A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1275 



private owner will decline to continue to do much even with present 

 public aid. Whether the estimated 115 million acres of present private 

 areas that private ownership will wish to relinquish remains untended 

 and unmanaged as "the new public domain'' under involuntary 

 ownership by towns, counties, or States, or is held and managed as 

 public forest property, it will be public land, and a public problem. 



THE PROBABLE FUTURE OWNERSHIP OF ABANDONED FARM 



LAND 



The area of farm land abandoned for agricultural use (see section 

 "Agricultural Land Available for Forestry") now totals 51,717,000 

 acres east of the Plains and, it is estimated, will be increased by per- 

 haps 25 million acres within the next 20 years. Possibly as much as 

 one third is on occupied farms. The bulk of this will remain in private 

 ownership, so long as the farms are occupied. Such land generally 

 constitutes an integral part of the farms and is favorably situated for 

 private forestry use. Although most of it will have to be planted to 

 produce a timber crop within a reasonably short period, this will 

 require very little cash expenditure. Most of the States furnish forest 

 planting stock at low or nominal prices for planting on farms, and 

 the farmer can do the planting himself. Many farmers have planted 

 waste land during the last few years, and the extent of such work is 

 steadily increasing. 



Private owners are less likely to reforest the idle land on abandoned 

 farms. In most cases they hope to sell it, usually to some one who 

 will attempt to farm it. In many cases the reason for abandonment 

 is erosion induced by bad agricultural practices. Washing away of 

 the topsoil and gullying are common causes of abandonment. 



Most of such land is submarginal for agriculture. Attempts to 

 farm it will usually result in loss to the individuals and additional 

 social and economic burdens on the communities. In hilly country, 

 serious erosion and consequent damage to public and private interests 

 may result. As long as such land is held in unstable ownership it will 

 constitute a threat to the community welfare, not only locally but 

 within a wide territory. The only way to insure stable ownership 

 and use will be for the public to acquire the land and manage it under 

 a definite program. In public ownership, the use of the land can be 

 controlled. It will be possible both to prevent uneconomic use con- 

 trary to the best interests of the individuals and to society and to 

 bring about a productive use that will benefit society. 



Much of this land will gradually drift into public ownership by way 

 of tax delinquency, as indicated by the trends in States and regions 

 where agricultural land abandonment is most active. The processes 

 of erosion have become so pronounced that on much of the abandoned 

 area it is too late to remedy the condition through prompt adoption 

 of such agricultural practices as terracing and contour plowing. 



In some regions it is already possible to block up considerable areas 

 of land that have thus reverted to public ownership, including both 

 forested and idle land. In general, however, public acquisition by this 

 method cannot proceed systematically and the process entails great 

 economic distress to individuals and communities. Systematic and 

 fairly rapid acquisition by purchase, if necessary, would be desirable. 

 In this way bad practices can be halted more promptly and restora- 



