1504 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



production on high quality pine land, upon which fire protection and 

 other charges must be met because of their location within established 

 operation boundaries. By planting these nonstocked lands the per- 

 manent annual output of the area can be increased at a slight per- 

 acre cost when spread over the entire operation. 



As shown in detail in the section entitled " Watershed and Related 

 Forest Influences," erosion on denuded forest and on farm land in 

 the South now creates a situation of major importance. Most of 

 these eroded lands are included in the 17% million acres of idle land 

 which will not promptly be restocked. Within this classification are 

 some 4 million acres of critically eroded land, on which forest planting 

 is clearly the most logical method of control. 



It should be stated that the present program does not contemplate 

 the planting of any land on which erosion will be controlled by proper 

 agricultural methods, or by simply dropping it from all sorts of use, 

 unless its planting is also at least partly justified for timber production. 

 The planting area recommended is the absolute minimum to properly 

 meet the existing situation. 



The erosion area which should be planted is divided between the 

 piedmont plateau, the Appalachian Mountains, the upper coastal 

 plains, the Mississippi River tributaries south of the Ohio River, and 

 the Mississippi River bluff country. 



PACIFIC COAST 



The acreage to be planted during the next 20 years in the three 

 Pacific coast States is largely for the purpose of increasing the possible 

 sustained yield production in the different logging units' Erosion on 

 timber lands can generally be prevented by complete fire protection, 

 by improved logging methods, or by the adoption of sound range- 

 management practices. 



The area of available forest land now unproductive which will not 

 restock in 40 years is estimated to be 4,922,000 acres. A large part 

 of this is of poor site quality and is comparatively inaccessible. Plant- 

 ing of such lands is not advisable at present. 



After careful consideration of all factors the planting of slightly 

 more than 1 million acres of the better and more accessible lands is 

 recommended. AJI additional small area of highly valuable water- 

 shed brush lands in southern California has been included. 



The greater part of the commercial forest land planting will be 

 located in the highly productive Douglas fir and redwood regions. 

 The balance will be on once productive brush-land slopes of northern 

 California and central Oregon. The need for planting in the brush- 

 field areas is great, and when proper methods to secure success at 

 reasonable costs have been worked out a much larger area than is con- 

 templated now will be justified for planting. There is a distinct pos- 

 sibility that brush-field planting will help materially to reduce the fire 

 menace which these brush fields now constitute. 



NORTH ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION 



The necessity for immediate planting in the northern Rocky Moun- 

 tain region is almost wholly for timber production. One of the lead- 

 ing industries of north Idaho and western Montana is lumbering. 

 This industry is built up around western white pine because of its 

 high value and former abundance. The fact that this species on 



