A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 1271 



Where cash returns must be deferred for years, it seems unlikely 

 that the owners will regard private forest properties as favorable in- 

 vestments. It also seems unlikely that public aid will assume all 

 costs of ownership, leaving title to the land and future income to the 

 private owner. 



The limitation of Federal aid in fire control is indicated by the fact 

 that over 191 million out of nearly 420 million acres of State and pri- 

 vate forest land are still without organized fire control. At the recent 

 rate of progress it will require 22 years to get organized fire control 

 extended to all forest lands needing it. Whatever the reasons for 

 this lack of progress, it has to be recognized that public aid has sharp 

 limitations. 



PROBABLE ACREAGE OF INDUSTRIAL TIMBERLAND RETAINED 

 IN PRIVATE OWNERSHIP 



REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION 



On a previous page the opportunities for private forestry by regions 

 have been roughly classified by means of the examination of the factors 

 which ordinarily affect profits in timber growing and manufacture. 

 The analysis indicated several of the major regions in which the pri- 

 vate forest landowner generally has a relatively good chance. But 

 it does not follow, even in such a region as New England, which was 

 rated very high, that all forest land now in private ownership will 

 remain there. Public interest may justify and dictate ultimately a 

 policy of considerable area in public forests. Several of the States 

 in this region have acquisition programs for State forests and State 

 parks, and some of the forest land will probably come into public 

 ownership because of high watershed and recreation value. Where 

 land abandonment occurs in New England, further extension of public 

 forests may be expected. Other forms of public ownership, such as 

 town forests, are already in existence and seem destined to expand. 



On the other hand, in the regions with the least favorable chance 

 for permanent private forestry, it is very unlikely that all lands will 

 pass to public ownership. Some forest properties will be far superior 

 to the regional averages for permanent private enterprises and some 

 lands will possess peculiar values for income-producing recreational 

 use that will make them acceptable private investments for such pur- 

 poses as country estates and game preserves. Thus, even in the least 

 favorable regions some of the private land may be expected to remain 

 in that status. 



In regions shown in opportunity classes 2 and 3, that is generally 

 favorable and locally favorable, a larger proportion of the area is 

 likely to stay in private hands than in the least favorable regions, and a 

 smaller proportion than in the most favorable regions. In 1 93 1 a group 

 of State forest officials of the New England States studied the question 

 of the ultimate extent of public ownership of forest land in that region. 

 Their conclusion was that 15 percent of the total forest area would 

 be acquired by the public, in addition to that now owned. This 

 determination has been accepted as a measure of the probable extent 

 of additional public ownership in regions where the most favorable 

 opportunity for private forestry exists. In the North Rocky Moun- 



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