868 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



late a plan for public-road development land were listed for settlement under the 



based on local needs. These plans forest homestead law. The area in the 



should be carried into sufficient detail forests at the close of the year, exclusive 



to provide a reasonably accurate esti- of land not the property of the Govern- 



mate of the cost of the road construction ment, was slightly over 165,000,000 



which it is proposed that the Govern- acres. 



ment shall undertake. They should be 'There is need for similar classifica- 

 accompanied by careful and conserva- tion work outside of the national forests 

 tive appraisals of the value of the nation- wherever the public domain is timbered, 

 al forest timber in each locality and a There are still many areas which should 

 forecast of the future income which the be added to the forests. Wherever the 

 forests will bring in from all sources, land will have largest permanent value 

 On the basis of the showings of fact through use for forest production it 

 regarding the value of the Government's should be held in public ownership, 

 property, its potential income-yielding Timbered portions of the public domain 

 capacity, and the needs of the public, are now unprotected against fire and 

 Congress should be asked to appropriate trespass and are often a source of danger 

 for the construction of specific projects to adjacent lands. Under existing law 

 recommended by the Secretary of Agri- the President has in the seven States of 

 culture. The cost of such road con- California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, 

 struction by the Government should Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming no 

 constitute an advance of the amounts authority to add such lands to the pres- 

 which the forests would later make ent national forests. Legislative pro- 

 available for local use. In effect, there- vision should be made for applying the 

 fore, the roads would become an obliga- classification principles in these States, 

 tion upon the forests, to be extinguished ' There is also need for legislation to 

 as their resources come into commercial permit the consolidation of national 

 demand." forest holdings through land exchanges 



with States and private owners. Some 



EXCHANGES OF LAND WITH STATES Qf ^ forests ^^ & great ^ Q ^ 



The Secretary then recommends which was acquired from the Govern- 



changes in the system of homesteading, ment before the forests were established, 



and suggests the wisdom of releasing Exchanges of land on the basis of equal 



certain parts of the forests by exchange values would be very advantageous to 



of property with the States, as follows: the Government, since the cost of 



"An important part of the forest prob- administration and protection would be 



lem is to get the right line drawn be- materially reduced." 

 tween farm and forest. Under private 



ownership considerations enter which TIMBER SALES 

 do not always lead to the best use of the The report outlines the policy of the 

 land. On the national forests the ques- department regarding timber sales in the 

 tion is determined by a careful study of national forests as follows : 

 what the land is best fitted to produce " In its handling of timber sales on the 

 and what the public most needs. Agri- national forests the department is 

 cultural development is provided for confronted with a situation radically 

 either by excluding from the forests different from that which obtains with 

 land chiefly valuable for other than respect to the grazing. While almost all 

 forest purposes or by listing land for the range on the forests is in demand, 

 settlement under the forest homestead most of the timber is not. To a large 

 act. The work is carried out through extent development work here means so 

 land classification, which was aggres- handling the timber that it will be an 

 sively pushed last year. The elimina- important factor in opening up the 

 tion made or determined upon totaled country. Wherever and whenever gen- 

 over 2,000,000 acres, while systematic eral business and market conditions 

 classification was conducted on 100 of make it possible to sell large bodies of 

 the forests, and over 280,000 acres of now inaccessible timber, the aim is to 



