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Forest policy is the attitude of the State toward forests, 

 which finds expression thru laws governing the administration of 

 public interests in the forest. The attitude of the State towards 

 forests is showing in these days a marked tendency to consider 

 them, even when on private lands, as a public utility, in much the 

 same way that certain water supplies are considered a public util- 

 ity and thru expropriation protected against pollutioh and abuse, 

 regardless of the wishes and personal liberty of riparian owners. 



One of the present aims of American forestry is to formulate 

 a national timberland policy which, briefly stated, will make it 

 an inducement, if indeed it does not make it obligatory, for pri- 

 vate owners to manage their forests for sustained yield, in order 

 to provide for the future supply of timber. It is not too vision- 

 ary to believe that it may sometime become feasible, and necessary, 

 to provide, in a similar way, for a sustained yield of wild life. 



At present the private owner may handle his forests wisely, 

 or unwisely, as it happens, and with few restrictions. He may ig- 

 nore, or may contribute to the conservation of timber and of wild 

 life for his own, or for public use, regardless of what the ethics 

 of public welfare may decree. The state forests, however, are 

 public property, and the policy adopted in their administration will 

 be directed by the needs and wishes of the people, for under our 

 form of governement, the attitude of the State must always be a 

 reflection of the attitude of the people. It is therefore the 

 more important that with public forests all the available resources 

 be put to the fullest and wisest use. 



It has been shown that forestry is concerned with all the 

 uses which rest on the maintenance of a forest, and that the 



