A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



1295 



total needed is 5.9 million acres of commercial forests, 0.2 million acres 

 noncommercial, and 0.4 million acres abandoned agricultural lands. 



TABLE 15. Ultimate public acquisition program for all forms of land use 

 [Values in millions of acres] 



Middle Atlantic region. The 4.7 million acres of commercial forest 

 needed for watersheds in his region is more than sufficient to take 

 care of the 1.1 million acres needed for timber requirements, but 

 insufficient to cover the amount set up for recreation by 1.2 million 

 acres. The 1.0 million acres of agricultural lands needed for water- 

 shed plus the 4.7 million acres of commercial forest lands will entirely 

 meet the needs for timber growth set up for the region. Thus, 5.9 

 million acres of commercial forest, the 0.4 million acres of noncom- 

 mercial forest, and 1 .0 million acres of agricultural lands, will be suffi- 

 cient for timber, watersheds, and recreation. 



Lake region. In the more detailed study of ownership made in the 

 watershed section, it was shown that in the forested region the ratio 

 of commercial forest land to abandoned agricultural land in the Lake 

 States is in the ratio of 4 to 1, that is, the abandoned agricultural land 

 makes up 20 percent of the total area in large blocks of land. There- 

 fore, it is assumed that 5.5 million acres of agricultural land is avail- 

 able for timber growth. The areas in the commercial and agricultural 

 categories, therefore, overlap comfortably the areas shown as needed 

 in the same categories under watersheds and recreation. The total, 

 therefore, needed for the region is 21.6 million acres of commercial, 

 0.5 million acres noncommercial, and 5.5 million acres of abandoned 

 agricultural land. 



Central region. In this region the areas required for watersheds 

 are sufficient to meet the needs of both timber growth and recreation 

 and hence these values appear as the total of the region. 



South region. In the South the intermingled agricultural abandoned 

 land available for forestry is approximately 20 percent of the forested 

 land. Thus, the area set up as needed for timber, being greater in 

 both commercial and agricultural areas, can in these classes be made 

 coincindent with the watershed and recreational areas, excepting for 

 the 10.7 million acres in the noncommercial category. The total, 

 therefore, needed in public forests are 70 commercial, 10.7 noncom- 

 mercial, and 16.7 abandoned agricultural lands. 



