handle their forests in a way not to be a public injury 

 but to serve in building up the localities in which 

 they are situated. 



PUBLIC FORESTS 



There should be an extensive program of public 

 forests, owned by the Nation, by the States, by muni- 

 cipalities, and, too, by quasi-public institutions and 

 organizations. The public forests today comprise 

 about 25 per cent of the total forest area of the 

 country. They should be extended to include ulti- 

 mately from 40 to 50 per cent. 



In any plan of extensive public holdings, whether 

 Federal or State, provision should be made for return- 

 ing to the communities a share of the receipts, as is 

 done in case of National Forests, or otherwise to com- 

 pensate them for withdrawing the lands from taxation. 



The Federal Government should not only provide 

 adequate support properly to protect and develop its 

 forest properties; it should also rehabilitate, by plant- 

 ing if necessary, the depleted and wasted cut-over 

 and burned lands, 

 (a) National Forests 



The Federal holdings should be extended by pur- 

 chase, by exchange of stumpage for land, and by plac- 

 ing under permanent administration forest lands now 

 in the unreserved public domain. 



The program of acquisition should seek two classes 

 of forest land : 



1. Areas needed for the protection of water re- 

 sources, to prevent erosion, for recreation and other 

 general public purposes. These should include both 

 virgin forests and cut-over lands. 



5 



