGES 



Federal purchases have not as yet been extended to the West, 

 where national forests alread} 7 contain 53 per cent of the commercial 

 forest-land area. Authority has, however, been obtained through 



