A NATIONAL PLAN FOE AMERICAN FORESTRY 1333 



organized protection have been small, although there has been some 

 increase in protection effort by individual landowners that does not 

 appear in the record. 



All in all the possibilities of attaining in the near future an adequate 

 Nation-wide system of protection do not look promising under the 

 present system of Federal aid. While the aid extended to owners of 

 forest land through public assistance in protection has had an appre- 

 ciable effect in encouraging them to retain and manage their lands for 

 continuous crops of timber, the total results along this line have not 

 been large. Many other factors have determined and will continue 

 to determine policies of private land ownership and forest culture. 



These limitations on its present effectiveness do not make public 

 aid in protection any less desirable or necessary. Pending the instal- 

 lation of other forest management practices by private owners or 

 through acquisition of forest land by public agencies, it is of para- 

 mount importance that young and old growth be saved from de- 

 struction or serious injury. Granting even that other forestry prac- 

 tices may never be installed, protection should still be provided, since 

 on most of the forest lands it is one of the largest single influences in 

 forest production. 



It has, therefore, been the plan in this report to recommend exten- 

 sion of Federal aid to States in financing forestry programs to the 

 full extent that seems practicable under the principles established by 

 the act of 1911, i. e., that Federal funds for State use should be con- 

 ditioned under ratios that require active State participation and 

 under conditions that insure reasonable returns for moneys expended. 

 After exhausting these possibilities, it has appeared that the Federal 

 interest required a greatly expanded program that could be attacked 

 only under the plan of Federal acquisition, rehabilitation, and re- 

 search that has been recommended elsewhere in this report. 



The program section entitled ''Protection Against Fire" defines 

 the protection needs for all forest land now in Federal and also in 

 non-Federal public and private ownership, sets up objectives for 

 future accomplishment, and estimates the funds that will be required 

 to attain these objectives. 



Because of the difficulty of making an entirely satisfactory estimate 

 for private and non-Federal public lands in the South and the uncer- 

 tainty of reaching the full objective set up, an intermediate objective 

 which would more nearly represent the possibility of the next 15 to 20 

 years was specified. For the entire area of lands of this class it re- 

 mains to outline a more detailed program for the participation of all 

 agencies concerned. 



In the section of this report entitled "The Probable Future Dis- 

 tribution of Forest Land Ownership," recommendations are made for 

 the acquisition by the Federal Government of 134 million acres of 

 forest land now in private ownership and for the acquisition of 90 

 million acres by the States. Should these recommendations as to 

 Federal purchase be carried out, the size of the job to be accomplished 

 through the direct Federal- and State-aid systems (direct financial 

 assistance to the States and landowners for protection by State 

 agencies) would be reduced accordingly. But public acquisition of a 

 large area of land will necessarily extend over a long period of years, 

 and be subject to a great many delays. One of the most urgent 

 present needs, as has been pointed out above, is to preserve existing 



