A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 1637 



All of these benefit greatly and uniquely from the water-conservation 

 and flood-control effects of managed forests especially those on 

 drainages of major interstate streams. 



In 1931 the production of electricity from water power was 30,603,- 

 000,000 kilowatt-hours, about a third of the total electric current 

 produced from all sources. The gross sales value of the current at 

 an average of 2 cents per kilowatt-hour is roughly estimated at $600,- 

 000,000 per annum. An excise tax of 2 percent on gross sales would 

 produce now around $12,000,000 annually. Probably with complete 

 development of the water power resources of the whole country the 

 installed capacity would amount to 80 million horsepower or more. 

 This is more than five times the present developed horsepower and 

 indicates the possibilities of this source of tax income. 



Our urban population is, according to the last census, about 69 

 million. It is estimated that cities and towns consume 1,800 billion 

 gallons of water for domestic and industrial uses annually. The 

 greater part of this water is taken from streams and the quantity 

 and purity of the supply depends largely on the maintenance of forest 

 cover on the watersheds. It is difficult to appraise the money value 

 of this service of forests but the magnitude of the possibilities of 

 income will be realized when so small a rate as 1 cent per thousand 

 gallons would produce $18,000,000 annually. 



The commerce carried on the principal rivers and fresh-water 

 canals of the United States in 1929, not including commerce on the 

 Great Lakes, aggregated 130 million tons of freight. The probable 

 increase in this freight traffic may lead to as great an annual business 

 as 500 million tons by the end of 20 years. The development of 

 water-borne commerce on our inland streams depends in large part 

 on the control of run-off at headwaters and upon checking the silting 

 up of channels caused by erosion of watersheds. In both of these 

 cases forests play an important part, and it does not seem illogical 

 to charge this business with a share of the cost of forestry. 



It is apparent that in dealing with charges or taxes on water-power 

 development, or water used for domestic or industrial purposes in 

 cities and towns, and on water-borne traffic, there are legal, consti- 

 tutional, and economic questions to be solved which are beyond 

 anything attempted in this report. Nevertheless these are special 

 beneficiaries of forestry and the field is of such magnitude as a source 

 of Treasury income that it is worthy of consideration. 



One of the possibilities for increasing Treasury income from Fed- 

 eral forests lies in licensing the large and rapidly growing recreational 

 use. In 1931, 32 million persons from all parts of the United States 

 visited the national forests. Some of these undoubtedly were entirely 

 transient travelers, many of whom were probably counted more than 

 once. Millions of persons, however, spent one or more days in the 

 national forests in camping and hunting or fishing. At present there 

 is no charge of any kind for this use of the forests, although the 

 Forest Service has for years had to use an appreciable part of its 

 funds to employ personnel and maintain facilities to care for this 

 traffic. In addition it has been necessary to increase fire protection 

 to meet the materially augmented fire hazard introduced. A hunt- 

 ing, fishing, and camping permit or license costing $2 per person per 

 season would work no hardship on individuals and should bring in an 

 additional income of many millions of dollars. 



