14 



National Resources Committee 



private forest lands. There is some, and probably there 

 will be more, application of such management without 

 taking any of these steps; but the more fully such steps 

 are taken the greater the encouragement and the more 

 prompt the application. Each possible unit has many 

 features which make it a special problem in itself, 

 different from all others. There can be no set formula 

 for developing such units, but obviously the more 

 favorable the conditions the more readily and promptly 

 any given unit will be developed. Once reasonably 

 favorable conditions are established, operators and 

 forest owners will be able to progress toward the desired 

 end; some will move rapidly, others slowly, and with 

 actual developments will come a change in attitude 

 which will make such enterprises still more practicable. 



Services of the Forest Other Than Timber Production 



The foregoing lays great emphasis upon production of 

 timber. This is partly because this particular service 

 of the forest is most hnportant in giving direct and in- 

 direct support to the economic fabric of the Region. 

 The forest advisory committee considers that the pri- 

 mary problem with which it has to deal is the forest as 

 a producer of wood. The committee clearly recognizes 

 that there are several other highly important "services" 

 which also require attention. These other services 

 include (1) the regulation of stream flow and water 

 supply, (2) the conservation and up-building of soil, 

 (3) opportunities for recreation, (4) the grazing use, and 

 (5) the protection of wildlife. In the case of each of 

 these "other services" it is pointed out (1) that the 

 problem extends into areas far beyond the boundaries 

 of the forests (and consequently beyond the boundaries 

 of the functions of the committee), and (2) that if the 

 forest land is given sound technical management for 

 timber production, such management will incidentally 

 go far toward enabling the forest to render effectively 

 each of the "other services." With this in mind, the 

 forest committee has felt that it should limit its atten- 

 tion maiidy to the forest land and the timber production 

 problem, but that it should also be careful to make its 

 suggestions such that they will aid in the solution of 

 the problems relating to the "other services." 



Water Conservation 



Undou])tcdly, the regulation of stream flow and 

 water sujiph' is one of the foremost problems of the 

 Region. Forests which are well managed for the pro- 

 duction of thnber will incidentally perform their func- 

 tion as conservers of water. In some inaccessible areas 

 and in some areas of extremely slow thnber growth, 

 forests are of little or no value for timber production, 

 but are valuable for water-shed protection, and also 

 for others of the "other services." The water conser- 

 vation jiroblem is also of imiiortance outside forest 



boundaries. The problem of water conservation de- 

 serves careful investigation by the regional forest exper- 

 iment stations acting in cooj)eration with water supply 

 engineers and others engaged in this field. 



Soil Conservation 



Forests well managed for the production of timber 

 are higldy effective in conserving soil and in building 

 up its fertility. One of the best means of stopping soil 

 erosion is by tree planting on lands suitable for forest 

 growth, and this means is being used extensively by the 

 Soil Conservation Service in connection with farms. 

 The policy should be extended to all lands chiefly valu- 

 able for forest production and actually managed for that 

 purpose wherever such cooperation is desired by the 

 owner. 



Recreation 



Within the region, millions of recreationists spend 

 scores of millions of dollars yearly. This higlily im- 

 portant activity has increased rapidly in recent years 

 and evidently is destined for much fiu'ther increase. 

 The recreational opportunities of the Region have large 

 spiritual values for our own people and in addition 

 constitute one of our most important economic re- 

 sources. The forest itself makes up a large share of the 

 recreational resources. Sound technical management 

 of the forest will maintain and enhance to a high degree 

 the recreational values of the forest. But in addition, 

 recreationists need camp sites, summer home sites, 

 roadside forests to maintain lughway beauty, wilderness 

 areas, etc. All of these additional requirements can 

 be provided at relatively small additional expense; they 

 are largely matters for the attention of recreation 

 experts workuag m close cooperation mth forest man- 

 agers. Recreation is so important that the States 

 should provide liberally for it, especially for the mainte- 

 nance of such values as those in roadside beauty. 



The present mining laws, as affectmg the national 

 forests, allow areas of high recreational value to be en- 

 tered and in some cases patented even where the mineral 

 values are far less than the demonstrable recreational 

 values. Suiiilarly, other hnportant forest uses are some- 

 tunes adversely affected in much the same way. With- 

 out in any way preventing the development of bona fide 

 mining discoveries, action is needed to segregate the 

 subsurface rights from the surface rights, thus prevent- 

 ing loss to the public of valuable recreational lands and 

 other forest uses through perversion of the present 

 liberal mining law. 



Grazing 



The livestock industry, with its investment of about 

 $700,000,000 in about 15 million head of livestock, lands, 

 equipment, etc., is one of the important economic groups 



