1292 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 



only a small fraction of the total area within which public acquisition 

 is both needed and feasible. 



In the New England and Middle Atlantic regions many of the 

 States have already established forests and parks as well as programs 

 for additional acquisition. The analyses of opportunity for public 

 forest units have therefore not been made for these regions. 



In the West, an area of 21,800,000 acres of public domain has high 

 or moderate watershed value, but is not managed. Placing of this 

 area under management by adding it to existing national forests has 

 been already recommended as feasible, and since the lands are depre- 

 ciating seriously through lack of management, this would be the great- 

 est single step in solving the watershed problems of the West. 



Studies of the private forest lands of the western regions indicate 

 that of the 62,700,000 acres haying high or moderate watershed value, 

 some 41 million acres are within or adjacent to existing national for- 

 ests, or are in blocks of feasible size to justify public acquisition. Ex- 

 tension of national forest boundaries for the purpose of allowing acqui- 

 sition of private lands has already placed a large area of such lands 

 within the reach of existing public acquisition programs. 



PUBLIC AREAS RECOMMENDED FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION 



Table 14 indicates the recommended ultimate public acquisition for 

 watershed protection for each of the major regions. In the South the 

 total estimate of 64 million acres is in units in which 50 percent or 

 more of the land is potentially obtainable, and is with few exceptions 

 in mountain and piedmont plateau areas classified as having major 

 watershed value. The units which might be blocked out are generally 

 large and none are less than 200,000 acres. 



In the Central States, most of the estimated total of 37.3 million 

 acres is in units in which more than 50 percent of the land is potentially 

 ob tamable, though a few units in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky 

 have 35 to 50 percent only. Local studies, particularly in Illinois, 

 indicate that the amount of agricultural abandonment as reported in 

 the last census are very much lower than they will be within a few 

 years. The units now estimated to contain 35 to 50 percent of obtain- 

 able land will probably have a much higher percentage of such land 

 within a short time. The area recommended for public acquisition 

 includes units to take care of the " breaks " along the main rivers. 



In the Lake States the area in Wisconsin classified as having major 

 watershed value and within which an area of 2.6 million acres is recom- 

 mended for public forest acquisition, mostly in units containing 35 to 

 50 percent of obtainable land. In the New England and Middle 

 Atlantic regions the recommended additional public forest areas of 4.2 

 million acres and 6.1 million acres, respectively, take account of pro- 

 grams already under way. In the western region, the recommended 

 program will bring into public ownership about two thirds of the 

 private forest land with important watershed protection value. 



