18 MISC. PUBLICATION 24 9, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



or 345 million acres, is in private ownership. This fact alone clearly indi- 

 cates a large and fruitful field in private work for the trained forester. 



Private owners may be classified in a general way as industrial, including 

 lumber, pulp and paper manufacturing ccfmpanies, and other large manu- 

 facturers of wood products; public-service corporations, such as railroads 

 and water companies; recreation and hunting clubs; mining companies; 

 owners of large private estates; and farmers and other small woodland 

 owners. 



Private owners provided some of the earliest examples of professional 

 forest management in the United States, and some have handled their tim- 

 berlands carefully for many years. In recent years, many more, especially 

 among the larger industrial owners, have been adopting measures for con- 

 tinuous timber production. The Forest Service has set up as a permanent 

 activity a project to work with the States, lumbermen's associations, and 

 timberland owners to the end that improved woods practices may be ex- 

 tended. Lumbermen's and pulp and paper manufacturer's associations 

 are also encouraging good forestry practice on industrial forest lands. In 

 the past few years, several million acres of industrial holdings have been 

 included in a "tree farm" program sponsored by industry associations. Re- 

 cent State regulatory laws in several States look to increased attention to 

 good forestry practice on private timberlands. All of these movements 

 point to new opportunities for employment in private industrial forestry. 



Forest Products Industries 



Until recently, most of the industrial concerns employing graduates of 

 forestry schools have used them mainly in logging engineering and allied 

 work. Before World War II only about 1,000 foresters were employed by 

 the forest products industries in forest-land management. As forestry 

 practice has expanded and intensified on industrial holdings, private in- 

 dustry has employed several times this number. 



The forester who enters the lumber, pulp and paper, or other forest 

 products industries may be required to estimate standing timber, appraise 

 stumpage, determine the best methods of cutting, estimate future growth, 

 lay out logging roads or railroads, reduce waste, increase utilization, or 

 participate in actual logging and milling operations. Experience for such 

 work often must be gained by entering the business at the bottom and 

 learning its practical and administrative details in a long and exacting 

 apprenticeship. Many foresters find opportunities in this field, with 

 possibilities of advancement to important managerial positions. 



There is a growing field for specialization in industrial forestry. Some 

 of the large operators conduct reforestation activities and other silvicultural 

 work on their cutover lands. Many operators or associations maintain 

 their own fire-control organizations. Industrial forest research is increasing, 

 particularly in wood utilization. The growing use of wood in all sorts of 

 products, as in the manufacture of plywoods, wallboards, plastics, and rayon, 

 and the increasing use of such equipment as dry kilns and preserving plants 

 to procure better utilization of lumber products, are creating opportunities 

 for specialists in the industrial phases of wood use. Industry is also attempt- 

 ing to find new uses for little-used species and to create byproducts and new 

 products which will broaden markets and utilize materials now wasted in 

 the manufacture of primary products. 



