1396 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



million acres in the Central region, and more than half a million acres 

 in the Lake region, conclusively confirm the need for aggressive and 

 intensified effort in curbing forest fires in the United States. 



TABLE 1. Average annual burn on national forest, and State and private forest 



lands, 1926-30 l 



1 For unprotected private lands in general only rough estimates are available. Such estimates are 

 however, included in this table. 



3 Data on number of fires are based on forest area only and are not directly and proportionally comparable 

 to those shown in table 4, of section entitled "Federal Financial and Other Direct Aid to the States", 

 which are based on a total area, including (in addition to all forested lands) some areas that are nonforested. 



While the general situation is still critical, it must be noted that 

 there are regions and parts of regions where reasonably adequate fire 

 control obtains, and steady and favorable progress can be recorded in 

 better-stocked and improved forests as a result of favorable public 

 attitude and systematically organized fire control by States, private 

 timberland owners, and the Federal Government. 



No forest regon is entirely immune from fires. There is, however, 

 great difference in the intensity of the fire problem as between regions 

 and even between parts of the same region. Regions or parts of 

 regions where fires are of infrequent occurrence, or where their spread 

 is promptly checked by natural means, requiring no special organized 

 effort, are excluded from this discussion of the fire-control problem, 

 even though in the aggregate they comprise a large area of commercial 

 timberland. On the other hand important watershed areas needing 

 fire protection are included even if they contain no commercial timber. 

 For these reasons the regional and total areas given in this section of 

 the report are not identical with the areas given in some of the other 

 sections. According to table 2, about 63 percent of the total forest 

 and potential forest land requiring protection against forest fires is 

 actually under some form of protection. 



TABLE 2. National forest and State and private forest areas requiring protection, 

 and total areas protected, by regions (calendar year 1931) 



1 Excess in area due to discrepancies in reported figures for private forest land. 



