A PROGRAM FOR DIRECT FEDERAL AND STATE AID 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Principles underlying public aid 1329 



Indirect Federal and State aid 1330 



Aid in protection against fire 



Aid in protection against insects : 1336 



Federal aid in planting 1336 



Federal aid in extension 1337 



Costs summarized 1338 



PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING PUBLIC AID 



Public aid, both Federal and State, to private owners is based 

 in part on the public interest in obtaining the full economic and social 

 benefits from the productive forest. 



On the one hand, the public must recognize such factors as the fol- 

 lowing in granting aid : 



In fire protection, the public use of private land, public carelessness 

 with fire, and the fire hazard which is beyond the control of private 

 owners ; 



In insect and disease protection, the irregular epidemic character 

 and special control methods which may make efforts by individual 

 owners ineffective; and 



For some classes of forest research and where many small owners 

 of land are involved, the greater effectiveness of combining efforts 

 and acting through public agencies rather than individually. Advice 

 in forest management, etc., is governed by similar considerations. 

 So also is the production of nursery stock for planting. 



On the other hand, private owners must recognize such factors as 

 the following in asking and receiving aid : 



That the public has the right to expect commensurate returns from 

 its expenditures it has, in fact, the right to expect that, in the long 

 run, private owners will in their forest management go beyond what 

 the public actually helps to pay for; 



That public aid should not go beyond the point of public interest 

 into the pork-barrel category; 



That if costs of aid to the public are too high and the returns 

 through ineffective or limited efforts are too low, it may become better 

 public policy to obtain full control of the land by outright ownership 

 and be in the position to receive direct as well as indirect returns; and 



That, in other words, the public interest in trying to keep land in 

 private ownership by means of aid may if net costs become excessive 

 have to give way to the public interest by means of direct ownership. 



The following program attempts to recognize these considerations 

 and to balance Federal, State, local, and private ownership interest 

 and obligation in determining what aid public agencies should give. 



1329 



