1584 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



While some increase in overhead in Washington would be necessary, 

 the greatest results will be obtained by expanding the field force. 

 This might perhaps be best accomplished by increasing the number 

 of extension foresters in a given State and allotting among them the 

 different forest regions of the State so that each extension forester 

 could be a specialist in the problems peculiar to a given forest belt. 

 Their numbers should be sufficient to enable them to work directly 

 with the farm owner as well as through the county extension agents. 

 In extensively wooded or cut-over districts, such as are found in the 

 upper Lake States and throughput the South, when the importance 

 of the forest use of the soil heavily outweighs the strictly agricultural 

 use, the county extension forester might even take the place of the 

 county agricultural agent, or at least serve as his assistant. The 

 following is the suggested field corps of extension foresters to be 

 gradually built up during the next 10 years, shown in comparison 

 with the force at present available for farm woodland work : 



This increased force of farm forest^ extension men should in itself 

 bring about a marked showing in the more profitable handling of the 

 farmers' woodlands and the improvement of his economic condition, 

 but the movement would be given greater impetus if all county 

 agricultureal agents in predominantly forest counties were required 

 to take a basic college course in forestry or to undergo equivalent 

 training. Other desirable changes from the present system would 

 involve much closer cooperation with the United States Forest 

 Service and its regional forest experiment stations and with the State 

 forest services. 



The cost of such an organization as suggested, including all neces- 

 sary increases in overhead and increased participation of State forest 

 services would be approximately $500,000 per annum. This cost 

 should be shared equally by the Federal and the State Governments, 

 in which event the necessary authorization for the Federal share 

 should be $250,000 per annum to meet a like share to be contributed 

 by the States on a basis of the expansion in field force indicated by 

 the needs of each. 



INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY EXTENSION 



The present effort in the province of forestry extension to com- 

 mercial owners in the country as a whole is weak, unorganized, and 

 uncoordinated. The Federal Forest Service maintains only a small 

 group for direct contact with private forest owners. Only 16 of the 

 48 States make any attempt to give advice and assistance to private 

 forest owners, and in these States the work done is largely incidental 

 and fragrnentaiy. To accomplish what is needed, an effort as well 



