UTILIZATION OF LAND 17 



Acreage of Massachusetts State Forests 



Several forest areasare held by a semi-public organization, the so-called Trustees 

 of Public Reservations, who control a total of about 790 acres. 



All the state forests, town forests and forests owned by other public and semi- 

 public organizations include at present about 200,000 acres. This still leaves 

 about 2,000,000 acres of wooded land in private ownership outside of farms. 

 Some of this land is now used for recreational purposes. Although a portion of 

 the total area will be gradually transferred into public ownership, the major part 

 will probably remain for a considerable time in private hands. It is, therefore, 

 important to afford better opportunities for reforestation and development of 

 these areas by pri\'ate individuals. To meet this situation the legislature passed 

 in 1922 the forest classification act under which "forest land, coming within the 

 terms of eligibility, can be separately classified and thereafter pays a tax on land 

 value only, with a products tax payable at the time the timber is cut." When the 

 timber on such land is cut off, a yield tax of 6 per cent is assessed on the stumpage 

 value of the material cut. Under the provisions of this law 93 owners in 47 

 towns had placed in the classification of forest land 24,553 acres up to the end of 

 1929. 



The management of present idle tracts of land to secure forest crops has great 

 possibilities in influencing agricultural land utilization. Through maintaining 

 or recreating local industries dependent on wood for their raw materials, it will 

 have a stabilizing effect on the local population and maintain better markets 

 for local products. To the extent that forest development will occupy areas 

 submarginal for regular farming, it will lessen the hazard of unwise use of poor 

 land and prevent considerable losses to producers established on areas unsuitable 

 for agricultural cultivation. , 



