FORESTRY IN THE DOUGLAS FIR REGION 



205 



and perhaps by direct purcnase. The States are now in 

 process of consolidating their present holdings into blocks, 

 which, it is sincerely hoped and expected, will be man- 

 aged for sustained yield. It is likely, though as yet not 

 proposed, that there will be an enlargement of the areas 

 of State forests to supplement the Federal forests. 



But the solution of the forest problem of the Douglas 

 fir region is not wholly the acquisition by the public of 

 cut-over land. It is not desirable, I should say, that the 

 public own the entire ultimate forest area; and it is ex- 

 tremely improbable that it will acquire any additional 

 acreage before the process of denudation has been com- 

 pleted. Meanwhile the virgin forest will be stripped off 

 without regard 

 for sustained 

 yield of water- 

 sheds, the per- 

 p e t u a tion of 

 regional indus- 

 tries or the 

 continued pro- 

 ductivity of the 

 cut-over lands. 

 Something has 

 got to be done 

 by the private 

 owners to keep 

 their lands pro- 

 ductive. The 

 ultimate forest 

 lands of Ore- 

 gon and Wash- 

 ington are not 

 going to bear 

 their full meas- 

 ure of anoth- 

 er crop unless 

 the timberland 

 owner prac- 

 tices better for- 

 estry on his 

 own lands than he is doing now. We might as well 

 take conditions as they are and understand plainly that 

 the solution of the problem does not lie wholly in public 

 ownership, and every effort should be made to encourage 

 the private owner to take the responsibility of caring for 

 his lands according to correct silvicultural principles. No 

 program to this end has been agreed upon. The subject 

 is very much in agitation but rather overshadowed at 

 present in the lumberman's mind by income tax problems, 

 car shortage, and the like. It is well that it is at least in 

 agitation and some day soon it must crystallize into a 

 program of legislation and co-operative action between 

 timberland owners, the State and the Federal Govern- 

 ment. Just what this program will be or should be 

 it is premature to say, because sentiment has not been 

 shaken down as yet. But there are certain prerequisites 

 to progress. These may be briefly stated : 



(a) A public classification of the timbered and cut- 



ENT STAND OF 10 YEAR-OLD DOUGLAS FIR SEEDLINGS 



This is the result of a conscious effort to secure a new crop of timber after logging on the/ Columbia 

 National Forest, Washington. The area was cut over in 1909, the slash burned immediately thereafter, and 

 effective fire protection given since then. 



over lands of the region to determine what are agricul- 

 tural and what should be dedicated to permanent forest 

 production. 



(b) Tax reform, which will remove the current 

 burden of carrying immature forests. 



(c) Stricter enforcement of the present good forest _ 

 fire laws, so that property may be less subject to the men- 

 ace of fire from sources outside the control of the owner. 



(d) Additional financial appropriation by the States 

 and Federal Government to promote forestry practice, 

 recognizing that it is very much to the public interest, 

 not only of the commonwealth but of the whole nation, 

 that these cut-over lands be kept productive and that with- 

 out govern- 

 mental aid they 

 will lie unpro- 

 ductive. 



(e) Co-op- 

 erative assist- 

 ance from the 

 appropriations 

 proposed above 

 to private own- 

 ers who agree 

 to manage, ac- 

 cording to a 

 certain stand- 

 ard, lands that 

 have been 

 c 1 a s sified as 

 permanent for- 

 est ground. 

 This assistance 

 would embrace 

 technical ad- 

 vice, the ap- 

 proval of work- 

 ing plans by a 

 State or Fed- 

 eral forester, 

 and certain 

 phases of actual fire protection and suppression. 



Were these five measures taken to remove the ob- 

 stacles to the practice of forestry and put it on a stable 

 basis profitable to the individual or corporate owner, there 

 is no doubt but that the continued productivity of most 

 of the cut-over lands of the Douglas fir region would be 

 assured. With the enhancement of stumpage values that 

 are sure to obtain before the next crop is cut and with 

 the exceedingly favorable soil and climatic conditions 

 of the Douglas fir region and the unparalleled rapidity of 

 growth and vigor of this tree, forestry should pay here, if 

 anywhere outside of a woodlot region. It will pay the 

 public to adopt such measures, so that the owner will do 

 what he would not do without them ; and it will cost the 

 public dearly in generations to come if something is not 

 done and done soon to forestall the rendering unproduc- 

 tive of the immense stretches of mountainous timber 

 lands of the Pacific Northwest. 



