PUBLIC ASPECTS OF FORESTRY 527 



now purchasing forest land which under a mistaken policy was disposed of for 

 private exploitation. 



PUBLIC FORESTS IN THE UNITED STATES 



The public forests in this country are owned by the Federal government, 

 the states, various tribes of Indians, by municipalities, and by public institu- 

 tions. The total area owned by the government, the states and the Indians is 

 shown in the table which follows. There are no adequate statistics of the 

 forests owned by municipalities and public institutions, but the aggregate 

 is relatively trifling. 



PUBLIC FORESTS 



Area-acres 



National Forests 192,931,197 (Gross area) 



170,368,605 (Net area) 



Indian Forests 10,000,000 approximately 



National Parks 4,562,265 



State Forest Reserves 3,253,185 



The public forests comprise approximately 25 to 30 per cent of the forested 

 area and about 9 per cent of the total land area of the United States. The 

 area of private forests is therefore over three times that of public forests. The 

 total amount of merchantable timber, however, in private ownership is five 

 times that on public lands. The reason for this is that public forests are chiefly 

 in the mountains and comprise what was left after the best was selected and 

 acquired by private owners. 



It is interesting to compare these data with those of European countries. 

 In some of those countries the land was disposed of to private owners in much 

 the same way as in the United States, so that the balance actually owned by 

 the government is comparatively small. Thus, for example, only about 12 

 per cent of the forests of France are actually in government ownership, and 

 yet forestry has reached a very high state of development because all forests 

 are practically under the direct control of the state, which guarantees that 

 they are properly protected and managed. In Germany, while the state owns 

 about 40 per cent of the forests, fully 66 per cent of the total forest area 

 is under public control. In Austria Hungary,, France, Switzerland, Italy, 

 Sweden, and Denmark, practically all the private forests are under state 

 supervision. It is interesting to note that in Germany while private forests 

 exceed in area the public forests, yet the amount of merchantable timber in 

 the latter forests is about fifty per cent of the total. This means that in 

 Germany the public forests are better stocked than private forests, which is 

 exactly the reverse of the case in this country. 



THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



The national forests have been established in order that their resources 

 may be developed under such restrictions as are necessary to protect the 

 interests of the public dependent upon them. When they were first established 

 there was a great deal of opposition because it was believed that they were 

 to be closed to use and development. Their purpose is not to prevent use, but 

 to prevent waste. The design is to replace the wholesale exploitation and 

 destruction of the forests by protection from fires and wise use under forestry 

 methods. It was natural that any restrictions were at first opposed by those 

 who have always regarded the public resources as free for all. It is astonishing, 

 however, how rapidly the people using the national forests have come to see 



