A POSSIBLE PROGRAM OF PUBLIC REGULATION 



By W. N. SPARHAWK, Senior Forest Economist 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Division of responsibility 1343 



Scope of State regulation 1345 



Scope of Federal regulation 1347 



Public obligations accompanying public regulation 1 349 



Cost of program 1351 



Conclusion 1352 



As has been shown in preceding sections of this report, it is a 

 matter of deep public concern that our forests be maintained in 

 such a condition that they can continue to furnish timber, protect 

 watersheds, check erosion, and contribute in other ways to the 

 welfare of society. It has also been shown that there is a consider- 

 able degree of apparent conflict between the interests of society 

 as a whole and what individual forest owners conceive to be their 

 own interests, so that in pursuing his own objectives an owner may 

 frequently do great harm to other individuals or to the public. 

 Any public policy of forest conservation, whether it is built around 

 public ownership, public assistance to private owners, or regulation 

 of private owners, is based primarily upon the public's responsi- 

 bility for protecting the public values of forests. The imposition 

 of restrictions upon the handling of privately owned forests has 

 further basis in the universally recognized duty of government to 

 protect its citizens and their property against injury by others. 



It is probable that the public interests can be served most effec- 

 tively and economically, and with a minimum of interference in 

 private enterprise, if the public owns a substantial portion of the 

 forests. On the basis of present trends, great expansion of public 

 ownership appears to be both desirable and inevitable. However, 

 it is to be expected that considerable time will elapse before the 

 public acquires all of the forest that should eventually be owned. 

 Moreover, a considerable area is likely to remain in private owner- 

 ship indefinitely. It may be desirable, therefore, to provide for a 

 moderate degree of public regulation in order to protect the public 

 interests and to redeem government's responsibility for protecting 

 lives and property. A program of public regulation which might 

 accomplish these purposes is outlined in the following pages. It is 

 presented here as a suggestion for the form which public regulation 

 might be expected to take, rather than as a program for immedate 

 adoption in all particulars. Even such a moderate program is likely 

 to be adopted only gradually, although several States have already 

 made a considerable start. 



DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITY 



The minimum degree of regulation under which the public can 

 redeem its responsibilities is that which will prevent abuses which 

 directly injure other individuals or the public. Under our form of 



1343 



