1592 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



and economic facts contributing to the situation, and the possibilities 

 for remedial action. The depression has emphasized the necessity for 

 a national inventory of resources such as that of the forest resources 

 which is under way, and the need for a change of policy in their 

 management. This report is a contribution toward facing the facts 

 of the forest situation in this country and its relation to land use and 

 other problems. 



THE ACCEPTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY 



In the previous sections of this report the discussions of forest 

 devastation, land deterioration, and related problems have clearly 

 pointed out the failure of individuals or agencies, until comparatively 

 recently and with few exceptions even yet, to assume responsibility 

 for stopping harmful forest practices, or for establishing conservative 

 forestry measures. The inadequacy and ineffectiveness of most of 

 the restorative projects now under way have also been emphasized, 

 together with definite recommendations for new or extended measures 

 considered essential to the solution of these problems. In view of the 

 past policies regarding forest and land use, the exaggerated concep- 

 tions of the property rights of the individual, and the general lack of 

 concern over problems of public welfare, it becomes highly desirable 

 to define the responsibility for the measures needed. 



Responsibility is the state of being accountable, as for a trust or 

 obligation. It implies dependability. Obviously fulfillment of re- 

 sponsibility cannot exist until one has accepted his obligation. Ac- 

 ceptance may consist of actual agreement, or it may be implied and 

 enforced by legislation. A certain degree of responsibility may be 

 enforced by public opinion, morally if not legally. Responsibility 

 must always be accompanied by authority since one cannot be held 

 accountable for circumstances over which he has no control. When 

 responsibility is assumed, there must be at least reasonable expectation 

 of accomplishment: no one can assume responsibility for the impos- 

 sible. Recognition of these underlying principles of acceptance, 

 authority, and expectation of fulfillment is necessary to an under- 

 standing of the responsibilities of various agencies, public and private, 

 in the national forestry program. 



Responsibility, and the authority it carries, may be shifted with 

 changing conditions. In the old horse-and-wagon days, traffic condi- 

 tions required little or no regulation. Responsibility rested almost 

 entirely upon the drivers of the vehicles. But with the advent of 

 the automobile and the complicated problems of modern traffic, it 

 became necessary from the standpoint of public welfare to enact 

 legislation regulating highway use. The public thereby assumed the 

 responsibility for controlling traffic to the greatest extent legally 

 possible; it could not, however, assume the obligation of preventing 

 all accidents, because of the human factor of carelessness beyond its 

 control. Therefore the responsibility of the individual was also 

 increased, in the assumed compliance with the regulations set up. 

 This is but one of many examples that might be cited to show how 

 new conditions have developed the need for new policies. In many 

 instances the individual must waive his former unrestricted rights 

 for the public good, and at the same time his own responsibilities 

 may increase. 



