Forest Resources of the Pacific Northwest 



15 



of the Region. Much of the summer range is found 

 within the forests. Overgrazing is harmful to forest 

 reproduction, to watershed vahies, to soil conservation, 

 to recreation, and to wildlife conservation, as well as to 

 the livestock industry itself. But wisely regulated 

 grazing helps to reduce the fire hazard in the forests, and 

 is not harmfid to forest reproduction or to the "other 

 services." Growing trees tend to limit livestock range 

 while cutting of trees, in many localities, tends tem- 

 porarily at least to increase range. Most forest lands 

 are more valuable for timber production than for forage, 

 though some undoubtedly are more valuable for grazing. 

 This suggests the need for zoning, especially in the Doug- 

 las fir region. Sound technical management and close 

 cooj)eration between forest and range managers and re- 

 search men are required to reconcile and adjust properly 

 the forest and range needs and secure the best net 

 results. 



Wildlife 



The forest well managed for timber production, with 

 but slight additional adjustment, serves well in the pro- 

 tection of wildlife. Here again the experts in the two 

 fields must cooperate closely ui order to secure satis- 

 factory and well-balanced results for each. 



It must be clearly recognized that the different kinds 

 of service rendered by the forest vary greatly in relative 

 importance in diiTerent parts of the region. Actually, 

 the grazing use may be more important than the tunber 

 or any other use in some localities, the recreational use 

 may be the most important in others, and so on. All 

 of these services are so important that strong effort 

 should be made to balance the uses, coordinatmg each 

 with the others. This approach avoids devoting the 

 forest exclusively to any one use, aiming rather at the 

 greatest total benefit from all of the services combined, 

 and thus secures in fact the "multiple-use forest." 



Research 



Within the region, some progress has been made 

 through research toward securmg scientific information 

 needed for sound technical management of forest lands. 

 However, it must be recognized that much more work 

 still remains to be done to establish an adequate scien- 

 tific basis. The fiekl of needed research is a broad one, 

 including es])ecially work in the protection of forests 

 from insects, diseases, and fire; emphatically, work in the 

 economics of forest ownership, loggijig, markets, utiliza- 

 tion of low grade and waste material; and also work in 

 silviculture, forest soils, stream How relationships, and 

 range management. Especially in the forests of western 

 ()i-egon and western Washington, present-day logging, 

 because of economic conditions, necessarily leaves be- 

 hind great quantities of wood not now marketable; de- 

 velopment of profitable uses for such material will l)e a 



great aid toward sound forest management and stable 

 industry. 



The only research laboratory of the organized lumber 

 industry of the United States is maintained by the 

 Western Pine Association in Portland, Oreg. The 

 forest industries shoidd undertake more aggressively 

 to solve their more pressing research problems. And 

 the State forest schools should be enabled to help sub- 

 stantially m this field. But, after all, the dependence 

 must be mainly upon wood utilization research con- 

 ducted by the United States Forest Service within 

 the region and especially at its Madison, Wis., labora- 

 tory. To secure efficient application of available re- 

 search funds to the most pressing problems, and to 

 secure prompt application of results of research, there 

 is need for closer cooperation between industry and 

 State and Forest Service forest research workers. 



Distribution of Responsibility 



The program herein outlined is planned to rely, in 

 securing a reasonably prompt and adequate solution 

 of our forest problem, upon private forest ownership, 

 management, and operation to the maxunum extent 

 practicable, with public action to the extent necessary 

 (a) to remove unreasonable economic obstacles and to 

 create reasonably favorable conditions for soiuid private 

 forest management, (6) to acquire forest land of such 

 character and location as to contribute effectively to 

 the development of "cooperative sustained-yield units," 

 and (c) to acquire forest lands of such character as to 

 be impracticable for private ownersliip and manage- 

 ment. The private owner should do and should be 

 encouraged to do as much as practicable; of that which 

 the private owner cannot do the State shoidd do all 

 that it can; the Federal Government should do what 

 caimot be done by the other two. It is uupossible to 

 say now what will be the ultunate ownership proportion 

 of each, for at best a number of years will be required 

 for the realization of the program recommended, and 

 during that time there will be substantial changes in 

 economic contlitions and in the mental attitude of the 

 several agencies. Let a jouit cooperative program start 

 promptly and vigorously, and continue until there is 

 satisfactory forest management on a stable ownership 

 basis. 



It shoukl be stated with great emphasis and all siiouhl 

 clearlj' recogiuze (o) that the tax burden is controlled by 

 public action, (b) that onl\- a very small percentage of 

 fires are started bj' forest owners or their employees, (c) 

 that the public as a whole, rather than the private forest 

 owner as such, benefits from the comnnmity mainte- 

 nance, recreation, conservation of soil, water and wild- 

 life values of the forest. Consequently, the public 

 should promptly remove unreasonable obstacles and 

 liberally aid the private owner in protecting his forest 



