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have been reduced to waste and today lie idle and unproductive, I am 

 speaking, of course, of conditions where the bulk of the land, or a con- 

 siderable part of it, is porous and suited only to the growing of forests. 

 We can meet our forest needs if only we will stop the destructive processes 

 that are now in vogue and employ wholly practical methods to secure 

 forest renewal. 



Forestry the Solution. The solution of our forestry problem con- 

 sists in stopping the destruction by fire and other agencies, in using 

 methods that make possible natural reproduction after logging, and in 

 the restocking by tree growth of lands that have been made economic 

 wastes. The fear has been expressed by some that such an objective would 

 conflict with the expansion of agriculture and stock raising. Exactly the 

 contrary would be the result. No sane program of forestry would propose 

 the use of lands for forestry that are better adapted to agriculture and 

 settlement. Forestry, agriculture, and stock raising go hand in hand. 

 They are complementary. It is possible to point to numerous circum- 

 stances and cases where destructive handling of forests retards agricul- 

 tural development. We can show in the same way how the right handling 

 of forests with protection and replacement is a factor, and often the prin- 

 cipal factor, in building up agriculture that otherwise would follow 

 very slowly or be indefinitely held back. 



Public Aspects of Forestry. The problem of forestry has both a na- 

 tional and a local aspect. The nation is concerned in the country-wide 

 securing and distributing of raw materials for the varying needs of differ- 

 ent regions, and in the protective service of forests on interstate rivers. 

 The states and localities are interested in the support of local industries, 

 in local protective benefits of forests, and in having lands productive 

 and a basis for support of the communities. 



We have today something like one hundred and sixty million acres 

 of public forests. These should be, I believe, practically doubled. We 

 have been carrying on a moderate program of purchases, having acquired 

 in the last two years two million acres in the east. The public benefits of 

 productive forests justify the participation of the public in working out 

 the problem. The character of the problem is such as to make public 

 participation absolutely necessary. It is one in which the nation, the 

 states, the communities, and private owners must each play an important 

 part. 



The emphasis in recent years on public forests has given the impres- 

 sion that our forest question was being solved. Our National Forests 

 are rendering a great public benefit. They are under protection and their 

 resources are being used in a way to insure their perpetuation and con- 

 tinued service to the communities and the nation. Their timber already 

 provides a large part of the local demand in a number of the western states 

 and will increasingly be used for general needs of the country. But they 

 are not extensive enough nor well enough distributed to meet more 

 than part of the country's needs for forests. At present the timber cut 

 from them constitutes about three per cent of the entire lumber consump- 

 tion of the country. The rest comes from private lands. As the private 

 timber of the west becomes exhausted they will be of increasing importance 



