6 



MISCELLANEOUS CIRCULAR 94, U. S. DEPT. OP AGRICULTURE 



production of future timber crops, are now seriously considering the 

 possibilities of growing timber. This is as it should be, since there 

 are in California nearly iy 2 million acres of privately owned cut-over 

 land which is producing but a small part of the timber it is capable 

 of growing. To this total must be added the 50,000 acres o*f forest 

 in the State that are annually cut over by lumbering operations, of 

 which at least 40 per cent is left in an unproductive condition. To 

 solve this problem of private forest-land use, effective fire protection 

 must be developed and many acres now denuded of their forest 

 growth or supporting only a stand of brush must be reforested; 

 methods of timber cutting must be adopted that will preserve the 

 young trees already on the ground, from which the future forest will 



A VIRGIN FOREST 



The national forests of California include within their boundaries the main bodies of 

 timber in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges. These forests contain one-third of the 

 timber resources of the State 



come ; and the cut must be so regulated that only the mature timber 

 will be taken, and that at a rate not in excess of the annual growth 

 of the forest. Even with the application of these measures it may 

 take 50 or more years to reestablish a forest cover on many areas of 

 cut-over and burned land. 



In the solution of these problems many public-service organizations 

 and individuals are now working hand in hand with the United 

 States Forest Service and the State board of forestry. Valu- 

 able cooperation is also being given in forestry educational work and 

 in fire prevention, and studies are being made for the purpose of 

 determining the economic value of the forest as related to the State's 

 industries, with a view of formulating a clear-cut forestry policy for 

 California. 



