A National Program for Forestry 



757 



A vast majority of workers who have 

 expressed themselves on sustained- 

 yield forestry insist, however, that it 

 be sought by means other than those 

 which strengthen and spread the grip 

 of monopoly, whether it be national 

 monopoly or local monopolization by 

 a few over the resources on which a 

 community depends for jobs, income, 

 and opportunity for its citizens. There- 

 fore, we are opposed to sustained-yield 

 plans that entail monopolistic control 

 over local forest resources. 



Labor is also interested in safety in 

 the wood industry, and deplores the 

 fact that sawmilling and logging have 

 by far the worst accident record of any 

 industry. Conservation of logging and 

 lumber workers calls for action just as 

 much as does conservation of forests. 



Wilderness preservation is also de- 

 sired by many people in labor, so that 

 there may always be areas where one 

 may find recreation and inspiration 

 where nature is unspoiled and un- 

 touched by industrialization and com- 

 mercialization. That problem calls for 

 special attention to save remaining 

 areas of our country that are suited and 

 can be spared for such use and that 

 need to be reserved in perpetuity and 



guarded against all encroachment. 



Beyond trees and forestry as such, 

 and overshadowing even that great 

 movement, labor and all people of good 

 will are deeply indebted to the men 

 who pioneered in the practical applica- 

 tion of forestry science in America's 

 timberlands. It was their devotion to 

 the public interest and their practical 

 vision of the outdoors as a whole that 

 gave America the conservation policy. 



Under the broad conservation policy 

 that was given to America by its pio- 

 neer foresters, the farmer's fight for 

 security and well-being on the land, the 

 drives for social security and liberties, 

 the great works of conservation and de- 

 velopment of rivers and land, and, of 

 course, the labor movement itself, all 

 come together as parts of one vast, in- 

 spiring panorama. It has given men a 

 new vision of their relations with the 

 earth, and of how science and democ- 

 racy working together can and must 

 develop fruitful harmonious relations 

 of people with the earth and with each 

 other. Neither can be achieved without 

 the other. 



PHILIP MURRAY is president of the 

 Congress of Industrial Organizations. 



A NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR FORESTRY 



LYLE F. WATTS 



Our greatest tasks in forest conser- 

 vation lie ahead. 



The conservation idea has won gen- 

 eral acceptance, but it has yet to be 

 applied on the ground to most of our 

 forest lands. The downward trend of 

 our forests has yet to be reversed. 



We need to restore millions of acres 

 of depleted forest land to productivity. 



We need to build up our growing 

 stock of timber. We have to increase 

 the growth rate of all timber by one- 

 half, and double the growth of saw 

 timber. 



We need to bring about good forest 

 management on all forest lands. Our 



national forests and most other public 

 forests are or will be managed for 

 sustained yield. The crux of the prob- 

 lem is the forest lands in private owner- 

 ship; to them we must look for the 

 bulk of our supply of forest products. 



We will have to be on the alert to 

 safeguard the watershed values on for- 

 est and range lands. 



We shall need to check further range 

 deterioration and build up and wisely 

 manage wild-land ranges for perma- 

 nent productivity. 



We shall also wish to maintain the 

 wildlife in forests, in balance with the 

 natural food supply; preserve scenic 



