1344 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



government, the responsibility for preventing such abuse is shared 

 by the Federal Government and the States. Under certain condi- 

 tions the Federal Government clearly has jurisdiction; under other 

 conditions, although the national interest is also involved in a general 

 way, the responsibility is primarily the States'. 



THE STATES' RESPONSIBILITY 



Individual States have ample authority under the police power, 

 and it is their proper function, to prohibit practices on privately 

 owned forests which will harm the public or other individuals besides 

 the owner. In addition to such regulation as may be undertaken in 

 cooperation with the Federal Government for interstate or inter- 

 national reasons, each State should exercise such control as may be 

 necessary : 



(1) To prevent injury to persons or property within the State, or 

 to property of the State or subdivisions thereof (including land or 

 other property which the public intends to acquire). 



(2) To promote the public health, including prevention of stream 

 pollution, stabilization and protection of municipal water supplies, 

 preservation of recreation values, etc. 



(3) To protect roads, railroads, waterways, and streams used for 

 irrigation and power purposes. 



(4) To protect game and wild life in general. 



(5) To promote the general welfare within the State by preventing 

 depletion and waste of resources and the consequent ruin of business, 

 industries, and communities, within the limitations established by 

 the constitutions of the State or the United States. States individ- 

 ually or jointly through compacts can probably act to prevent the 

 waste of forest resources, as California, Oklahoma, and Texas have 

 attempted to do in the case of gas and oil. 



FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY 



The Federal Government's interest in and responsibility for con- 

 serving forests have been recognized repeatedly by the Congress. 

 The act of 1897 provided for reserving and administering the 

 national forests "for the purpose of maintaining favorable conditions 

 of water flow and to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use 

 and necessities of citizens of the United States." The Weeks Law 

 of 1911 provided for acquiring and managing forests, and also for 

 cooperating in the protection of private forests, to protect the water- 

 sheds of navigable streams. The Clarke-McNary Act of 1924 pro- 

 vided for contribution from the Federal Treasury to assist in the pro- 

 tection of forests in general, and for promoting forestry on private 

 lands, because the maintenance of forests was recognized as essential 

 to the national welfare. 



Beyond question, the authority of the Federal Government is 

 paramount in the protection of forests or other property belonging 

 to the Government (including forests which the Government intends 

 to acquire), in the prevention of damage of an interstate or interna- 

 tional character, in maintaining the navigability of streams and har- 

 bors, and in the promotion of the national defense. Within these 

 limits jurisdiction of the States and the rights of individual property 



