1416 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the chief consideration and those where the esthetic values are pre- 

 dominant. A third class, the so-called watershed or protection forest, 

 need not be given consideration at this time except when the infesta- 

 tion threatens other timber of greater value. The commercially 

 valuable timber includes that on lands of the national forests, Indian 

 reservations, public domain and private lands. The timber needing 

 protection because of its esthetic values lies in the national parks, 

 State parks, and on small areas of the national forests devoted to 

 recreational use. 



A reasonable policy for forest insect protection has already been 

 adopted by the National Park Service (A Forestry Policy for. the 

 National Parks, approved May 6, 1931). This adequately meets 

 present needs and as it well illustrates both entomological and adminis- 

 trative considerations, it is quoted herewith. 



Insect control policy. It will be the policy to secure and maintain, so far as 

 practicable, full protection from insect epidemics in areas of the following charac- 

 ter within the national parks and monuments. 



(1) Areas of intensive use, such as camp grounds. 



(2) Areas of important scenic or esthetic attraction (unless the partial loss of 

 the tree species attacked within a mixed stand will not materially affect the general 

 appearance of the stand and its scenic or esthetic value, nor materially add to the 

 fire hazard) . 



(3) Areas of prospective intensive use within the next 10-year period. 



(4) Areas within the national park threatening protected areas within or out- 

 side the national park. 



(5) Areas of unusual fire hazard. 



(6) Areas set aside for study and research (unless natural agencies are to be 

 left undisturbed) . 



Complete protection in the sense here used would call for removal of light 

 endemic infestation in areas of intensive use. 



With such insects as the mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine and the Black 

 Hills beetle in ponderosa pine, there can be no question but that every outbreak 

 should be immediately controlled before it develops into a widespread epidemic 

 costing often thousands of dollars. 



Quite a different example is presented in case of the western pine beetle in 

 Oregon and California. This beetle takes annually a small percentage of the 

 stand and at intervals of some years a considerably larger percentage. The main 

 objective in controlling the depredations of this beetle would be to prevent the 

 peaks of this type of infestation developing and thus prolong the life of the existing 

 stand over a longer rotation of gradual replacement; in other words, the objective 

 would be to carry on a certain amount of maintenance control from year to year 

 in an effort to keep the losses at the lowest possible status all the time. 



With defoliating insects, it is possible to readily control them where the trees 

 are accessible to high-powered pumping equipment such as along main highways. 

 Within a few years it may be practical to use airplanes for dusting some of these 

 infestations. 



Under the above policy, remote areas of no special scenic value and not of 

 high fire hazard, little used or seen by the public and not planned for intensive 

 use within a reasonable period of years, may be omitted from insect control plans 

 if they will not endanger control in adjacent areas, unless there are other special 

 factors which make their protection from insects important. 



In the national forests or other public lands where timber values 

 are the main consideration, these values must be weighted against 

 the probable future time of logging, the possibility of salvaging the 

 insect-killed timber, the species of insect causing the destruction and 

 the degree of virulence of the inlestation. These considerations apply 

 equally to private lands and it can be said in general private owners 

 have more often taken the initiative in applying control than have 

 the Federal agencies. It is obvious that with the intermingling of 

 various classes of Federal and private timber each requiring different 

 degrees ol protection and the entomological technalities involved 



