1252 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



administrative units, to consolidate holdings already acquired, and 

 to round out farm units. 



Some areas of forest lands are now managed under private ownership 

 primarily for the development of resources other than timber. In this 

 class come lands held by water power companies, recreation lands, 

 and lands held as game preserves. In general, such lands are efficiently 

 protected against fire and are well managed. In addition, coal and 

 mining companies own estensive timberlands, sometimes for their 

 underlying minerals and at times for a timber supply. Management 

 of such lands varies from good to practically none at all. 



In general, lands held for these special purposes are a small part of 

 the total forest area. It is not likely that the area of such lands will 

 increase rapidly, and because of their comparatively small extent they 

 will have little influence upon proper land use. For the most part, it 

 may be said that they are being put to a high use. 



CONCLUSION 



Land classification, taking into account physical, economic, and 

 social factors and having as its objective comprehensive land-use 

 plans, is the most constructive proposal yet made for bringing about 

 the highest use of land in the United States. 



Without waiting for the results of general land classification, how- 

 ever, many adjustments of advantage to both agriculture and forestry 

 can be made by local surveys leading to the acquisition and manage- 

 ment of obviously true forest lands by Federal, State, and local 

 political agencies either through purchase, tax delinquency, exchanges, 

 or gifts, and through purchases and exchanges by private owners who 

 desire to practice forestry. Of these measures, the acquisition of 

 forest lands as well as the retention and management of tax-reverted 

 forest lands by States and a largely increased program of Federal 

 purchase are the most important. They will, faster than any other 

 measures, take submarginal land out of agricultural use, make pos- 

 sible adequate provision for public recreation and watershed protec- 

 tion, and build up a system of well managed forests from the large 

 existing area of cut-over lands the deterioration of which under private 

 ownership involves tremendous losses in public welfare. 



