A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1267 



A very important consideration is the usual character of fires in 

 the region, whether highly destructive, as in the northern Rockies 

 and Pacific regions, or only partly destructive, as in the South. The 

 conflagration hazard is high in such regions as the Lake and northern 

 Rockies, even under organized protection, and low in the South and 

 New England, and the regional differences bear importantly on the 

 private opportunity. Forest properties under the threat of destruc- 

 tive diseases such as the blister rust, and insects such as the gypsy 

 moth and western pine beetles, are naturally less attractive than the 

 southern forests where such threats are absent. 



Besides these factors of inherent risk to the crop, the owner must 

 consider others which depend on public action. Whether public 

 opinion toward fire control is strongly favorable, as in New England 

 and elsewhere, or apathetic or hostile as in much of the South, carries 

 a good deal of weight. The existence or nonexistence of a State fire- 

 control organization, and whether it is strong or weak, greatly affects 

 the likelihood that the growing forest will be protected. 



LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE FORESTRY 



Yet another group of factors revolve around the existing opportu- 

 nity for private forestry. Part of them are not greatly nor rapidly 

 affected by public action. For example, where a high percentage of 

 private forest land is seriously depreciated, as in the Lake States, the 

 cost of restoring productivity and rebuilding a growing stock, makes 

 the private opportunity less attractive than in the New England and 

 Pacific regions, where the proportion of depreciated land is lower. 

 Likewise, where a relatively high proportion of the productive forest 

 land has saw timber, as in the West, the opportunity is better than 

 where a very high proportion has only cord wood, as in the South. 



Regions with an excessively high installed mill capacity usually 

 have very active competition for stumpage, and make it difficult for 

 individual owners to block out their holdings. Lack of this competi- 

 tion as in some parts of the West, gives a better chance for private 

 forestry. So, too, where there are large areas of public stumpage 

 managed to obtain sustained-yield operations, which serve as a 

 balance wheel for private stumpage, as in the western regions, the 

 private owner has a far better opportunity than where all or nearly 

 all the stumpage is in private hands. 



Where the key species in the forest are general utility woods, such 

 as southern pine and Douglas fir, the wider markets available are a 

 real advantage over those accessible to specialty- woods, such as some 

 of the soft pines. 



In the western regions to date most logging operations have involved 

 very high capital investments in mills, logging equipment, and trans- 

 portation systems. Where such high investment operations are nec- 

 essary, the private owner is at a disadvantage compared with owners 

 in some of the eastern regions where less elaborate and costly opera- 

 tions fit the smaller timber and easier topography. 



REGIONAL TRENDS 



Aside from all of the above factors bearing on marketing, cost of 

 production, risk to the crop, and existing opportunity, the owner is 

 likely to be influenced by current regional trends. A strong tendency 



