392 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



partment of natural resources, with the 

 State forester in charge of the division. 

 In seven States, the State forester is the 

 administrative officer of a State board 

 or commission of forestry. In four 

 States, he is the forestry director of the 

 State board of forestry and parks. In 

 Pennsylvania, he is in charge of the 

 Bureau of Forests in the Department of 

 Forests and Waters. In Ohio, he is in 

 charge of the Division of Forestry un- 

 der the over-all administration of the 

 agricultural experiment station. In 

 Montana, he works with the State 

 Board of Land Commissioners. Direct 

 supervision of a State forest in each 

 State is generally exercised by a district 

 forester or State forest supervisor, who 

 may be responsible solely for the man- 

 agement of forest land or who may com- 

 bine management with other duties. 



In Washington, Idaho, Montana, 

 and Colorado, administration of the 

 State forest lands of Federal-grant 

 origin is a joint responsibility of the 

 State land boards and the State forestry 

 agency. In each of those States the 

 State land board was set up originally 

 to dispose of Federal-grant lands ; how- 

 ever, while a considerable acreage of 

 forest lands in this category was still 

 in State ownership, it was realized that 

 the lands were an asset to the State and 

 should properly remain in State owner- 

 ship under adequate protection and 

 administration. 



ADEQUATE MANAGEMENT recognizes 

 that the forests have several uses and 

 allocates to each its proper place in 

 the management plan. Elements of 

 forest management that affect each of 

 those uses are protection from fire, in- 

 sects, and disease, and forest inventory. 



Fire protection on State forests gen- 

 erally is good. Even in States that do 

 not protect all forest lands, State for- 

 ests are well looked after ; in the States 

 that have good over-all protection, 

 State forests as a rule receive extra at- 

 tention. Because most of the State 

 forest lands are in restocking stages, 

 good fire protection constitutes a large 

 part of the management. 



The .degree of protection from in- 

 sects and disease varies a great deal and 

 depends largely on the probability of 

 losses. In States where white pine is an 

 important timber tree, for example, 

 protection from the white pine blister 

 rust is generally good. In Massachu- 

 setts, the State forestry agency carries 

 on an active campaign against the tus- 

 sock moth. In the Western States, bark 

 beetles receive considerable attention. 



The adequate management of forest 

 lands for multiple use can only be had 

 from a forest inventory, which classi- 

 fies the lands and furnishes detailed 

 information on timber types, volumes, 

 and growth. Such an inventory was 

 reported by 9 of the 36 States; several 

 others are making an inventory. 



Management for the production of 

 forest products aims at ultimately at- 

 taining a balance of growth and drain, 

 in well-stocked stands of desirable spe- 

 cies. To achieve the objective, there 

 should be adequate protection from 

 fire, insects, and disease; harvesting of 

 tree crops when they are ripe; im- 

 provement of the stand; and planting 

 where necessary. Management plans 

 based on an adequate inventory are 

 desirable: 



The type of forest management in 

 the various States depends upon sev- 

 eral factors, namely, a forest inventory, 

 the condition of the forest, and avail- 

 able funds for forest management. 

 Naturally, the States that have inven- 

 tories of their forests have the basis for 

 intelligent management plans and 

 have generally followed through with 

 such a plan. 



In some States the land carries but 

 little merchantable timber, and inten- 

 sive fire protection (with perhaps 

 some planting and improvement cut- 

 tings) constitutes the chief element of 

 management. In Washington, Idaho, 

 and Montana, on the contrary, there 

 is the problem of overmature timber, 

 and management efforts are directed 

 toward harvesting it. 



In all States the availability of funds 

 plays a major role. The ability to in- 

 ventory the forests and to hire men 



