8 . A NATIOi^AL LUMBER ANB FOREST POLICY. 



incliiSLTy and the public have a definite decision to make. As I see it. 

 either private owners must assume the full responsibility of properly 

 caring for their timberlands, including protection and forest renewal ; 

 or the public must take over the responsibility that it once had and 

 surrendered ; or the public must share with the owners both the re- 

 sponsibility and the burden of securing the objectives that are essen- 

 tial to safeguard the public welfare. My own view is that the last 

 is the only fair and practical method from the standpoint of all 

 concerned. 



PROBLEMS RELATING TO PUBLIC FORESTS. 



But there is a fourth gTOup of problems. Fot all of the forest 

 lands i^assed into private hands. ^^Tien the policy of deeding away 

 the public timberlands was at last found to be an unsafe one for the 

 Nation, it was changed and the bulk of the remaining public timber- 

 lands were withdrawn from private appropriation and segregated as 

 National Forests. In this way about 155,000,000 acres, nearly all in 

 the western mountains, were reserved. For these public timberlands 

 the public is doing' what should also be done for the timberlands that 

 passed to private owners. The public forests are being protected 

 from fire, the timber is used as it is called for by economic conditions, 

 and the cutting is conducted by such methods as leave the land in 

 favorable condition for the next crop of timber. 



There are definite policies of handling our National Forests and 

 their resources. There is, however, no public or national policy that 

 takes into consideration all the forests of the country and correlates 

 their problems and development. This is true also of the regions in 

 which the public forests are located. The manner in w-hich the public 

 timber is handled may vitally affect the lumber industrj^. The prob- 

 lems of the lumber industry may affect the interests of the Govern- 

 ment in the administration of its own forests. There remains yet to 

 determine what shall become of the cut-over nonagricultural lands, 

 to what extent these shall be taken over by the public, especially those 

 on critical watersheds and on steep slopes. There are various other 

 questions relating to public forests, their extension and use that re- 

 quire to be considered in connection with any program that looks 

 to the whole forest situation of the country. 



A BROAD PROGRAM NEEDED. 



The problems which I have set forth touch many interests, both 

 public and private. Their solution involves Federal and State legis- 

 lation ; and also involves cooperation between public agencies and the 

 lumber industry. The different problems are closely interrelated one 

 with another. Moreover, action in one section of the country con- 

 cerns the interests of other regions. These circumstances make it 



