A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1577 



The several forest experiment stations under the Federal Forest 

 Service maintain considerable direct touch with the timber-owning 

 publicly group meetings and some individual contact, but the main 

 effort is through correspondence and publications of various kinds, 

 including ^the use of trade journal articles. They also reach the 

 owner indirectly through the extension services of the Department of 

 Agriculture and the several States. 



The present annual expenditure for all State forestry extension 

 service to forest owners in the entire United States is estimated at 

 approximately $100,000. This sum covers the net State, county, and 

 town expenditures for forestry extension in behalf of all private 

 owners, including farm owners, and takes account of moneys spent by 

 all State extension services, forest services, and other State and county 

 bodies. It does not include contributions of private owners them- 

 selves or cooperative Federal allotments. 



It is evident from the above that only a very small share of State 

 and county activity is directed toward forestry extension, even though 

 some incidental part-time services may not be included in the above 

 statement. When it is explained that of the money set out for forestry 

 extension, approximately nine tenths is spent, under the cooperative 

 provisions of section 5 of the Clarke-McNary law, entirely upon one 

 class of forest owner, namely, the farmer, it may be appreciated how 

 neglected is the field of extension work among that large class of 

 private forest owners who, while they do not happen to be farmers, 

 actually own and operate about 270 million acres, which is more 

 than half of all the commercial forest land in the United States and 

 and about 70 percent of all the privately owned forest land. 



OTHER FORESTRY EXTENSION AGENCIES 



In addition to the work of the Federal and State agencies, a num- 

 ber of institutions and organizations are active in forestry extension. 

 Several of the colleges and universities in which forestry schools are 

 incorporated publish the results of their research. Some of them go 

 farther and, to a limited extent, give advice in the handling of timber 

 land in the nearby regions. National forestry associations such as 

 the American Forestry Association and the American Nature Asso- 

 ciation, and several of the State or regional forestry associations pub- 

 lish and distribute printed matter covering the field of forestry and 

 do much besides to encourage a better and more widely held concep- 

 tion of forestry. A small group of consulting foresters have been 

 very active and have reached a rather limited number of private 

 owners very effectively. A few of the large railroad systems, es- 

 pecially those whose lines traverse forest areas containing much cut- 

 over land, have interested themselves in encouraging better forest 

 practices in their territories. Lumber and naval stores trade asso- 

 ciations have in some cases also expended considerable effort in work 

 along this line, as have some chambers of commerce, farmers' organi- 

 zations, conservation and wild life associations, and women's clubs. 

 The press, in general, has shown an enlightened interest, and has 

 accorded generous publicity to efforts toward improving the forestry 

 situation throughout the country. There is no question that its 

 influence in spreading information and in educating public opinion in 

 this respect has been a public service. 



