State Forests 



393 



with adequate training and in suffi- 

 cient number for management of the 

 lands has often been in direct propor- 

 tion to the amount of money that 

 could be obtained for those purposes. 

 In many States fire protection has been 

 the primary interest, and State forest 

 management has had to play a sec- 

 ondary role. 



Practically all States maintain for- 

 est-tree nurseries, but most of the 

 planting stock has gone to private in- 

 dividuals and plantings on State forest 

 lands have not been extensive. New 

 York and Michigan are notable exam- 

 ples of States with well-organized and 

 adequately financed planting pro- 

 grams. 



Income from the sale of forest prod- 

 ucts from State forests has not been 

 great. That is to be expected from 

 forests that mostly are immature. The 

 largest returns have come from the 

 mature forests of the Western States: 

 Washington reported an annual in- 

 come of $736,000, Montana $455,000, 

 and Idaho $97,000. East of the Missis- 

 sippi, only Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mich- 

 igan, New York, and Florida reported 

 a production of forest products whose 

 value exceeded $50,000 annually. 



On the whole, the management of 

 State forests would rate from fair to 

 good. Most of the States mark the tim- 

 ber they offer for sale and annually 

 harvest much less than the growth. 

 During the past few years the excellent 

 market has afforded an opportunity 

 for the harvesting of all species of ripe 

 timber and for improvement cuttings. 



In States in which the forestry agen- 

 cy is a division of a department of con- 

 servation, which also handles State fish 

 and game affairs, the authorities are 

 keenly aware of the relationship be- 

 tween forest management and game 

 management. In Michigan, for ex- 

 ample, cutting and planting plans for 

 State forests require the approval of 

 the local game manager. In New York, 

 the plan of wildlife management has 

 been definitely integrated with forest 

 management. 



In other States where game and fish 



affairs are in the hands of an independ- 

 ent agency, cooperation is close be- 

 tween that agency and the forest 

 agency in the management of game on 

 State forests. 



Practically all States open State for- 

 est lands to public hunting. Because 

 most of the State forests are in the 

 restocking stages and have much young 

 growth and many openings, hunting 

 generally is good. 



All the States have recognized the 

 value of their forests for recreational 

 purposes. Some of them have built 

 camp grounds, trails, and shelters for 

 use by the public. Roads built for fire- 

 control purposes have made the forests 

 accessible to recreation seekers, who 

 have used the forests in ever-increasing 

 numbers. Especially noteworthy are 

 the New York Forest Preserves, some 

 2,400,000 acres in extent, which the 

 State constitution requires must be 

 "forever kept as wild forest lands." 

 The area, developed primarily for 

 recreational purposes, has a good sys- 

 tem of camp sites, trails, and shelters. 



Management for watershed protec- 

 tion is probably most important in the 

 State forests of the Western States, 

 where water supply is of great concern. 

 The maintenance of forest growth on 

 watersheds is recognized as of high 

 priority. 



In the Eastern States, the value of 

 well-stocked forest land in the upper 

 regions of the drainage basins is being 

 appreciated more and more in soil con- 

 servation and flood control programs. 

 Often the State forests are so located 

 that the management for this purpose 

 assumes great importance. 



Management for grazing is impor- 

 tant largely in the Western States ; the 

 State forests of Idaho and Colorado 

 are used to some extent for that pur- 

 pose. There is also some grazing on 

 State forest lands in the South. On all 

 of those lands, management requires 

 that grazing be kept under control. 



As TO THE FUTURE : Only one-third 

 of the States have plans for future 

 acquisition of lands for State forests. 



